After some silence that moved into this place during the last weeks, I am back again … with some (first) pictures from our “turné i södra Sverige” (tour in South Sweden).
Our trip started and ended in a city – starting point was Stockholm, final destination Uppsala … this blog post is dedicated to these two swedish cities. (Although we’ve been to the west coast as well we skipped Gothenburg, but I am sure this city is worth a visit, too!)
If you’re reflecting the pictures of Sweden you have in mind, you probably don’t think of city life first. More likely you will have pictures of lakes, forests, coasts and isolated red wooden houses in your mind.
You can find this Sweden most definitely and it’s true that Sweden is sparsely populated (with most people living in the South) – but the other side of the story is: 85% of Swedes live in cities (More figures about Sweden here).
…Though nature isn’t far away in Swedens cities as well – especially in Stockholm with its Skärgården – about 24 000 islands are surrounding the city which itself is a city of islands (and therefore bridges and boats as well).
The nice little hostel (or vandrarhem) Castanea at which we stayed was right in the middle of the gamla stan, Stockholms picturesque cobbled old town – just a stone’s throw away from sights like the royal castle or the parliament, and a good starting point to visit the other quarters as well. Offside the main streets in the old town that are populated by tourists, souvenir shops and the like, you find nice little shops and places to drink and eat, f.ex. in the Österlånggatan.
Stockholm is full of tempting museums – enough for at least a one-week-stay. We picked out the Nordiska museet and the Fotografiska museet.
The Nordiska museet offers insights in various aspects of Swedish culture. The collections of tableware, clothes, jewellery, furniture,… is quite impressive and the museum worth a visit, although the presentation of the objects didn’t make sense to us in all cases. The museum lies on the isle of Djurgården, the former royal animal park aka hunting ground, where nowadays everyone can relax.
We left out a visit at Gröna Lund, Swedens oldest leisure park, and took the ferry from Djurgården to Södermalm – stunning views included.
Before we visited the exhibitions at the Fotografiska, we headed upstairs to its café – a great place to enjoy the beautiful views through big panoramic windows, eat a kanelbulle while watching the smaller and bigger boats on the water.
From the recent exhibitons Sebastião Salgados “Genesis” photo series definitely was impressive and itself more than worth the visit.
The Södermalm quarter itself that we visited afterwards was a bit dissapointing for me – perhaps all the SoFo expectations were too high…
Before moving on to Uppsala, there have to be some words about swedish design! OMG, when I entered the first interior store I knew that it was a big mistake to go to Sweden by plane with consequences for my shopping capacities … So I had to stick with little souvenirs: a kitchen towel and this super stylish whisk from DesignTorget, some stationery from Lagerhaus …
… and guess what: both have webshops 😉
Uppsala (where I found this interior shop with lots of great stuff from HAY and HouseDoctor next to the cathedral) – is characterized by two things: the (oldest scandinavian) university and its most prominent scientist Carl Linnaeus.
Old university buildings, many young people, lots of bikes, layed-back cafés, small bookshops add to the picture of a relaxed city. Many parks accomplish this picture of a city with the charm of a small town.
Besides the cathedral the Linnaeus Garden and museum is a must if you are in Uppsala. This botanical garden is organized along the classification of plants that Linnaeus developed and published i.a. in his work “Systema Naturae”. The nearby Café Linné serves nice food in vintage atmosphere.
Let’s not forget about the decent Vandrarhem Kungsängstorg we stayed at – a small place at the quiet but central Kungsängstorg with cozy rooms.
More about the specialities of travelling and accomodation in Sweden in general next time … when I am planning to take you on a visual tour to lakes, wood and the Göta channel.
Read also: Turné i södra Sverige II
nadel&gabel 