Stockholm, Sweden - Week 2 (5/26-6/1)
- Robert Walley
- Jun 8, 2025
- 6 min read
The first full week in Stockholm was a blast! By now, it feels more like I've been in the city for a while, and moving around town is a breeze. Looking back through the pictures, we did a lot in one week!
Monday was a touristy afternoon during which we visited 2 museums. I went back to the Vasa Museum and showed a couple of friends around, pointing out the highlights of the ship. Afterward, we went to the ABBA museum, which was a lot of fun. I have never listened to much ABBA, and could only name Dancing Queen before seeing the museum. After going in, I quickly realized I knew more ABBA than I thought I did, and seeing all of the memorabilia was neat. There was even a stage where visitors can perform as the 5th ABBA member, which can be pretty funny!
Tuesday was a more laid-back day. Class went a little longer than anticipated, and I got some homework done throughout the afternoon. Come dinner, I was quite hungry, and luckily there was a taco shop in Gamla Stan that had a taco Tuesday sale. A group of us went and got our fill of tacos, and then enjoyed some tasty gelato afterward. I only have one picture from Tuesday, which has been a good reminder to keep taking pictures throughout the day!
In class on Wednesday, we got to practice taking blood on a model arm with fake blood running through. I had never taken on an arm, real or fake, so I found this part of class to be pretty cool. Another student in my group was particularly excited for it since he is working as a phlebotomist when going back to school, and appreciated the extra practice on a model before taking blood from patients.
Once class ended mid-afternoon, we decided to explore the neighborhood Södermalm, just south of Gamla Stan. Södermalm is an area that younger generations call home, with a more diverse scene of storefronts. After a delicous (yet cheap!) lunch looking out to Gamla Stan, we made sure to stop by Hellstone, a guitar store that is a pleasure to visit. Much to my surprise, they had guitars and other memorabilia that once belonged to The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and more. Later that night, we were still out and about, which offered some great views of the city at dusk.
Thursday has been my favorite day in Stockholm so far. It was a national holiday in Sweden (Ascension Day), so a group of us decided to ferry to Vaxholm, another island in Stockholm's archipelago. It is a popular destination for travelers seeking a day trip that will get them outside of the city. The ferry ride is picturesque and about an hour and a half long, but the seats are a hot commodity since each ferry to Vaxholm is filled to the brim. Once on the island, there is plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the quiet nature of the island. A great lunch spot, albeit busy, is Vaxholm's Hembygdsgårds Café. If you can find a spot to eat on the peninsula, you'll feel like you are eating right within the pages of a fairytale.
The highlight of Friday was after class. Earlier in the trip, we had eaten at Barrels Burgers, where we noticed a poster for a burger festival. Although the wait for a burger was long, we stuck it out and are glad we did. There were 3 burger kitchens showcasing their creations: one from Stockholm, one from the UK, and one from Spain. Word on the street was that Spain had the best burger, and the line to get one matched that narrative. I waited about an hour just for that burger, and I was told by someone running the event that the line was two and a half hours long the previous day. I ended up getting one of the last burgers they made for the night, and I'm glad I did, because it quite possibly may have been the best burger I've ever had. Between the halves of a Spanish baked Japanese milk bun is the meat, which is hung tender for 7 weeks, caramelized onions, gochujang mayonnaise, and cheddar cheese. A bit of it all melts in your mouth with a savory flavor like I've had in no other burger. It was truly amazing.
All of the burgers were made smaller than they typically are so that customers could try multiple. I had all three, and while the Spanish one was the best, the other two burgers were delicious too. To finish up the night, we went back to O'Connell's, a pub in gamla stan to play some darts. On the way, we came across 3 beautiful cars at the old church in Gamla Stan, which made for some interesting pictures.
Saturday brought nice weather, so a group of us headed out to Tyresta National Park for a short hike. The park is very serene and offers a cafe with a gift shop for visitors as well. Just outside the park's entrance is farmland, and seeing some animals was a fun start to the hike.
Upon getting back to Stockholm, we continued to get our steps in. We stopped for a quick lunch at Skeppsbro Bageri before hitting the Royal Palace, which boasted the life of the Royal Family. Though they do not reside there any longer, the palace is still filled with artifacts accumulated by the Royal Family over the centuries, and some, such as the crowns, are still worn at ceremonies today. Sweden's Royal Palace is one of the largest in Europe, so traversing the entire place takes some time.
After exiting the Royal Palace, we watched the runners in the Stockholm Marathon cruise by. The route included one stretch right in front of the Royal Palace and the Parliament Building, which was a great place to watch from since both of these buildings are right on the water. It was inspiring to see the 23,500 people achieving a goal they had worked toward for so long. Family, friends, locals, and tourists all lined the streets to cheer them on, which also caused a lot of traffic in Gamla Stan. This is where we spent the rest of the afternoon, stopping in art galleries and other shops to admire the artisanship showcased in Stockholm's old town.
To conclude the evening, a group of us ventured out to a lake to go swimming. I already had swum in much colder water in Vaxholm, so I didn't go for a dip, but the rest of the group was eager to jump in. I was more eager for dinner, which turned out to be sushi, since I had worked up an appetite after racking up 30,000 steps for the day.
Sunday was more laid back after such a busy weekend. I slept in a bit, got some homework done and got groceries throughout the afternoon, and cooked dinner come evening. At the grocery store, we even found a bottle of sparkling grape juice that said Chapel Hill on it! The label was even Carolina blue, despite being made by an Australian wine company that has nothing to do with North Carolina.
For dinner, a couple of friends and I all cooked together and split what we had bought to cook, which worked out well. After dinner, we walked to a gelato shop, where we got the largest scoops of gelato we have ever had. In fact, I'm hesitant to use the word scoop, since the gelato was retrieved from the tubs with a tool reminiscent of an oar rather than an ice cream scoop. I had never seen anything like it, nor had I ever seen some of the flavors the shop had to offer. I got New York cheesecake on the bottom with goat cheese + sweet potato jam on top, which were both interesting. The goat cheese + sweet potato jam was interesting (yet delicious!) for obvious reasons, and the New York cheesecake was interesting because it tasted exactly like key lime pie. I didn't quite see that coming, but I was not going to complain about any flavor of gelato if it would cap off the weekend before class on Monday morning.
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