Light drizzle, followed by snow, leading into a cloudy dry spell, culminating in the sun peeking through scant patches of blue at the very end of the day. That was today’s weather in a nutshell. The temperature hovered around zero all day.
The day started with a walk to the neighbourhood of Norrmalm, which was quite distinct from Södermalm and obviously completely different to Gamla Stan. Norrmalm is full of big department stores and clothes shops, such as H&M. (I hadn’t even realised that H&M was of Swedish origin until this trip.)
Norrmalm didn’t hold much for us. The area is much the same as any other large European shopping area. On the other hand, it’s certainly not an ugly part of town.
We stopped at the Hästens shop on Regeringsgatan. Well, how can you come to Sweden and not visit Hästens? That was our thought, at least. We left with a new sheet and a pair of pyjamas for Eloïse., but not before admiring the 462,000 kr. (about €49,500: slighly cheaper than back home!) costing Vividus.
We then walked east to the neighbourhood of Östermalm, which again, was very distinct from Stockholm’s other neighbourhoods.
After lunch, we briefly stopped at the hotel to drop off a few things and then went back to Södermalm for a walking tour. This took in some fantastic views of the city and later carried us through the newer residential areas of this neighbourhood.
I absolutely adore Stockholm; it bears repeating.
If I were 24 again, sick to death of life in England, and ready to move away, would I still choose Amsterdam? As poorly travelled as I was, it was the obvious choice at the time, but Stockholm could give Amsterdam a run for its money on many counts.
I love Reykjavík, too, and have often wondered how life might have turned out if I’d moved there in my twenties instead, but Stockholm has Reykjavík beaten in several significant ways. It’s a far more beautiful city, for one thing.
One thing’s for certain: If I were 24 again and living in England today, I’d still be packing my bags and getting ready to leave. That country seems bleaker today — if that’s possible — than it did even in 1991.
But, armed with the knowledge I have now, would I still move to lovely Amsterdam? It’s an intriguing question, complicated by the fact that The Netherlands today is not the same country, either socially or politically, that it was in 1991; and I have no idea in which significant ways Sweden has changed during the same period.
Travel always evokes these ponderous moods in me.
It’s not all good news here, of course. There are fewer bikers, for example, and I have yet to see a single bakfiets. Incidentally, that was one thing the otherwise lacklustre Copenhagen had right: even the postmen there rode bakfietsen, which makes perfect sense in their profession.
Stockholm has hills, too, a notion that is a real novelty to me these days. They really add character, although they also go some way towards explaining the lesser number of cyclists.
Anyway, while five days in Copenhagen were more than enough, after three days here we already find ourselves wondering how we’re going to cram everything into the next and last couple of days. One comforting thought is that it’s so easy to return, either by car or plane.
Life on the northern European mainland is good, wherever you happen to be.