Monday, October 3, 2016


Phil took me to my ancestral home last week. My mom came with us, as did The Kid. Speaking with absolutely no authority on the subject, having seen only a tiny portion of the country, Sweden is beautiful and I want to live there.

We were only there for three days, and stayed in Stockholm for the majority of the time. Stockholm is a very pretty, very clean city. It looks like how I imagined Europe in my head, before I got over here and realized that Europe is a big continent with countries stretching almost halfway down the globe, and hundreds of cultures, all with varying socioeconomic status and architectural taste. Who'd have thought, right?

Stockholm is a bit like D.C. It can be hideously expensive, but there are nice parks, a decent number of free museums, and fit people running around everywhere. Overall, Phil found the city to be boring. I can't remember his criteria for determining whether a city is interesting. I think Stockholm bored him because the city resembles a lot of other European cities that Phil's already seen, and you'd have to go quite far if you want to see something different.

Maybe it's my part-Swede blood, but I loved Stockholm. We rented an apartment in Östermalm, and were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go in the city. We did not take a boat tour, which is probably something you should do, but we did do a Phil-guided walking tour of old town (Gamla Stan), went to the Vasa Museum to see an old, salvaged ship, and spent the afternoon in Skansen, an open-air museum.

I took some pictures for you, all of which looked a lot better on my little phone screen. Maybe that's how these should be viewed. I don't know. It's your life. Do what you want. 

Pretty park in Stockholm.

Some old, Swedish building with the flag on top.

Swedish Parliament.

Pretty, circular square in the middle of old town.

This is a clubhouse for rich Swedes. Or, it's like a meeting space for the noble families. I don't know. Either way, it was gaudy.

Old drinking fountain in front of the Nobel museum.

A candid shot of the drinker.

Stockholm from Skansen

Old Swedish homes in Skansen.

Naked baby statue in Skansen. I took this picture because it reminded me of my Grandma's garden. Is it a Swedish thing to put naked baby statues in your garden? Hard to know. Greeks just have naked everyone statues. 

I'm sure it would be a lot harder for me to stay in Stockholm during winter darkness (and, if if I'm being honest, probably the summer brightness), but maybe I'll set up a nice, autumnal cabin in the country and make an annual pilgrimage to my homeland.


  1. I first went to the Vasa museum when I was nine (similar ancestral trip with my grandparents), and I've never forgotten it!Felicitations on making the trip! I hope you tried the pear ice cream.

    1. No! Where was the pear ice cream?! I'm angry now. Guess we're going back.

      Vasa was really cool. I've forgotten all the ship vocabulary, but I can't imagine being in rough surf and having to climb out on the very tip of the bow to mess with the sails.

    2. It is everywhere from what I can remember, in those charming little ice cream huts scattered around tourist-y areas. I've only ever had it in Sweden and Finland, so maybe you could try Finland next trip!

