Back to Stockholm

I finally went back to Sweden, after 6 years. I missed it, and not only because I try to learn Swedish, but because it’s such a beautiful and civilized country, and because I have several good friends there. Besides, where should one go in August when one dislikes the heat?
And I’m so glad I did it. Stockholm is just as beautiful as I remembered it, and I had such a nice weather – no more than 22ºC, a little rain in some evenings, perfect for walking around. After checking in at a hotel in Kungsholmen, I went out for an evening stroll. I walked along Norr Mälerstrand until the Rålambhovsparken, then across the Västerbron and then the Söder Mälarstrand, passing by the many anchored boats, and the boat hotel where I stayed on my first time in Stockholm. The Slussen is still undergoing renovations – for years – and then I revisited the lovely Gamla Stan, where I had a very nice Swedish dinner of steamed salmon with lingonberries (you cannot get much more Swedish food, unless you have meatballs of course).

The next day I started by walking through Vasastan, enjoying the sunny weather to look at the beautiful urban architecture – along the lovely Odegatan until Odenplan, then down to Drotningsgatan, where I had the pleasant surprise of finding a second-hand book street market. I love this kind of markets, and enjoyed myself browsing through the stalls, looking for Laterna Magica by Ingmar Bergman – that I eventually found and bought – and trying my feeble Swedish with some sellers. I ended up buying four books – couldn’t resist, they were all so cheap (between 1 and 4 euros), hope to be able to read them. I felt quite happy heading towards the National Museum, that for some unremembered reason I hadn’t visited on my previous trips to Stockholm.

I’m happy I visited this time, it’s an excellent museum (and free). I was particularly stricken by its painting collection from the 16th and 17th centuries, and then the design collection from the late 19th century until the present times, the glass works were exquisite.
Then I went to the Modern Art Museum, which shares the building with the Architecture and Design Museum that I had visited before and loved. This one is not as good, it has some very good pieces from the 1910s until the Abstract Expressionism, but I cannot really appreciate the contemporary works. (One aside about the restrooms – I’m all for mixed toilets, but it’s really not practical in crowded places, since it begets queues for everyone, when usually only women toilets have them! It’s a practical matter!)
The day ended with a nice Chinese dinner in Hornstull with a Swedish friend, we talked about politics, travel and life in general, and I went back to the hotel in a rainy but warm evening.