Stockholm: A better, more civilized version of home

Stockholm wasn’t on my bingo card this year, as Gen Zs would say. We landed in Sweden after canceling our original plan (Egypt, due to the ongoing war and famine 400 kilometres from our intended location), our plan B (Croatia, because of the raging wildfires encircling our hotel), and our plan C (Rome, due to the unbearable heat reaching 40℃). So, you could say Stockholm became our refuge from what feels like the apocalypse soft launch. On the eve of our intended departure for Rome via Munich, I searched frantically for a new destination where we could connect from our flight to Germany. Much of Europe seemed to be under severe heat or fire warnings, with the exception of the magical kingdoms of Scandinavia. With less than 20 hours before boarding, I unpacked my suitcase—out with the bikinis, colourful flimsy barely-there-dresses, and in with the no-nonsense functional and minimalist wear favoured by the Swedes. After almost 24 hours of travel (booking flights, last-minute guarantees, multiple impractical connections), we arrived in Stockholm for a six-day stay before heading to Copenhagen. As I stepped out of the airport, bleary-eyed and severely sleep-deprived, I was met with cool weather, around 22℃, and was amazed at the lack of crowds. If you’ve ever vacationed in Europe in the summer, you know to expect feeling like a Montreal bagel being slid into a small, blasting-hot oven with thousands of your peers. I took a deep, satisfied breath. All these last-minute travel changes were worthwhile—I was going to enjoy a civilized European vacation after all. Our first hotel, the Hotel Reisen, was indeed extremely civilized. After an impeccable check-in experience and a long shower, we enjoyed a 12-hour sleep in the cloud-like bed. If we’d been able to muster the energy, we would have first enjoyed the authentic sauna and cold-plunge pool offered to all guests in the magnificent spa. Revigorated by a deep sleep, we gorged ourselves on the luxurious, impossible-to-resist buffet breakfast the next morning. Even if you’re not a breakfast person, trust me when I tell you that you will not want to miss this feast fit for foodie-gods. The deviled eggs garnished with Nordic shrimps and dill are positively orgasmic, and the lox will make you question any other “lox” you’ve had before now (read the quotation mark as sarcasm for effect). We started our exploration of Stockholm on the compact island of Gamla Stan, where Hotel Reisen is located. Gamla Stan (translates to Old Town) is the original city centre of Stockholm and can be toured in a single day. It has everything you’d expect from a medieval town: typical architecture, crooked cobblestoned streets, charming restaurants, beautiful antiquing, tourist-trap stores. Our two main stops were the Nobel Prize Museum and the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. Both are worth including in your itinerary, but the core of our pleasure came from eating gelato while walking around town, admiring the variety of well-behaved dogs (a shocking contrast from unruly Montreal and Toronto canines), and savouring cold beverages on shaded street terrasses. Gamla Stan is charming, but its location to the more central parts of Stockholm is not practical, and most hotels don’t have air conditioning. While this is usually not an issue in that part of the world, a hot sleeper such as, um ahem, a pre-menopausal woman, may find the nights too warm when the thermometer reaches the mid-20s Celsius. At the end of that afternoon, we checked out of our hotel and moved to the more central neighbourhood of Normaalm. Normaalm is Stockholm’s city centre, and from there, we were able to walk to almost all our destinations. Word of advice: if you need a car, order an Uber. Taxis are ludicrously expensive. Our hotel was a five-minute walk to Central Station and a 30-minute walk to the ferry slips—crucial given that we were planning multiple day-trips via train and boats. To our delight, we discovered that public transport in Stockholm is so widely available that visitors can set up their home base in the city and visit much of the middle and southern parts of the country and all of the archipelagos from there. No need to shlep all your luggage from city to city—leave in the morning, come back to your bed at night. Most trains are scheduled hourly, and the wide availability of routes allows you to visit a variety of locations, from cities to historic towns to hiking trails. What struck us most through our walks in Normaalm was how civilized, orderly, and respectful the Swedes appeared to be. Cars stopped at crosswalks where there were no traffic lights to let pedestrians pass—a very exotic experience for Montrealers, where you’re assured to be rolled over if you attempt to use your right of way crossing the street. Where there are traffic lights, pedestrians never dare move ahead until the green crossing sign pops up. Twice we ignored the signals because there was simply no car traffic, and passersbys shot us obvious disapproving looks. They seemed to think, “Who are they to think they don’t have to wait like the rest of us? Do they think they’re special?” I had heard about the Jantelagen (Law of Jante) in Scandinavian countries: “You are not to think you’re anyone special, or that you’re better than us.” This is not a formal law, of course, but it’s a well-anchored principle in Scandinavian society that does shape individual development and social interactions. It was quite interesting to witness how it translates into everyday life, and once I took notice, it was everywhere I looked. How no one dressed extravagantly, no one skipped ahead in line, and in the impeccable politeness of shopkeepers greeting us. In essence, it felt very antithetical to much of the rest of Europe, where individuality, self-importance, and borderline contempt of others seems to be the rule, not the exception (hello, dear Parisians). On our second day, we set out east to Östermalm, the upscale area of the city, known for its architecture, culture, shopping, and food scene. After suffering through the last months of repugnant construction in Montreal, with those ubiquitous orange cones and dirty barricades everywhere, visiting Östermalm feels like soothing therapy for our aesthetically-deprived nervous system. We’re often told, as if we’re disobedient children, that we can’t have nice things in our home city because of the cold and the snow. Well then, never has this lie been so well exposed to me as through my visit to Stockholm. It appears you can indeed have beautiful things in a beautifully-maintained city, even if the elements are particularly brutal. The stark beauty of a wealthy metropolitan that is well taken care of, dressed like a princess with emerald coloured flowers, spotless streets, and intentionally homogenous architecture—that was enough to make me question why exactly I tolerate living in the equivalent of 1982 USSR-but-with-freedom-and-better-food Montreal. While in Östermalm, the Royal Dramatic Theater and the National Library are jewels that mandate a visit. The National Library, built at the end of the 19th century, is a Swedish architectural icon. If you’re a history buff, you’ll appreciate knowing that the original purpose of the national library, instituted in 1661, was to collect every single text published in Sweden, whether it be a book, a newspaper, a flyer, so that every printed word could be monitored and, if needed, censored. If you’re not a history buff, you will still appreciate visiting the library, with its soaring ceilings and hundreds of rows of books. The majestic building is situated in Humlegården, a large park where you can enjoy a quiet picnic after your visit and watch all the well-behaved dogs walk by (we like dogs, what can I say?). From there, we walked south to the Royal Dramatic Theater, built during the Belle Époque period and still hosting plays of varied drama styles, from classics to modern. Located on the waterfront, the stunning Art Nouveau theatre transports you to another, more elegant era, where gilded ornate details and marble were applied generously. During the summer, anyone can enjoy a cocktail pre- or post-Hamlet, on the grand terrace on its façade balcony, and take in the beautiful view of the harbour. Stockholm’s waterfront in Östermalm is simply breathtaking. On the street side, there are grandiose mansions built during Sweden’s Gilded Age. Buildings so well preserved, still vibrating with their rich histories of the country’s wealth, that you can’t help but daydream about the rich industrialists and merchants who inhabited them. On the promenade, we found richly coloured landscaping, sculptures, and statues of all styles and periods, and a dozen chic restaurants featuring menus designed to be enjoyed over multiple glasses of crisp Riesling, and comfortable seating on terraces facing the water. At the end of the promenade on Stradvägen lies the island of Djurgården, a true gem in this city chock-full of gems. An emerald-green isle dotted with houses, mansions, and castles that truly bring alive the fairytales from our childhoods. The house where Cinderella grew up, swiping the dirt floor surrounded by chickens? I swear I saw it on Djurgården. Sleeping Beauty’s cottage? I saw it there, too. No, not literally, but…almost. Here’s a controversial idea: take your kids here instead of Disney World. This actually being the land of princesses, gnomes, and talking frogs, not the swamps of Florida. And your kids won’t completely hate you; there is an amusement park and a zoo on the island as well. As a bonus, you’ll eat five-star meals and home-made ice cream instead of overpriced hot-dogs. A win-win in my book. We were back on the promenade the next day to board our Cinderella boat (Cinderellabåtarna) to the Stockholm archipelago. These small ships, operated by Stromma, allow you to visit the islands at your own pace, no guided tours needed. The delightful 70-minute boat ride is best enjoyed on one of two sundecks, where we can thoroughly soak in the sunshine, the water views, the sailboats, and the quaint islands with rustic red wooden houses lazily whizzing by around us. The boat left us at Vaxholm, a small island very reminiscent of the islands we used to visit in Maine in Casco Bay. As we exited the boat, we were compelled to grab a gelato at Glass på hornet and savour it on the wooden walkway along the shoreline. Gorgeous wooden banquettes built into the side of the hill and facing the sea allowed us to rest at different spots and take in the sights. Had we planned better, we would have brought our bathing suits and joined the few swimmers reveling in the crystal clear Baltic sea on this particularly hot day (25°C, four degrees above the average for August). The idyllic archipelago town charmed us with its typical wooden pastel-coloured houses, leisurely trails, and tranquil rhythm. After walking around the island for four hours and restoring ourselves with a proper meal at one of many restaurants on the pier, we boarded our boat back and watched the sunset in peace with the handful of other travelers, back to Stockholm. Next on our itinerary was Sigtuna, the oldest town in Sweden. Easily accessible through a 20-minute train ride from Central Station and a 15-minute public bus transit (your train ticket will include the cost of the bus as well), it made for a stress-free and memorable day trip. Established by Vikings in 950 CE, Sigtuna is now a picturesque waterfront village where sailing clubs and cottages abound. The town is known for welcoming children surviving Nazi camps at the end of the war and has maintained its mission of taking in refugees to this day. At the Sigtuna museum, we read stories of children and young people fleeing wars and establishing their lives in this wonderful small town. As we prepared to leave Stockholm the next day and head to Copenhagen, I knew I would return soon. In Sigtuna and on Vaxholm, I engaged in the favourite pastime of every traveler, eyeing houses for sale tagged in the shop windows of real estate firms. But this time, it didn’t feel like a far-fetched dream, like it does when momentarily dreaming of moving to Ibiza or Montepulciano. It felt like a sensible thought, and even forward-thinking. Here’s a place that feels like home, but much more civilized, with better climate, polite society, clean streets, and exceptional public transit? Who knows, maybe my haven from this too-hot summer will become my permanent refuge.