The Renaissance houses of Old Town
Wow, Stockholm is nice — beautiful — like out of a story book beautiful. It is also stylish in every way — the architecture, the public art, the food and the women in boots and short skirts. Part of the city’s romance is its location on inlets of the Baltic Sea, 14 islands connected by 57 bridges. Fishing boats and yachts sit comfortably along the roadways, and if you are not on a boat, the city is very walkable.
Sweden is educated, liberal and rich. You pay a lot of taxes and you get a lot of goodies. And it has welcomed more refugees during the current crisis than any European country except Germany.
During my visit this week, the autumn sun was intense against the bright blue sky and the trees were beginning to turn every color of red and orange. I saw a lot of kissing and flirting all over town. And a lot of people with babies in strollers. I know they won’t be out and about for much longer given the harsh winters here.
I also know from personal goal-oriented inquiry that it is difficult to buy alcohol in Sweden. Except for low-alcohol beer products, alcohol may only be sold in state-owned stores, which are few and far between. The system has been very successful at accomplishing its objective of deterring alcoholism.
The Family, a sculpture by Pey Engstron, that sits outisde the metro station in Old Town. There is a baby in there on the right.
Victoria Tower, a hotel completed in 2012
Sweden is famous for its meat balls, which I didn’t eat, and its pastries, which I did. They use a lot of cardamom. And of course butter.
Old Town, called “Gamla Stan,” is loaded with shops that make a special effort with their windows.
Stockholm has a dozen highly-regarded museums. I spent part of an afternoon at the Moderna Museet, which has a wonderful collection of paintings and sculpture of the past 150 years. The museum is very visitor-friendly (not all are, don’t get me started). It is free. Go ahead and take photos. We trust that you know how to behave yourself around our priceless art. We hope you like the information we provide about the artwork. And when you are ready, please enjoy lunch at our amazing restaurant overlooking the harbor where you can stuff yourself for $10.
My favorite piece at Moderna Museet, Improvisation nr 2 — Sorgmarsh, by Vassily Kandinski. I love the use of color. It even has a horse in it.
Swedish students check out the museum’s Dali.
The sign at the bathroom in Moderna Museet — all are welcome.
And here is Sweden’s most famous music group. I include this video only because of how much I love Vic and Debbie.
Camino Milagro 
Thanks for the Swedish info. It’s been on my list to visit for awhile!
Beautiful photos…again! Love the colors on the art work. They make me happy. But I better get up to speed on all the toilette figures!
I’m happy to hear such a glowing report of Stockholm, as I’ve always wanted to go there. I visited beautiful western Sweden twice, once in the 70s and once in the 80s, and public drunkenness was a huge issue, so it’s fantastic they have addressed it.
You’re a peach Kim! ABBA is Sweden’s best export!!!
But traveling to Sweden and leaving without sampling the their national dish is like visiting IKEA without cursing their floor plan- impossible to imagine!
The pics are fab- you’ve got quite an eye!
Love all your writings Kim, hope as is well. If you could live anywhere at this point where would you stay? ps I tried to “like” but forgot my dern password again! Love and hugs Dani >
If I could live anywhere, I would live in my home — the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the most beautiful place on earth and it is where most of my family and friends are. But I guess I am not quite ready to be there all of the time. How is Ecuador??