Stockholm in 24 hours

A day is actually a well-defined period of time, but it can be so different when it comes to sightseeing. While it was light for around 18 hours during my stay in Finland, it only got light at half past eight in Stockholm and was already dark again at around 3 p.m.

Having been to Stockholm more than 18 years ago, this time I just wanted to spend a Sunday refreshing my memories, strolling through Sweden's capital and taking a few photos. When planning my trip, I was inspired by Sonne & Wolken, Heike's travel blog and Raus ins Leben (you can find links to these at the end of the article). The result was a route that took around 2.5 hours to walk, left enough time to take photos and linger.

The sightseeing tour

On Sunday, 20 minutes before 9 a.m., I took the train from Norrköping to Stockholm. I was able to purchase my ticket, including a seat, in advance online on the website of the Swedish railway company SJ. It would also have been possible to travel by Flixbus, but that would have meant leaving at 6:20 a.m., which was a little too early for me.

After about two hours of traveling through snowy landscapes and past numerous red wooden houses typical of Sweden, I arrived at Stockholm Central Station.

Unexpectedly, the sun even broke through the cloud cover, so I wasted no time and set off for my first destination, Östermals Saluhall – a market hall from the 1880s with antique stalls selling fruit, vegetables, fish, and gourmet goods. Anyone who has read my posts about France and Belo Horizonte knows that I enjoy visiting regional markets.

Once there, however, I was a little disappointed to find that the market was closed on Sundays (ONLY Sundays). I hadn't expected this, as shops in Sweden are open on the 7th day of the week and grocery stores are often open until 9 p.m. or later.

So I continued on to my next destination—through Kungsträdgården, one of Stockholm's oldest parks and a feast for the eyes in spring when the cherry trees are in bloom—to Stockholm Palace. Although Stockholm Palace has not been inhabited by the royal family since 1982, it still serves the king for representative and ceremonial purposes. Parts of the palace are also open to tourists, but I remember visiting the palace during our Interrail trip as being rather tedious. Much more interesting, and it worked out well, was the changing of the guard.

After about 30 minutes, the spectacle was over and, despite wearing several layers of clothing, I really started to feel the cold for the first time. Feeling a little hungry, I stopped for a break at Grillska Huset, Stockholms Stadsmission, directly opposite the Nobel Museum. The cozy café served snacks, light lunches, desserts, coffee, and cold drinks. After warming up a bit and watching the hustle and bustle at Stortorget, I set off again to explore the old town.

My only fixed plans on the island of Gamla Stan were to see Järnpojke, the little boy standing on the moon, and Marten Trotzigs grand, Stockholm's narrowest alley at only 90 cm wide.

Järnpojke is actually just a 15 cm tall statue by Swedish artist Liss Eriksson. However, it is said to have magical powers, so

• people walk around the statue three times to return to Stockholm
• people stroke its head three times so that another wish will come true this year
• people donate money to it so that they will reap wealth in the same year or, for women, their fertility will be strengthened.

Since there weren't many people watching the changing of the guard and I didn't encounter many tourists in the alleys, I already thought that visiting the city in winter wasn't so bad after all. But apparently I was just in the “wrong” alleys, because by chance I came across Stora Nygatan, where there was not only one souvenir shop after another, but also many more (Chinese) tourists. If you want to have lunch in Gamla Stan and don't mind the crowds, you're sure to find something on this street or on Lilla Nygatan.

After the sun disappeared behind the clouds and dusk was approaching, I set off for my last main destination of the day. This was a viewpoint in the Södermalm district, from which you should have a good view of Gamla Stan and Kungsholmen with its striking town hall tower. Various blogs had not promised too much: even this small elevation of only 50 meters was enough to get a fantastic view of Stockholm. Parallel to Bastugatan was a small walking path where you could stroll along and enjoy the view.

Well, and now the short winter day I mentioned at the beginning was already making itself felt. It was 3:10 p.m. and it was already becoming quite difficult to take reasonably well-exposed pictures of the town hall.

Since I still had time before my train departed, I satisfied my hunger at Vapiano, which was located almost opposite the station. At 5:30 p.m., I headed back to Norrköping.

Die Tunnelbana

More than 90 of the 110 subway stations are decorated with works of art by approximately 150 different artists. For the price of a subway ticket, you can discover sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, inscriptions, and reliefs from the 1950s to the 2000s in most stations.

Tip: Subway art in Stockholm as a little preview of what awaits you in Stockholm's underground.

Fazit

As in London, one day was of course far too short to see all the sights in Stockholm.

From our Interrail trip in the summer of 2003, I particularly remember the Skansen open-air museum with its moose and historic houses. And of course, it was also more pleasant in the summer to stroll through the narrow streets of Gamla Stan in the evening and enjoy a cold beer there.

But even on just one day in winter, there are some beautiful places to visit in Stockholm. If the weather isn't quite right, there are numerous museums, such as the Vasa Museum or the Nobel Museum, which are well worth seeing.

The biggest advantage of visiting in winter is certainly that the crowds are manageable and you can easily get to the front row at the changing of the guard, for example . However, I definitely recommend wearing several layers of clothing and bringing some spare batteries or power banks for your camera and cell phone, as they drain quickly in low temperatures.