Arriving to a palace after a bumpy bus ride seems fitting. You arrive as nothing and leave thinking yourself to be a little bit more royal, perhaps even above a bus seat. Like a dish of rich, creamy royal butter, Drottningholm Slott appears before me, set up on Drottningholm, literally Queen’s Island, just outside of Stockholm. Luckily its composition is nothing like butter for the Swedish sun has decided to shine. It would be a shame to see such a grand palace melt into nothing. The palace I admire today was built in 1662. However, the first royal residence to stand on these grounds did Continue Reading
Cheating Death on Stockholm’s Rooftops
“Don’t worry, we haven’t lost anybody yet,” my guide assures me. It’s the “yet” part that scares me. Would they really tell someone with a heart leaping out of her chest like a cartoon character if they lost someone or not? I put my faith in two Swedes that I won’t fall to my end as I observe others tiptoeing across the rooftop of Stockholm’s old Parliament building. Stockholm oozes sophistication, from its outward appearance of sparkling streets and grand buildings to inside its trendy bars where you get those looks that seem to say, “Are you lost?” Then again, Sweden’s capital has a Continue Reading
Grinda, Sweden Wishes You Were Here
The most stressful, hair-raising journeys tend to lead to the calmest of places. You have to work to reach utter peace. The island of Grinda in the Stockholm archipelago is one of those places. To reach Grinda, you can take the slower, less exciting boat or you can adorn a puffy blue suit and hold on for dear life. Not much of a thrill seeker, I am thrown on a boat more fitting for a bathtub than the Baltic Sea. I climb into my marshmallow suit and let the thrill take me to the calm of Grinda, letting out screams with every bounce and splash. Without going overboard on the hour ride from Continue Reading
Long Travel Days Ahead and a European Summer Getaway
My bags are partially packed and I’m on my way. Besides being a ball of stress, balancing work and packing problems, I’m pleased to reveal where I am going next. On behalf of One Travel, I will be traveling with AirBerlin across Europe over the course of the next few weeks. I am heading to Berlin, Stockholm and Palma de Mallorca with AirBerlin as I blog about the adventure. While I have been to Stockholm before, I’m excited to experience Berlin and Mallorca, two new destinations for me. In Berlin we will be biking, gallery hopping and touring some of the city’s neighborhoods. After a few Continue Reading
Stockholm, Sweden Wishes You Were Here
Stockholm had just recovered from its royal wedding. It seemed as though most of the tourists had left town, deserting the city and leaving the streets empty. Well, that isn’t entirely true. Wandering around the city, random street art displays appear. A fox jumped out at me, but not in a menacing way. Meager, hopeful and understated, you have to watch where you walk in Stockholm. Head indoors in the city to its most popular museum and you will find all of those crowds missing in the streets. The Vasa Museum holds the Vasa Ship in remarkable condition. The ship sank in 1628 in the middle of Continue Reading
Vadstena, Sweden Wishes You Were Here
It is around 10PM and the light in Vadstena burns as though it’s 5PM. The sun seemingly is trying to set, but it appears Vättern Lake just won’t allow the ball of fire to dip below its surface. It is not time for bed just yet in this quiet Swedish town. What struck me about Vadstena was the light, bouncing through the trees to the lake or cascading across the cobbled lanes and wooden buildings. The town itself is a pilgrimage site for many. Santa Birgitta carries about town just as the light does. The Klosterkyrkan, Vadstena’s church, was built in response to the saint’s Continue Reading