#56 Culture Night in Stockholm + Weather Report

Just a quick update on the weather; when I first arrived here 3 months ago, there were mounds of snow everywhere and it snowed heavily almost every day. Then, about a month ago, it began to snow less and the temperatures rose a little. Now, nearly all of the snow has melted and although the trees are still bare, you can see green grass starting to sprout. It has rained a little, but there are blue skies nearly everyday. Today in Stockholm it is +13 degrees, while when I first arrived it was -13! I think Spring has finally arrived in Stockholm. . . .

Yesterday, Saturday 20th April was Culture Night in Stockholm. This mean that almost every museum and gallery in Stockholm had free entry and special events from 6pm until midnight. Here are some of the places I visited:

Ethnography Museum (Etnografiska Museet)
Located at MuseiParken, Bus 69 from Sergels Torg

To answer your first question, ethnography is like the study of people and culture. This museum was modern and interesting, it had exhibitions on ancient tribes, Vietcong, Native Americans, Japan, Australia, Greenland etc. It was a fun and interesting place to explore the world, and I would recommend a visit. Entrance is usually around 100kr.

The Royal Mews (Hovstallet)
Located near Nybroplan, take tram from Sergels Torg

To answer another question, the Royal Mews is the transport section for ceremonial events for the Royal Family. Here you can see the Kings Horses, (as well as pet them) and the carriages and cars they use, and learn about when they have been used. A nice, interesting place that is not well known in Stockholm.

The Mediterranean and Near-Eastern Antiquities Museum (Medelhavs Museet)
Located beside the Royal Opera House, take bus 69 to Gustav Adolfs Torg

I only visited the museum briefly, but it isn't very big. It has lots of ancient Greek things, as well as an Egypt exhibition (which was closed). It's a nice place to visit, but unless you have a particular interest I wouldn't recommend it so much.

The Medieval Museum (MedeltidsMuseet)
Located under the bridge beside the Royal Palace. Bus 69 to Gustav Adolfs Torg.

I think this could be another one of Stockholm's hidden gems. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you enter this place is remarkable. It boats the only remaining part of the old Stockholm city wall, part of an ancient boat, as well as wax figures, a whole section layed out to look like a medieval street, and even a gambling games room with giant chess and dice games, as well as others.

The Royal Palace (Kungliga Slotten)
Located at the edge of Gamla Stan. Take bus 69 to Gustav Adolfs Torg or walk from the metro.

I was disappointed with the Royal Palace. I thought there were going to be more special events than on a usual day, but to me it was overcrowded and average, with a 20 minute waiting line to get in. You're not allowed take flash pictures, so most of them came out awful. You saw some random rooms, but I found it was nothing spectacular. There were people walking around in costume though which was fun.

Finally, there were also some old buses and trams taking you around the museums for free, which was really nice. 

#55 Gothenburg

This week I left Stockholm and took a day trip to Gothenburg, Sweden's second biggest city. Located about 3 hours away by train from Stockholm, it's an ideal place to visit while you're in Sweden. Gothenburg is a lot more open and peaceful than the capital city, and it just had a nice atmosphere in general.


Most of the key locations in Gothenburg are within walking distance from the central station, but if you want a travel card costs 75kr for one day. We had about seven hours before our train home left and had limited time to see everything, so we chose what we thought were the highlights.

 They have lots of trams! Super cute

The first thing was 'Skanskaskrapan' aka. Lipstick, which is a sky scraper with red on top. You can see it from outside central station, and really isn't that remarkable. The next location on our list was 'Tradgardforeningen' which is a park and greenhouse located 5 minutes from the station. You can go inside the greenhouse for free and see the exotic plants too which is nice.

If you walk through the park you will get to Kungsportsavenyn, which is a main shopping and retail street. It is a wide street and much more open than you will find in Stockholm. At the end of this street is Gotaplatsen, which features a statue of Poseidon and is one of the main symbols of Gothenburg. It is quite small but worth getting your picture taken beside it.

 Gotaplatsen

 The next location we found by accident while walking by. Skansen Kronan is a fort on top of a hill in the Haga district. It takes some energy to get to the top, but when you do there is a great view of Gotheburg that makes it worth it.

We then walked to Slottsskogen, a big park which is a little further away than everything else. There is a big playground here for children, as well as the Natural History Museum which is 40kr (but closed on Mondays so we couldn't enter!). The main attraction here is a type of free zoo, including a childrens petting zoo and pony rides (which are closed until summer) and I think also some seals and penguins (also closed). In the middle of the park are the main animal pens, which featured ponies, deer, ducks and geese, goats, sheep, peacocks and elk.

 We were luck to see him with his feathers up!

 Elk!

From the park we walked back towards the city and the Haga district. This is like the old town of Gothenburg, and it has one main street with cafes and boutique shops. After seeing the old town in Stockholm, this place isn't that remarkable but it is still nice to walk around. Also here you can get a giant kanelbulle (cinnamon roll) for 40kr. It isn't the best I've ever tasted, but it's not bad, plus it's fun to take a picture with it! I think one of these kanelbulle can definitely feed at least three people! You can get it at Cafe Husaren or another cafe beside it down the street.

And then finally we walked back towards the station. We walked as far as the quay side and the Gothenburg opera house, which was also quite nice. Back at the station, there are lots of shops and restaurants in the area and it's a nice place walk around.

Central station

So, to conclude, I would definitely recommend a trip to Gothenburg. As I was getting on the train I wished I was staying longer and could see more of the city, which doesn't happen to me very often. It is an open, clean city with a great relaxed atmosphere.

Gothenburg City coat of arms

#54 Moderna Museet & Arkitektur Museet

Today I visited 'Free Friday' at two of Stockholm's museums, the Modern Art and Architecture museums, both located in the same building on Skeppsholmen. They were good to fill in a few hours, but otherwise unless you have a special interest in modern art I wouldn't recommend a visit.

The Architecture museum is usually 60kr, and it is really small, so I would strongly advise against visiting here unless it's free. There is one temporary exhibition and another two small rooms of permanent exhibitions with  scale models of some of Swedens well known buildings and areas. It took me under an hour to see the whole place.

 Temporary risk exhibit

 Fake home

 Drawings by children

 A video on risk in the home!

Model of katarina hissen

The Modern Art Museum is usually 120kr, and on Fridays is only free for some parts of it (I think the temporary exhibitions). I have no interest in modern art, so the artists I saw on display were boring for me. There were some audio and video exhibits which were more interesting for me though. The artists and work you see will probably depend on when you go, but unless you love art it's probably not worth your time.

 How this is art I have no idea

 This is cool

 Modern poetry?

Not sure what this was

Arkitektur is free on Fridays from 4pm until 6pm, and Moderna is free from 6pm until 8pm, so you can do both.
You can get to the museums by taking bus 65 from central station to the Stockholm Arkitekt/Moderna stop. It is also possible to walk from the t-bana at Kungstradgarden (10 minutes) or to get the Djurgarden ferry from either Slussen or Grona Lund.
Also interesting to know, connecting the island to the mainland is the Skeppsholmen bridge, which has the famous crown you often see on postcards etc of Stockholm.

#53 A List Of Free Things To Do In Stockholm

This is for the people who want to see Stockholm on a budget! There are so many great things to do here that don't cost money, so I will keep updating this post as I discover more fun things to do in Stockholm for free. The obvious things are walking the streets and sightseeing, but during the weekdays many museums are free in the evenings so it's good to check before your visit.

Katarina Hissen - Great viewing point of Stockholm. Located beside Slussen metro station.

Monteliusvägen - Viewing point. Take the metro to Mariatorget and then 5min walk.

Gamla Stan - The Old Town. Walk around cobbled streets. Located at Gamla Stan metro station.

Ericsson Globe Arena - The World's Most Spherical building! Metro stop Globen.

Maritime Museum - NOT to be confused with Vasa! Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.

Sports Museum - Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.

Free walking tours - Every weekend and some weekdays www.freetourstockholm.com

Changing of the guard - Located at the Royal Palace, usually Wednesdays and Sundays at 12pm

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo locations - Google it! Popular places are Fiskargatan 9 and Bellmansgatan1.

IKEA Kungens Kurva - Take the free IKEA bus from the city or go to Skarholmen metro station.

The Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogarden) - Skogskyrkogarden metro station

Skeppsholmsbron (the bridge with the crown) - Bus 65 from central to Nationalmuseum.

Drottinggatan shopping street - Located near Stockholm central train/metro station.

[Stockholm Travel card: You can take the ferry, tram, see metro station art]


Special Days Only (most of these exclude June, July and August, please check in advance)

[Mondays only: Royal Coin Cabinet - Located at the Royal Palace. Metro to Gamla Stan]

[Tuesdays only: Nobel Museum (free from 5pm)  - Take the metro to Gamla Stan]

[Wednesdays only: Nordic Museum (free from 5pm) - Take the tram from Sergels Torg.
and Technology Museum (free from 5pm) -  Bus 69 from Sergels Torg to Museiparken.]

[Thursdays only: Army Museum (free from 5pm) - Take tram to Nybroplan
Royal Armoury (free from 6pm) -  Located at the Royal Palace. Metro to Gamla Stan]

[Fridays only: Moderna Museet (free from 6pm) - Bus 65 from central station
and Architecture Museum (free from 4pm to 6pm) - Bus 65 from central station
National History Museum - Take tram to Djgardsbron]

#52 Stockholm Sports Museum

Riksidrottsmuseet (aka the Sports Museum) is another of Stockholm's finest free offerings! Situated directly beside the Maritime Museum (which is also free) combined they fill in a few hours without costing you a penny!

Once again, I don't think I learned that much during my visit, but I had a lot of fun! They have a sports lab, which has a climbing wall, a little running track, a strength tester, some gymnastics equipment and something to test your balance. Upstairs, they show short films, as well as having two mini ice-hockey tables and a foosball table too!

 Mindball (it was out of order though)

 Table ice hockey (it's difficult!)

Small screening area

The Sports Museum is located at MuseiParken on the bus 69 route, near the tall TV tower. It is beside the Maritime Museum (Sjohistoriska) which also has free entrance.