#68 Stockholm - The Gateway to Scandinavia

Today marks my last week in Sweden. This got me thinking - not only am I leaving Stockholm - I'm leaving behind a great gateway to Europe, or Scandinavia at the very least.

For the 5 months I was in Sweden, I visited six other countries - Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. And not only did I visit these countries, I visited their capital cities and saw the famous landmarks of Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tallin, Riga and Warsaw. And I visited Gothenburg and Malmo here in Sweden too.

I'm from Ireland, so these countries aren't very far away. But Ireland is an island to the far West of Europe, and it's not as cheap or easy to get to these places as some of you (especially Americans!) might think.

It cost me only €10 (or €40 for a cabin of 4 people) to get to Finland, Estonia and Latvia using the amazing cruise services from Stockholm. €45 for train tickets to Gothenburg, Oslo and Malmo/Copenhagen. €10 flights to Poland. Now if that isn't cheap, I can't tell you what is.

Some people were visiting places like Spain or Italy, but for me, I could go another time from Ireland and it wouldn't be so much in price difference. But there are plenty of countries you can get to from Sweden so cheaply!

So if you come to Stockholm, you're also getting the opportunity to travel to some great places. They say Stockholm is the Capital of Scandinavia, and although I'm still not sure if I agree, it is definitely the gateway to Scandinavia, and a stepping stone to Europe.

Happy travels my friends!

#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

#41 Fika

"Fika" is a word you will hear every day in Sweden. I had never heard of it before coming here, but after a few days I realised its importance in daily life. I recently met someone who had been here for a month and didn't know what fika was, which inspired me to write this and inform the world!

Fika basically means coffee/tea and a dessert. It's most common form is coffee and the famous Kanelbulle (cinnamon bun), but you can also have many different types of desserts, or if you're pushing it, even a sandwich.

Kanelbulle

There are hundreds of café's around Stockholm that serve fika, but don't expect any special discounts! As it is a popular tradition, I assumed that there would be a fika (coffee + dessert) discount in café's, but this is actually quite rare, and when it occurs the savings aren't too big.

Muffin and medium coffee from Wayne's Coffee (about 55kr)

Cinnamon bun, vanilla bun and pistachio bun.

The best place to get Kanelbulle and fikabröd (fika bread: aka collective term for all the desserts) are probably in the supermarket chains, where you can usually find offers such as 3 for 20kr or something like that. Some people argue they don't taste as good, but I find cafés can also be hit and miss. In cafés, expect to pay around 25kr for coffee and about the same for fikabröd!

On a side note, if you really love Kanelbulle, visit the Haga district in Gothenburg city Here you can find giant Kanelbulle. For about 40kr they can feed about 4 people!

Real life cinnamon challenge