What I’ve Learned in Stockholm: My Experiences

Sweden has always been a wonderful holiday destination for me. But one day in autumn it really hit me. On that sunny morning, Stockholm was at its most beautiful and I was deeply impressed. It didn’t take long for the idea that I could do my job anywhere to become a concrete decision: I would leave Hamburg and move to Stockholm. Maybe for a year, I thought at the time. It has now been 20 years, and I keep putting my dream of one day moving to the warm south of Europe on the back burner.

From the supermarket cashiers and café baristas to my colleagues at the hospital, the people in Stockholm are all incredibly nice, polite, and helpful. However, taking the next step, getting to know someone better, maybe even making friends, is not always so easy because of the proverbial Nordic coldness. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible – it just takes a little patience and persistence.

In the early days, when I hardly knew anyone here except my colleagues, I did a lot of traveling on my own, whether it was on the Tunnelbana, as the metro is called here, or by bike. In those days, I really explored the city from north to south, from west to east, and not just the neighborhoods you find in every guidebook. I can recommend this to anyone who is staying in the city for a while and wants to discover the diversity of Stockholm.

Stockholm is a metropolis with everything you would expect from a modern city. Great theaters, beautiful shopping streets, and restaurants from simple to sophisticated. But it also has another advantage: You can get out into the countryside in a flash, whether you’re exploring the archipelago by boat or simply cycling across the island of Djurgården. Behind the tourist magnets of the Abba, Vasa, and Skansen open-air museums, there is a beautiful park landscape with many lovely picnic spots and a biotope with Scottish Highland cattle and colonies of migratory birds.

Stockholm is also a great place to explore from the water. I love kayaking around the city and seeing things from a different perspective – it’s so relaxing. There are also many places in the city where you can just jump off the boat into the water.

As I said, there is no shortage of restaurants in Stockholm. And even though one of the most famous Swedish specialties is meatballs, known here as Köttbullar, there are plenty of options for vegetarians like me. For example, Hermans has a delicious vegan buffet with dishes from all over the world, and a beautiful waterfront location. Sweden offers a variety of fresh and maritime dishes that often impress with their simple and natural ingredients. However, I sometimes miss the really good whole-grain bread from Germany, which some of my visitors used to bring me. Instead, sourdough bread is all the rage here; and an eternal classic that always works is, of course, crispbread. My insider tip is the “sandwich cake” smörgåstårta: several layers of bread and whatever your heart desires in between. Sort of the stacked Swedish version of the world-famous Danish smørrebrød.

Even if it’s not an insider tip, a trip through the archipelago of small stone islands is a must. Especially on beautiful summer days when the sky is Swedish blue, and the water is invitingly sparkling. Two islands that I particularly like are Öja, with its picturesque village and Sweden’s oldest lighthouse, and Huvudskär, in a nature reserve that invites you to swim, fish, and enjoy.

As far as swimming is concerned, a trip to Stocksund, an attractive suburb of Stockholm where I used to live, is definitely worthwhile. The beaches there are still maintained (and even swept), and a little further along, in Djursholm, you can jump right into the cool waters of the Baltic Sea. The locals come out in the morning to swim their lengths, but it never gets too crowded. 

For a breathtaking view – and a cool drink – head to the balcony of the Champagnebaren bar at the Södra Teatern theater. Ending the day here with one of the excellent cocktails is simply perfect.

Christiane Bröcker moved to Stockholm from Hamburg in 2004, where she works in a hospital. She also offers guided tours of lesser-known sights and is proud to be able to tell even Stockholmers something new about their home city. She reveals many of her insider tips in the travel guide “111 Places in Stockholm That You Must Not Miss” (Emons Verlag), which she wrote together with author Babette Schröder.