What to do in Stockholm - Swimming Naked in a Frozen Lake

Stockholm proves that even a big city can keep it's citizens close to the wildlife...

If you're tired of every European capital looking basically the same (I sure was) then Stockholm is the place for you. Let me share with you what I found to be one of the most original cities I have ever seen...

I should probably commence by telling you that I have never been too fascinated by Scandinavian countries. That is until I met Faid. He was always very interested in Norse mythology, Vikings and the overall ambiance of Scandinavia. He was the one who made me watch "Vikings" the TV show and suddenly revisiting Sweden has become my dream. Yes, I went to Sweden before but I was way too young to appreciate it and it was definitely not long enough, plus it wasn't Stockholm. Now I'm in love with that city. The people are incredibly friendly, but what really makes me long for it is the nature. Let me now tell you about my adventure and how Stockholm proves that even a big city can keep it's citizens close to the wildlife...

Going there right before the pandemic began was the most spontaneous trip we organised so far. We have 4 days to see as much Stockholm as possible. Naturally I started planning right away. Honestly, the disappointment was real. I didn't find anything worth a while, except the Vasa museum. Thus, I took a break from searching for activities and started thinking of accomodation. As young people we usually go for AirBnB - mistake.

Accomodation

Unless you're REALLY short on money just book a hotel. The prices are surprisingly similar. Maybe you'll avoid the experience that we had. First of all, the day we arrived we were greeted by a storm with hail. After a 2h trip from the airport to the city center we had another 45 minutes to get to the location. When we did get there, we realised that the place was pretty much isolated and every time we'd want to go anywhere we'd have to take another 45 minutes to get to the center. Once we felt successful, after standing in front of the door of the house, we learned that the host I was communicating with on AirBnB will not let us in. Instead, we were welcomed by her mother-in-law who did not speak English. I immediately noticed that the apartment felt really cold and looked way smaller than the it did on the pictures. The cold was coming from the window in the bedroom, which opened. I showed it to the host, who didn't seem to care. She took a quick look, then proceeded to try to close it with a kitchen knife. She struggled for a while until she gave up. I don't consider myself as someone too comfortable but sleeping next to a closed window in Sweden, in February is where I draw the line. We apologised to the host and went straight to the hotel. We were lucky to find a room in Marriott Courtyard which was exactly what we needed. I know I went to Sweden to live like a Viking for 4 days, but I wanted to take it slowly.

The Mall of Scandinavia

So, as I said we found ourselves in the middle of a storm and prefered to stay inside. The Mall of Scandinavia was one of the places that I heard a lot of good things about, so that's where we headed first. Disappointment happened again. The mall is not big nor original. Most of the stores are franchises and you can find them anywhere in the world. The only thing that actually impressed me where the toilets, very beautiful and modern.

Magic Forest and Healing Spring Water

Although, I spent an entire paragraph ranting about AirBnB, I would have never found that wonderful experience without it. Faidon told me about the Swedish springs, and I could not leave Stockholm without seeing them. Our host Alexandra picked us up from the hotel. She drove us to a forest right outside of Stockholm. That is what makes Stockholm so special. Nature is everywhere. We walked for a few minutes to find a beautiful lake. Suddenly, we weren't cold anymore and I felt the fresh air and the forest spirits' warm embrace. We were looking at the half frozen lake and the remains of trees cut by a local beaver, while listening to the enchanting sound of the ice breaking, sipping on the tea and eating cinnamon rolls prepared for us by Alexandra. Indeed, she was a great host. Shoe told us that she visits the forest usually once a week and takes the water from the spring home in a large jar. How she glowed up when listening to the sounds of nature and hugging old trees made it even better. We finally got to the spring and drank from the source. We spent a few hours in the woods until we got to a Pocahontas like cliff, and just couldn't help ourselves but stare at the river bank. After the most refreshing walk of our lives Alexandra took us to an inn right outside of the forest, where we had our first Swedish salmon and hot chocolate. Finally, she kindly drove us to the museum island (yes, that's a thing in Stockholm), where we continued our journey.

The Vasa Museum

I'll try to keep it short, just because there's a lot of information about that place on-line. This building is literally 4 walls built around a ship. I go to adit it amazed me with it's grandeur. As you walk up the floors you can see different parts of the ship, while being able to enter reconstruction of some of the decks. In addition, the ship is an authentic war maiden that was taken out from the Baltic sea, where she sank in 1628.

The Viking Museum (must see)

Since we were already on the museum island, we decided to visit just one more. That's mostly because I noticed they had exactly what I was dreaming of. The disappointment did not happen. The guids were both dressed up as Vikings and got me excited from the very beginning. They instructed us on the best way to walk around the place and showed us the way to the ride...yes, there is a ride. We've noticed right away that it's not a museum with authentic artifacts, but rather one with plenty of immersive exhibits. To give you an idea; a black board with viking letters which allows you to write your name in Viking, costumes which you can try on and take pictures, weapons which you can hold and reconstructions of buildings and scenes which you can enter. Back to the ride, you enter a wagon (like the one in the haunted mansion at Disneyland), and listen to a story accompanied by animated figures and models. Generally, I think it's a great place weather. If you're an expert in Norse history you will feel like a kid at a toy store, if you're new to the subject I can't think of a better way of learning. Perfect for families with kids.

Skansen

Did I mention nature? If you are a family with kids you might want to check out the skansen. Unfortunately, since it was winter a lt of the exhibits were closed, so we focused on the zoo and the aquarium. We also had the chance too get a glance at the panorama of the city. The aquarium isn't anything too majestic but a nice way of learning about the Baltic sea. However, I was a little too happy about seeing the land creatures, specifically the moose, the wolves, the reindeers and the seals. Specifically the moose and the reindeers because they're rare even in zoos. We finished by stopping at an adorable tiny coffee shop which looked exactly like a dollhouse. There we were served some delicious hot chocolate and warmed up.

Swedish Wood Bath by the Lake in Nature (my naked ass in a frozen lake)

Now to the reason why you're here. It was Faid's dream to jump into a ice-cold lake. Frankly, I caught it too. This time the hosts were a couple. We found them at AirBnB as well, just like the day before they picked us up and drive to a lake right outside the city. The lake is not only surrounded by trees but always small wooden huts. Out hut happened to be a sauna, since you have to be extremely hot first. We had our swimming suits, like the hosts told us too. The saunas were supposed to be separated by gender...the woman's sauna was out of order. Not that I minded. We went to the men's sauna where everyone except me, Faid and the hosts were naked. I saw a lot of Dick. That's when we learned that this is how it has always been and no Swede would even think of doing any of this in clothes. After sitting there for a few minutes and feeling like we were melting we went outside for a dip. It was unforgettable. The pain that hit when I touched the water I'd compare to death, but the feeling after you get out has no comparison. My skin never felt so smooth and soft and my head never felt so light. We repeated the cycle 3 times until we were too exhausted to keep going. The third time we were determined. We took off our clothes, and here's what I learned... Doing it naked is a thousand times better and hurts less. If you have long hair you will feel colder for a longer time. Be sure to bring flip flops, since the wooden floor will freeze your feet. Anyway, I recommend it to absolutely anyone and I'd love to be able to do it more often.

ABBA Museum

In spite of being exhausted, we asked them to drive us back to the museum island. There we got to the ABBA museum. Personally, growing up in the 2000's I would watch Mamma Mia on repeat. Thus, visiting the museum was a must. Much like the Viking one, it's an extremely modern and immersive museum, ex; ABBA karaoke, a chance to record your own version of the song, ot even preform on stage with members fo the group. Nevertheless, we did find some authentic exhibits like; costumes from the Mammia Mia movies, or vintage ABBA merchandise. Overall, the visit was great even for Faid, who isn't a fan of their music. The museum island is a fantastic place to learn a great lot about the culture of Sweden and surely is a place I will gladly return too.

Food

Firstly, I am no food expert, Faidon is. He's the one in charge of choosing restaurants and cafes, since they're way more important to him than to me. Keeping in mind all that, I was not impressed with the food in Stockholm. My expectations were quite high since I always associated Swedish specials with my favourite flavours. Obviously, I couldn't leave without trying some salmon and meatballs, but I also hoped to discover new a little les expected dishes. For meatballs we were recommended Meatballs for the People. There we got served meatballs from all possible kinds of meat, like moose, with very random side dishes like risotto. I believe that for someone who has been eating them their whole life it could be a breathe of fresh air, but for me it tasted strange and felt really heavy. What I did enjoy was a classic, Ikea-ish version I ordered at the hotel. Secondly, we did struggle a bit to find traditional food. The only place that served salmon was the inn outside the forest. To my surprise the salmon did taste differently than what I'm used to. I'm not sure if it was fresher or maybe seasoned better, but it was a combination of flavours I will most probably not forget. We also had some hot chocolate, which Faidon described as "nooty". Nothing compared to the chocolate at the dollhouse in the skansen though. This one tasted like the one your grandma would make you for Christmas, with whipped cream.

There you go. Although, in Stockholm we didn't see beaches, deserts or all the other things I love the most, it was still one of my favourite trips of all time.