We left Stockholm on the 8:21 train and enjoyed a pleasant ride through the rolling hills and lakes of the Swedish countryside. 

We arrived in Copenhagen a bit after 1:30 in the afternoon. It was a short walk from the station to our hotel (same one as before). We then grabbed a quick bite for lunch and toured the interior of the splendid City Hall, which our hotel rooms overlook. 

From there, we crossed the street to spend the rest of the day at Tivoli Gardens. With the unlimited rides wristband, it costs about $50 per adult (kids 7 and under are approx $15 less, as they only need the unlimited rides portion of the fee). While clearly a money-making venture, Tivoli feels far less commercial and more “organic” in its development than Disney or Universal Studios. It’s more like a permanent fair (with better rides and food) set in a pretty park. 

Some of the buildings are geographically themed, but it doesn’t really have “lands” like amusement parks at home do. 

The girls enjoyed the rides…

I enjoyed the beer (and gourmet licorice)…

We all enjoyed the food (eating dinner at the German beer garden, where the wurst is the best)…

At seven, Emerson is now at a great age for (re)-visiting Tivoli. She absolutely loved it (would undoubtedly happily spend tomorrow there too), and we really enjoyed it as well. It’s a wonderful place. 

We returned to the hotel (only a block away from Tovoli too) around 9:30pm. 

I especially liked the paintings in the Guest Apartments’ Margareta Room by Crown Princess Margareta of Connaught:

I also laughed at the thought that this statue of St. Mathew in the Royal Chapel depicts him using an iPad:

The end of our visit coincided with the daily military parade and changing of the guard. So, we caught a glimpse of that before wandering off to look around Gamla Stan and grab some lunch. We picked the Hairy Pig Deli, a homemade sausage and tapas place that received excellent reviews online. We were not disappointed! 

We tried their sausage and pulled pork sandwiches along with a variety of tapas: baked provolone, sour roasted potatoes, wild boar salami, etc. I also had a local saison beer, which was really good too. The price was decent too, about $80, for food and drinks. 

After lunch, we did a little shopping–Libby got a cool pendant at ETENA from a gold-and silversmith who handcrafts her designs at her shop/studio near the Hairy Pig–before walking over to the Museum of Modern Art  and Architecture and Design Center. The art collection was modest but enjoyable. 

I was especially struck by this Munch…

this early Mondrian (where you can see his style evolving)…

these Soviet posters (witness to the power of art and artists to reinforce or subvert culture)…

and this late Matisse (joyful to the end):

On our way back to the hotel, we walked along the waterfront strolling past a number of interesting boats. Many of them had a colorful history (as told on signs posted on pier) of prior military and/or commercial use before being turned into what seemed to be idiosyncratic residences along the Stockholm waterfront. 

We opted to take the train, which was a mild misadventure thanks to credit cards not working at the mini mart that doubles as a ticket office and it being about a mile walk from the port (in our case walking with luggage in tow). After getting us sorted out, I spent time helping fellow cruise passengers figure out how to navigate into central Stockholm. Unfortunately, they’ll only have a few useable hours before they have to return to this ship. 

Us? We’ve got a day and a half! 

After our hour long train journey, we checked into our centrally and strategically located hotel near the train station. From there, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed out into Stockholm on a glorious day:

First, we visited the impressive Vasa Museum to view the well-preserved 1600s ship, which was found and raised over 300 years later:

The woodwork was spectacular (although they probably should have focused as much on seaworthiness since it sank 40 minutes into its maiden voyage): 

The museum was also very evocative and informative thanks to its displays, recreations, and the underlying scholarship that supports its work. 

Recreated great cabin (quarters for ship’s senior officers):

Examples of pigments used in paint of the time:

Next, we returned to Skansen, the world’s first (and one of its best) open air museums. You can read more about it from our prior visit. Also, on that page, you’ll note a photo of Emerson at 17 months:

That I’ve recreated here at 7 years:

I simply love that. 

Here are a few more views of Skansen, which is glorious in summer on a fine day:

They house Scandinavian animals too in naturalistic settings. Here’s a brown bear at close range:

For dinner, we had burritos at a local place called Zocala. It’s kind of like a like a fast causal Mexican (think Chipotle) with a slightly more “unusual” menu / combination of flavors. Still, it was decent and not wildly expensive for eating out in Scandinavia (about $50 for the four of us). 

I debated whether or not to take the express train to the airport or just grab a taxi from the hotel. But, in the end, we opted for the taxi at 470 Kr (about $75), as I traded a little less hassle for a little more money. We arrived at the airport, checked in, and proceeded through security. Much to Libby’s chagrin, Emerson slept on the way to the airport and during the check-in process. This meant she was awake for the 2:15 flight to London. It went fairly well (with minimal noise/fuss from the Emersonian), though Libby was a ball of stress the entire flight.

Having arrived at Heathrow, we sped through immigration (one of the officers took us immediately to the front of the queue thanks to Emerson being in tow). But, we waited for what seemed like an eternity for our luggage and stroller (which had to be checked at the counter in Sweden). After getting our luggage, I popped into the “Simply M&S” to procure dinner. Frankly, knowing that we were going to be staying at an airport hotel, I feared that we might be forced to eat a “Redneck Thanksgiving” of potato chips, beer nuts, canned cheese, and soda pop from a vending machine. But, good old Marks and Sparks really came though with a variety of fresh fruit that I purchased (bananas, grapes, and berries), as well as surprisingly high-quality and affordable sandwiches, entrée, and dessert offerings. So, we ate like kings at our Radisson Edwardian Heathrow hotel room.

Speaking of the hotel room, I used points for this stay, but the hotel didn’t have any award nights available for three persons. As such, I booked the room for two, added a request for a crib, and figured that I’d either use my charm (or more likely Radisson status) to get us into a suitable room or that (worst case) Emerson would just need to sleep with us. Of course, I avoided mentioning this possible technical snag to Libby, as it would have (needlessly) worried her. I was proven right… we got an upgrade to a “deluxe king room” without need of an explanation on my part.

How’s that for a travel hack?

Tomorrow, we enter the shadow of the valley of death (a.k.a. flying transatlantic with a toddler during the daytime hours). But, I fear no evil as I have my iPad in hand. Libby, however, is less confident.

View of Stockholm

Next, we took a boat across the harbor to Djurgarden (another island / national park). Here, we visited Skansen, which is Europe’s first open-air folk museum. The grounds are fairly enormous and contain (among other things) over 150 buildings of all manners that have been moved there from all around Sweden. Personally, I didn’t find Skansen quite as charming as Tivoli (not sure why), but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Some scenes were quite bucolic, and it’s a very kid-friendly place to visit—including for toddlers, as Emerson seemed to have a great time.

Emerson @ Skansen

After Skansen, we roamed around Djurgarden a while longer and eventually walked back to our hotel by late afternoon, which was about a couple of miles away. This provided an opportunity to enjoy more of the city and absorb the environment.

Dinner tonight was take-away, which seems easier with the little one. Since Emerson’s nap was abbreviated, she fell asleep earlier than usual tonight. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing…

Tomorrow’s our last day in Stockholm. We’ll have the morning to sightsee. Then we’ll be off to the airport for our flight to London-Heathrow, where we’ll be flying back to the USA from (TPA, connecting in JFK) on Tuesday.

After a short taxi ride, we arrived at Radisson Blu Waterfront. Initial impressions: nice hotel, seemingly new construction, good location, excellent view, room was ready early, great Gold Member “welcome gift” (perhaps the best strawberries I’ve ever eaten), but poor management of queues at the front desk (which on balance is a fairly small nit). I’d likely stay here again.

After dropping off our stuff, we set out to explore Stockholm. Since we had an early morning and because a lot of shops are closed on Sundays, we opted to focus on the more modern part of Stockholm. We walked to Kungstradgarden (“King’s Garden Square”) and began Rick Steves’s suggested self-guided walking tour of modern Stockholm. This stroll took us through the park, into a Volvo showroom (much more expensive than home despite being Swedish), via the NK department store (rather high-end), through the Gallerian Mall (where we had a coffee and muffin – our nod to the traditional fika and witnessed an unusual ‘fish pedicure’ at the spa in the center of the mall), by Sergels Torg (home to 1960s functionalist architecture—which seems horribly dated to me but is embraced as ‘retro’ cool by the young, hip Swedes).

Stockholm's Kungstradgarden (King's Garden Square)

Sergels Torg, overlooking Plattan (The Platter)

After completing our walk (around 2pm), we grabbed a quick lunch (high prices, though cheaper than Norway) and headed back to the hotel for Emerson’s nap. Following her nap, we relaxed for a little while and then headed back out to explore more of modern Stockholm. We visited the food hall (grocery) at the Ahlens department store to buy some supplies (prices much better relative to convenience stores on the street), which included some of the best candy (especially licorice) that I’ve ever eaten. For dinner, we went to Macho—a Tex-Mex place—kind of like a Swedish version of Chipotle or Moe’s. The tacos that we ordered were actually pretty good and the guacamole (making Emerson very happy) was borderline excellent… all for about $15. Along with the Tex-Mex, we also ate the fruit plate provided by the hotel. Besides the guacamole (and a couple of chips), Emerson ate the majority of the strawberries and about half of a pear, which made for an unconventional but relatively healthy meal.

So far, Stockholm is a hit! Libby already claims to “love it,” telling me that “if Sarah Palin or that other crazy lady—the one from Minnesota—were to become President, this is where we’d move to in Europe…” rather than joining Alec Baldwin in France, as I’d planned. What can I say? I can’t really disagree…

Today’s box score: +1 country (Sweden)