I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden during my semester in Berlin, Germany. Sweden was the first country that I visited during this semester. 

 

My first impression of Stockholm was that everything is very clean. The air smelled fresh, there was barely any litter on the streets, and hardly anyone was smoking. This was such a nice change from Berlin. The people also dress very fancy in Stockholm. I felt a bit out of place with my hoodie and Adidas sweatpants. Nevertheless, I was very happy. Unfortunately, it started to rain a bit while I was exploring, so I took refuge in a cafe. I took part in Swedish Fika- making time in the middle of the day to meet friends and colleagues while partaking in a cup of coffee and a sweet pastry. Well, of course I was alone and I do not drink coffee, but I still indulged in my first cinnamon roll of the trip. If you all did not know, the cinnamon roll is very popular in Sweden. They are uniquely shaped and have what looks like pretzel salt on top of them, but its actually sugar pearls. I was thoroughly impressed with my cinnamon roll. This would be the first of many during this trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon Roll at Fika

 

I set back out into the rain and continued to explore. I had covered a lot of ground and decided to go to the hotel to check in. My hotel was a bit outside of the city center, since I wanted to save money. I took the subway and then had a 14 minute walk to the hotel. I was surprised that I did not make a mistake. The subways are super cool in Stockholm! They are painted and designed to look like caves. Also, the stations and the subway cars are so clean, another nice change from Berlin. I checked into the hotel, and took a very very long shower and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside of Central Station, Stockholm

 

The next morning, I had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was very nice to have bacon and sausage again. After breakfast, I took a bus to Drottingholm Palace. This was my favorite part of the trip. I was one of the only people at the palace. I basically had the palace gardens to myself. I just wondered through the mazes of shrubbery and stumbled upon marble statues, lakes, and even a Chinese Palace. I felt so happy and free during this visit to Drottingholm.

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                            Drottingholm Palace                                                                                                    Palace Gardens

 

I then headed back to the hotel, used the restroom, and then took the subway to the city center. It was time for the big event: visit the first and founding IKEA. There is even a shuttle bus that takes people straight from the city center to IKEA. I waited, along with many others, for the bus, but the bus did not come. This was the only negative aspect of my time in Stockholm. Thanks to Google Maps, I figured out how to get there via public transport. The lines to get lunch were super long. I ordered meatballs and fries, and gosh they were delicious and actually much cheaper than any of the other IKEAs that I have eaten at.

 

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I took the subway back to the city center and went to a cafe for fika that was recommended to me by a friend. I had a cinnamon roll, (surprise), and this was my favorite cinnamon roll during my time in Stockholm (Cafe 60 if anyone ever finds themselves in Stockholm and is looking for a goof fika spot). I then walked back to the old town, bought some souvenirs, a hot dog, and black licorice. Sweden is famous for their hotdogs (I did not think there was anything special about them) and also for the candy, especially black licorice. I love black licorice, but not the Swedish kind. They salt their licorice and the taste just did not agree with me. I was super tired and also very satisfied with my day so far, so I headed back to the hotel and went to bed early.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gamla Stan in the Old Town

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On Sunday, I had a buffet breakfast at the hotel again, checked out, and headed to the bus station. I had two last cinnamon rolls at a cafe in the station and then took a Flixbus to Arlanda airport. Let me just mention, Arlanda is one of the nicest airports I have been to. It is well designed, clean, and felt simply stress free.

 

I really enjoyed my time in Sweden and have absolutely no complaints about this trip. I would love to go back to Sweden and explore some of the countryside to see Sweden's natural beauty.