Our Norwegian Airlines flight D85052 from Malaga, Spain, to Stockholm, Sweden, departed on time from Malaga's airport at 2:30 pm.
We landed in Stockholm, Sweden, right on time at 6:45 pm. We collected our luggage, which took 15-20 minutes, and decided to figure out what to do. We all felt rested from our Spain vacation and had the energy necessary to explore a new city.
Inna thought about exploring Stockholm's Gamla Stan, and she talked to the Information counter about the possibility of traveling to Stockholm's downtown. She learned that there was an Arlanda Express train running every 15 minutes. The train takes about 20 minutes from Arlanda Airport to the Central train station in downtown Stockholm. We decided to purchase round-trip tickets. The cost was 600 kroner for two people (the conversion was about 9 kroner / 1 dollar). The airport had an ATM machine, and I could withdraw the local Swedish kroner currency to pay for the shuttle.
Our next goal was to drop off our luggage at our Best Western Arlanda hotel and return to the airport. We tried to find a taxi, but none wanted to take us to our hotel - as it was only a 10-minute ride and they wanted to make more money. We decided to use our Best Western hotel's shuttle, which runs every 30 minutes. Luckily, we caught the shuttle at 7:40pm and arrived at our Best Western Arlanda hotel at 7:50pm. We could quickly register, drop off Alex in our room, and get back on the shuttle before it left for the airport.
We arrived at the Arlanda airport at 8:10pm and got on the next Arlanda Express train for Stockholm. At about 8:30pm, we arrived in downtown Stockholm. Since we were hungry, we were hoping to find a local Swedish restaurant to dine in. Our friends were also staying in Stockholm, and they suggested we meet up for dinner at Stockholm Fisk, which was only 5 minutes away from the Central Train station.
We walked to Stockholm Fisk at Vasagatan 1 and ordered our dinner while waiting for our friends.
For soup, Inna and I shared some "Fish & Shellfish Chowder with rouille & garlic bread." I ordered the "Swedish Meatballs with cream sauce, potato puree, lingonberries & pickled cucumber for my entree."
We really liked Swedish bread, especially the dark rye and the crackers.
The "Fish & Shellfish chowder" was delicious, especially with bread.
My meatballs were delicious, especially with lingonberries (my favorite)!
After dinner, we decided to explore Gamla Stan a bit more before returning to our Best Western Arlanda. In retrospect, we should have stayed in downtown Stockholm, as the train from Arlanda airport to downtown is so fast and convenient.
It was around 10:00 pm, and Gamla Stan was utterly dead! Unlike Seville, where partying and socializing continue well into the night, Stockholm nightlife vanishes by late evening. We were surprised - given that Stockholm is such a large city (and the capital of Sweden).
We wandered around, hoping to find a friendly coffee shop, but only bars were open (and we were not in the mood to drink wine or beer).
After some more wandering, we returned to the train station and took the train (and then the shuttle) to our Best Western Hotel.
We had a good night's sleep and got up to enjoy a delicious breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed back to the airport for our flight to Oakland and our long trip back home.
We had a lovely time in Stockholm and hope to be back someday.
We landed in Stockholm, Sweden, right on time at 6:45 pm. We collected our luggage, which took 15-20 minutes, and decided to figure out what to do. We all felt rested from our Spain vacation and had the energy necessary to explore a new city.
Inna thought about exploring Stockholm's Gamla Stan, and she talked to the Information counter about the possibility of traveling to Stockholm's downtown. She learned that there was an Arlanda Express train running every 15 minutes. The train takes about 20 minutes from Arlanda Airport to the Central train station in downtown Stockholm. We decided to purchase round-trip tickets. The cost was 600 kroner for two people (the conversion was about 9 kroner / 1 dollar). The airport had an ATM machine, and I could withdraw the local Swedish kroner currency to pay for the shuttle.
Our next goal was to drop off our luggage at our Best Western Arlanda hotel and return to the airport. We tried to find a taxi, but none wanted to take us to our hotel - as it was only a 10-minute ride and they wanted to make more money. We decided to use our Best Western hotel's shuttle, which runs every 30 minutes. Luckily, we caught the shuttle at 7:40pm and arrived at our Best Western Arlanda hotel at 7:50pm. We could quickly register, drop off Alex in our room, and get back on the shuttle before it left for the airport.
We arrived at the Arlanda airport at 8:10pm and got on the next Arlanda Express train for Stockholm. At about 8:30pm, we arrived in downtown Stockholm. Since we were hungry, we were hoping to find a local Swedish restaurant to dine in. Our friends were also staying in Stockholm, and they suggested we meet up for dinner at Stockholm Fisk, which was only 5 minutes away from the Central Train station.
We walked to Stockholm Fisk at Vasagatan 1 and ordered our dinner while waiting for our friends.
For soup, Inna and I shared some "Fish & Shellfish Chowder with rouille & garlic bread." I ordered the "Swedish Meatballs with cream sauce, potato puree, lingonberries & pickled cucumber for my entree."
We really liked Swedish bread, especially the dark rye and the crackers.
The "Fish & Shellfish chowder" was delicious, especially with bread.
It was around 10:00 pm, and Gamla Stan was utterly dead! Unlike Seville, where partying and socializing continue well into the night, Stockholm nightlife vanishes by late evening. We were surprised - given that Stockholm is such a large city (and the capital of Sweden).
We wandered around, hoping to find a friendly coffee shop, but only bars were open (and we were not in the mood to drink wine or beer).
After some more wandering, we returned to the train station and took the train (and then the shuttle) to our Best Western Hotel.
We had a good night's sleep and got up to enjoy a delicious breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed back to the airport for our flight to Oakland and our long trip back home.
We had a lovely time in Stockholm and hope to be back someday.
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