Cruising From Stockholm

Kalvholmen (an island in Stockholm’s archipelago) — It would be difficult, if not impossible, to fully comprehend the Swedish soul without first learning to appreciate the Swede’s love of water and the archipelago. Nothing facilitates that appreciation more quickly or more tangibly than to stand at the end of a brygga (pier), muster up your courage and plunge into what you know will be a cold current in the Baltic Sea.

Continue Reading »

In a tiny cafe at one end of Gamla Stan’s Stortorget square, a frothy cappuccino serves as the centerpiece for a scene that is quintessentially Stockholm.

In the center of the oversized cup, coffee has been deliberately dripped onto the foamy realms to form a heart, an unintended icon that takes the same shape as Stockholm’s Old Town when seen from the lofty heights of City Hall Tower.

The Old Town, or Gamla Stan as it is known, has been a meeting place since 1252. Today, more than 800 years later, it continues to pulsate as the heart of Stockholm.

As on most days here at the uber-cozy, candlelit and tiny Chokladkoppen, espresso machines hiss as patrons poke their heads through the front door in hopes of finding a vacant table. Those sitting at the tables and those wanting to occupy them are all drawn here by the same primordial urge: the need to fika.

What’s fika? You’ll read about that in a moment. For now, stay with me. You’re about to learn how to spend two days that you’ll never forget in one of the world’s most beautiful — and fascinating — cities.
Continue Reading »

Stockholm is said to consist of equal parts of water, parks and culture.

It certainly is true that Stockholm seems to boast bountiful numbers in each: 60 miles of lake, 50 miles of archipelago, one third of the city covered in parks, and the world’s highest concentration of museums.

Continue Reading »