Cruising From Stockholm

Don’t cruise from Stockholm without taking some time to shop. Local blogger Ann-Charlotte Jönsson informs us that Sweden’s capital city boasts the best design stores in the world, according to the October 2008 issue of Elle Decorations magazine.

The store Modernity, which ranked sixth in the world, features top-of-the-line vintage Scandinavian design while Svenskt Tenn, which ranked 12th, offers fabrics and furniture by Josef Frank.

No other Nordic companies ranked in the article. In fact, New York, Paris and Stockholm were the only cities that could claim more than one design store on the list.

Svenskt Tenn is also found on Monocles top 20 retailers and is the only Nordic shop found on the list.

Time, unfortunately, is not standing still as it is on the clock above in Gamla Stan, so get ready for a full day of touring at a respectable pace.

You’ll see a lot, but you’ll only skim Stockholm’s surface if you’re visiting for the day on a cruise that calls on the Swedish capital.

You’ll leave wanting more. So while you’re touring, know that you can’t see it all on this trip and plan to come back to cruise from Stockholm, arriving a few days before your cruise so that you can experience all that this wonderful city has to offer.

For now, however, here’s how to spend one perfect day in port, without overwhelming yourself. 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 »