As 2019 comes to an end, I’m catching up on our many travel adventures this year, exploring our way through Europe as a family. For us, the October break meant a 3 night stay in Stockholm, complete with shipwreck museums, subway station art, autumn leaves, and Pippi Longstocking.
To get there from Copenhagen, we took the high speed train. A few notes on this – the high speed train ended up breaking down and we had to await its replacement, so it was more of a normal speed train when all was said and done. Additionally, the high speed train made all of us feel a bit queasy. We were much happier on our way home on the Snälltåget (the snail train), which had a cozy cafe and a slightly more leisurely pace.
We stayed at an Airbnb on Kungsholmen, which is not in the city center but extremely close and only a few minutes subway ride. It was fabulous. We had a lovely cafe, Bönan & Prinsen, directly below our apartment, and parks rich in autumn colors surrounding us.
First, for the kids: Junibacken
Junibacken is a celebration of all things Swedish children’s literature and illustration – featuring writers and illustrators such as Astrid Lingren, Barbro Lindgren, and Elsa Beskow. At first I was worried that it would be too young for my girls, and really, it is ideal probably for kids from 3 – 8 years old. But one ride on the Story Train, an engaging trip into the many stories of Astrid Lindgren, including Ronya, and my daughters were captivated. Visitors can also explore Pippi’s house, which was fun for all of us. 
Around Junibacken are a lot of gardens, and a lovely cemetery. We checked out the gorgeous scenery.
Next, exploring the T-bana:
In Stockholm the subways (T-bana) are somewhat renowned as public art spaces – unique in form and content, we made sure to stop at as many of the stations as possible on our way to and from our daily excursions, just to see the different murals. Here are some that we hit:
Kungsträdgården 
T-Centralen
Östermalmstorg
Stadion
Tekniska Högskolan
Thorildsplan (my personal favorite)
Fridhemsplan
Kungsholmen
Around the city: Stadshusparken (Stockholm city hall) and Gamla Stan
The city hall is a majestic building along the water, and worth wandering. You can attend a guided tour, but we didn’t. Instead, we investigated the stones outside the building outlining the history of the city, as well as the oak tree inside the courthouse, which in 2006 was inaugurated to be the “Children’s Meeting Place of Stockholm City Hall”. The intention was that the oak tree act as a meeting place for dialogue between children and Stockholm decision makers.
After the city hall, we headed on to Gamla Stan, the old town. Gamla Stan is one of the largest,well-preserved medieval city centers in Europe. It is where Stockholm was founded in 1252.
Interesting things around here:
- Impressively carved fountains
- The Normalhöjdpunkten, the original official ordnance datum that was the main reference point for surveyors to create maps and sea level calculations -my kids somehow really found this interesting
- Swedish horses and the wooden horse museum. Really just a shop but it was fun to look around
- The stone lions
Vasa Museet
On August 10th in 1628, the Vasa, a warship, foundered in the Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage. A gust of wind blew it over, and it began to tilt due to poor design – the upper work of the hull was built too tall and heavy compared to the amount of hull below the waterline. The ship design made the Vasa fast but unstable, and therefore even a moderate breeze could cause it to list, as became clear that day.
The ship was recovered and rebuilt starting in 1959. Now the museum highlights life on board, the enormous ship itself, and a pretty cool diving bell. 
Running Stockholm
With October weather perfect running weather, I couldn’t miss my chance for a bunch of eye-catchingly colorful, slightly damp morning runs. And photo documenting, of course.
thecloudsarelowerhere 