Easter in Stockholm- 2013

Photo by Marie Andersson, Skansen

This year Easter falls on the last weekend of March. As a visitor to Stockholm, here are some practical things to know: both Friday March 29th (Good Friday - Långfredag) and Monday April 1st (Annandag Påsk) are bank holidays in Sweden, which means that banks, smaller shops & boutiques as well as liquor stores (Systembolaget) will be closed. Easter Sunday (Påsk) is, of course, a holiday. But, besides the above mentioned, most museums, department stores, restaurants and shopping centers are open as usual... with maybe shorter opening hours certain days. Thursday April 5th (Skärtorsdag) is a special day. While not a holiday, many office workers use it as a half-day in anticipation of their long weekend. The only main museums I can find that have unusual opening hours during the Easter Holidays are Historiska (history museum) which is closed on Friday and Saturday and Livrustkammaren (the royal armoury) which is closed on Friday. Be aware that several museums are closed on Mondays during the low season. The sightseeing tours will run as normal. The Vasa Museum and The National Museum are closed during this period for renovations/expansion.

The best place to experience a traditional Swedish Easter is Skansen on the island of Djurgården. There will be music in Seglora church, Easter activities for children as well as an Easter Market (11am to 4pm Thursday-Monday) where you can buy traditional arts & crafts, foods and Easter decorations. It is easy to get to Skansen from the Rival Hotel... regular ferries to Djurgården from Slussen (10 minute walk from the hotel, ferry ride is also 10 minutes). If you are guest of the hotel and need specific opening hours for a store or museum, contact me directly at the hotel!

Happy Easter!

The Semla

It's that time of the year again, when all the bakeries and cafes in Sweden are filled with the delicious pastry we call a semla (plural: semlor). Today, Shrove Tuesday (Fettisdagen) is when you are traditionally supposed to eat a semla, but these days semlor are sold during most of the month of February. A semla is made from a wheat bun, spiced with cardamom, hallowed out and filled with almond paste mixed with the removed bread.  It is then topped with whipped cream and a "hat" made of the top of the bun. In recent years I have seen an increase in specialty semlor... chocolate, blueberry and so on. Traditionalists consider these to be borderline sacrilegious. According to statistics, the average Swede consumes 5 semlor during these weeks.

Every year most newspapers put together their own "expert" jury of semla-aficionados who rate the semlor sold at popular cafes and bakeries throughout the city. For example, here is Svenska Dagbladet's test. But if you are staying at the Rival Hotel, you don't have to go far to try a semla... our own Café Rival is a popular spot to try these delicious pastries!

Easter in Stockholm (2012)

Photo: Marie Andersson, Skansen

(Edit: This is from 2012, click here for more updated info & links for 2013) The Easter Holidays (Påsk) come a little earlier in the calendar this year. As a visitor to Stockholm, here are some practical things to know: both Friday April 6th (Good Friday - Långfredag) and Monday April 9th (Annandag Påsk) are bank holidays in Sweden, which means that banks, smaller shops & boutiques as well as liquor stores (Systembolaget) will be closed. Easter Sunday (Påsk) is, of course, a holiday. But, besides the above mentioned, most museums, department stores, restaurants and shopping centers are open as usual... with maybe shorter opening hours certain days. Thursday April 5th (Skärtorsdag) is a special day. While not a holiday, many office workers use it as a half-day in anticipation of their long weekend. The only main museums I can find that have unusual opening hours during the Easter Holidays are Historiska (history museum) which is closed on Friday and Saturday and Livrustkammaren (the royal armoury) which is closed on Friday. Be aware that several museums are closed on Mondays during the low season. The sightseeing tours will run as normal.

The best place to experience a traditional Swedish Easter is Skansen on the island of Djurgården. There will be music in Seglora church, Easter activities for children as well as an Easter Market (11am to 4pm Thursday-Monday) where you can buy traditional arts & crafts, foods and Easter decorations. See their whole program here. It is easy to get to Skansen from the Rival Hotel... regular ferries to Djurgården from Slussen (10 minute walk from the hotel, ferry ride is also 10 minutes). Speaking of which,  the Rival Hotel has a great Easter deal if you haven't made any arrangements yet!
Happy Easter!

Stockholm During the Easter Holidays (2011)

Edit: This is a post from 2011, so the dates are incorrect and some information may be old. Click here to read the 2013 post. The Easter Holidays (Påsk) are almost upon us. As a visitor to Stokholm there are a few things you should be aware of... things happening in the city and places that may be closed. Both Friday April 22nd (Långfredag) and Monday April 25th (Annandag Påsk) are bank holidays in Sweden, which means that banks, smaller shops & boutiques as well as liquor stores (Systembolaget) will be closed. Easter Sunday (Påsk) is, of course, a holiday. But, besides the above mentioned, most museums, department stores, restaurants and shopping centers are open as usual... with maybe shorter opening hours certain days. Thursday April 21st (Skärtorsdag) is a special day. While not a holiday, many office workers use it as a half-day in anticipation of their long weekend.
The only major museums I found with unsual opening hours this weekend are the History Museum and Waldemarsudde (both closed Friday and Saturday) and the Royal Armoury (closed Friday). Be aware that many museums are closed on Mondays as a rule, this Monday is no different... the Modern Art, Nobel, Medieval and Royal Armoury museums as well as Junibacken will all be closed.
Of special note is April 24th, Easter Sunday. This is the 50th anniversary of the raising of the shipwreck Vasa, now housed at the famous Vasa Museum. There will be lots of celebrations going on this day at the museum with a special new exhibition on the raising of the ship.
All sightseeing tours (bus & boat) will be running as normal.

Skansen, photo by Marie Andersson

As usual, the best place to experience Swedish holiday traditions is Skansen. There are a lot of happenings there all weekend, of specific note is their Easter Market which is open between 11am and 4pm Thursday through Monday. Skansen is easy to get to from the Rival Hotel using the Djurgårds Ferry (Djurgårdsfärjan) from Slussen.