Royal Wedding This Weekend!

Tomorrow, Saturday June 8th, H.R.H. Princess Madeleine will marry Chris O'Neill... and royal wedding fever is descending upon Stockholm. There are some good things to know if you are visiting Stockholm this weekend, whether you want to see the couple, join the festivities or just avoid the hooplah!

The Royal Couple. Photo by Brigitte Grenfeldt

Princess Madeleine's older sister, the Crown Princess Victoria, got married three years ago and the celebrations were huge with Stockholm throwing a week-long Love Festival in honour of the wedding. The festivities this time around will not be as grand (as Madeleine is only fourth in line to the Swedish throne), but there will still be enough to see and do to keep royalists happy. The wedding itself will take place in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace, located in Gamla Stan, at 4pm and televised live on Swedish TV. It is expected to last until 4:45pm upon which there will be a 21 gun salute (cannons firing from the island of Skeppsholmen). The couple will show themselves at the palace's south gate after the ceremony. Another great opportunity to see them will be during the cortège... and it looks like it will be great weather! The royal couple will be taken by horse and carriage from the Royal Palace (start at approximately 5:50pm) on a short tour around the adjacent neighbourhoods. Click here to see the cortège route. Finally, the royal couple will take a boat from Riddarholmen to the Drottningholm Palace, where a dinner (hosted by the king & queen) will be held.

Now, please keep in mind that many streets around the Royal Palace will be closed off Saturday afternoon and evening... best to stick to walking and subways. There may be additional traffic problems on Friday and Sunday as European royalty and foreign dignitaries are shuttled to different parties and events. Keep in mind also that several tourist sites will be closed on Saturday... the Royal Palace (obviously) as well as adjoining museums like Tre Kronor and the Treasury. In fact, the Treasury is closed from June 3rd to 9th. The royal regalia needs to be polished and made ready! The Royal Armoury will be open, though they will close at 4pm. The Drottningholm Palace is closed from June 4th to 11th as it will house visiting royalty... though visitors may still travel out by boat to see the beautiful parks and pavilions. However, be aware that there will be lots of security and limited access! None of the sightseeing busses will be running, neither the Panorama tour or the Hop On Hop Off busses. Hop On Hop Off boats will also not be running. However, the Under the Bridges and Royal Canal boat tours will be running! More information about these tours at Strömma's website. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel... contact me directly for further information! Here is some extra information from the local English language newspaper.

Swedish Design at HAPPYsthlm

Pretty soon Stockholm will be filled with happy summer visitors! Swedish/Scandinavian Design has really become a famous and popular concept these days and one of the top questions I get from visitors is where they can see and purchase great design knick-knacks in the city. As you can imagine, Stockholm is filled with interior design stores, some better than others, from small independent shops to larger chain stores.

A new boutique, called HAPPYsthlm, has recently opened in Gamla Stan and offers a great opportunity to find some unique objects... whether for your home, yourself or souvenirs for friends & family. On a side note I can explain that "sthlm" is a shortened form of Stockholm, used by Swedes. Behind HAPPYsthlm is a trio of local designers (Katarina Andersson, Kajsa Aronsson and Caroline Lindholm) who have worked together for many years. Each of them has had success in their respective fields of design (product, textile and jewellery) but always dreamed of opening their own independent boutique together. A dream that was fulfilled late last summer when they opened HAPPYsthlm!

In the store you will find vases, ceramics, napkins, tea towels, cushions, place mats, fabric, silver earrings & pendants and much, much more. All making it easy to give your home that Scandi feel when you get return from your vacation. The boutique's location in Gamla Stan is just a 10-12 minute walk from the Rival Hotel, otherwise it is just a couple of blocks from the Gamla Stan subway station (green & red lines). All three pictures in this article were taken by Karin Björkquist, with thanks to HAPPYsthlm.
Click here for some earlier shopping tips!

Royal Apartments at the Palace

The Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) is hard to miss if you are visiting Stockholm... located on the north-east corner of Gamla Stan, this palace actually has one more room than Buckingham Palace (in other words, quite large). The palace was built in the early to mid 1700's on the site of the original castle, Tre Kronor, which was destroyed in a fire in 1697. It is the main royal palace in Sweden and where the offices of the king and other royal family members are located, though their official residence is at Drottningholm Palace.

Just about every tourist that comes to Stockholm visits the palace at some point during their trip... whether they just take a walk around and admire the facade, see the changing of the guard or visit one of the many museums inside the palace (Royal Armoury, The Treasury, Tre Kronor, Museum of Antiquities). Another option is to visit the Royal Apartments, which is part of the palace interior, including the Guest Apartments, Hall of State, banquet hall as well as exhibition on the Swedish Orders of Chivalry.

Embarrassing as it is to admit, it had been decades since I last visited the Apartments... so I took an afternoon last week and rectified this. The entrance fee is 150 SEK for adults (75 SEK for children between 7 and 18 years) and it also includes entrance to the Treasury, Tre Kronor Museum and the Gustav III Museum of Antiquities. Don't worry... the ticket is good for 7 days, so you don't have to visit all of the museums on the same day! Also included in the entrance fee are the guided tours of the Apartments and Treasury. Click here for the times for the guided tours this summer (May 15th to Sep 15th). I wandered through the Apartments on my own without guide. It is a very interesting window on Swedish history from the 1700's to today as well as the design and style of the times. I also liked the room that contained the heraldic crests of the different kings & queens of Europe and Asia (all recipients of the Swedish Order of the Seraphim).

It is very easy to get to the Royal Palace from the Rival Hotel... just a 15 minute or so walk through Gamla Stan (old town). Photography is not allowed in the Apartments, so the pictures taken by me in this blog post (above) are from the stairwells and corridors outside of the Apartments. Please be aware that this is a "working" palace and the Royal Apartments may be fully or partly closed on certain days due to official receptions of the king.

Gustav III's Bedchamber, photo by Alexis Daflos, Kungliga Hovstaterna

Restaurant Cultur

Bar area with fantastic picture windows

I have visited another new restaurant this week! This time it was Cultur Bar & Restaurant in Gamla Stan (the old town). My guess is that the name is a play on the spelling of the same word in English (culture) and Swedish (kultur). This restaurant is owned by the same group as the famous Den Gyldene Freden and Fjäderholmarnas Krog... which is a personal summer favorite of mine. While these last-named restaurants serve Swedish cuisine, Cultur concentrates on the Spanish/Mediterranean kitchens.

Jamon, sliders, moules and other tapas!

They've done a great job renovating the locale and the interior design does evoke Spain with the beautiful floor tiles and prints on the wall from Spanish artists, like Picasso. There is a nice bar and lounge area to the left upon entering with the dining room to the right. I especially liked the large picture windows looking out onto the pedestrian street Österlånggatan. They were putting the finishing touches on a large outdoor seating area while we were there, which should be really popular in the summer.

Churros!

The evening menu is filled with small dishes ("tapas"), both hot and cold. Spanish favorites, like gambas, picanha and jamon, are mixed with dishes from other Mediterranean countires like moules marinieres, risotto and bruschetta. We took a mix of different tapas and they were all delicious! For dessert we took an old favorite... churros! You have a choice of three different dipping sauces for your churros: hazlenut, chocolate and vanilla creme with cloudberries. They are also open for lunch when they serve both "today's lunch" as well as a smaller tapas menu.

Dining room

Cultur has a great location in Gamla Stan, which is starting to become a fantastic neighbourhood for restaurants. They are actually right across the street from their sister restaurant Den Gyldene Freden. It is very easy to get there from the Rival Hotel... basically just a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel!
Click here for more restaurant recommendations.

Royal Palace Sprint (Skiing in Gamla Stan)

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholm Visitors Board

One of world's most unique sporting events takes place in Stockholm tomorrow (Wednesday, March 20th)... the Royal Palace Sprint! This is a cross country sprint skiing competition. What makes it unique is that the course is in the middle of a major city, around the Royal Palace located in Gamla Stan. This isn't any amatuer event either... it is part of the World Cup series, so some of the best cross country skiers will be competing! This is the final sprint event of the season and the winner of the Sprint Cup will be announced and "crowned". Important points for the overall World Cup trophy (awarded this coming weekend in Falun, Sweden) are up for grabs as well. Apparently, there is only 15 points separating the top three in the current standings (Levkov, Northug and Cologna). So this is serious business!

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholm Visitors Board

This will be the tenth time this event will be held here in Stockholm. The good news is that this is the first time I can remember that the weather has been "wintery" when the event has been held. Usually it is warm, spring weather and the fact that they truck in snow has been met with raised eyebrows by the locals. This year it is cold and snowy! The bad news is that this is apparently the last time for a few years that they will have the event in Stockholm... I read a quote from an official this morning where he said "hopefully by 2016". So, if you are in town, head down to Gamla Stan and see this unique event!

Photo by... me (from last year). Bad quality but, hey, they ski really fast! Hard to catch them!

The qualification rounds will be held between 2 and 2:45pm. The opening ceremonies with HRH Prince Carl Philip will be at 3pm followed by the semifinals and finals. The award ceremony, with His Majesty the King, will be held at 5:30pm. So plenty of chances all afternoon to see some quality skiing and spot some royals.

Royal Funeral Today

This is mainly to inform visitors about what will be going on in Stockholm today in regards to the funeral for Her Royal Highness Princess Lilian. In case you are curious about the woman, visiting dignitaries, the lines of people, happenings at the Royal Palace and such.

Photo by Claes Göran Carlsson, kungahuset.se

HRH Princess Lilian passed away this week at the age of 97. She was the aunt of our king and very beloved by the people of Sweden. Born in England, she met and fell in love with Prince Bertil of Sweden during World War II. When the current king's father died in a plane crash in 1947, Bertil had to be prepared to act as regent until the king (then less than 1 year old) came of age. Because of this, he could not marry Lilian (a commoner) as you gave up your right to the throne in those days if you married a commoner. They lived together discretely for 30 years until the king came to the throne (after the death of his grandfather) and he allowed them to marry. As the king himself had married a commoner, he could hardly deny his uncle. A romantic story!

Royal Chapel, kungahuset.se

As a visitor, it is good to know that the funeral will take place in the chapel at the Royal Palace at 1pm. There will be a lot of spectators and media, so it would probably be best to avoid the area around the Royal Palace. There will also be a cannon salute from the island of Skeppsholmen, across the water from the palace. After the services (approximately 2pm) there will be a motorcade winding through downtown Stockholm, taking the princess to her final resting place in Haga Park, north of the city. Expect roads cordoned off as well as traffic during this time.

Restaurant Kryp In

Kryp In is a great restaurant, located in Gamla Stan, serving modern Swedish cuisine. I really can't recommend this restaurant enough... it is one of my favorite restaurants to visit and to send hotel guests to. The location is great. Right in the middle of the historic Old Town, it is still on a side street which means that it isn't "touristy" and relatively quiet compared with restaurants located on the busier streets. The name kryp in means to "crawl in" and my guess is that this comes from the fact that it is an old building, dating back from the Middle Ages, and that the doorways are low... people were, after all, shorter back in the day! Once inside, the best way to describe the restaurant is cozy. There are three smaller dining rooms, giving the restaurant a real intimate feeling. Kryp In is a restaurant better suited to romantic couples than larger groups!

The food is fantastic... modern Swedish cuisine mixed with some classic local dishes. By modern Swedish cuisine, I mean that they use Swedish produce in international dishes. For example, Reindeer roast beef with Jerusalem artichoke créme, gooseberries and onion compote,Västerbotten cheese flavoured potato purée, sundried lingon berries and red wine sauce. A personal favorite! Don't miss the warm cloudberries from Lapland (called hjortron) on vanilla ice cream with whipped cream... a local treat. To top it all off, the service at Kryp In is warm and personable.

For several years I have had the restaurant as one of my hidden gems. I always sent our hotel guests, knowing that they would be very happy. The restaurant has gained in popularity over the past few years thanks to word of mouth and myself and other hotel concierge. They now top the lists of restaurants in Stockholm on Trip Advisor! Good news for the restaurant, but bad news for me as it is harder to get a table there at the last minute. I'm sure this blog entry won't help matters! If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, contact me and I will help you with making a table reservation. Thank you to my colleague Micke L who visited the restaurant last week and provided me with the pictures.

Christmas Market in Gamla Stan

I have already written an overview of Christmas in Stockholm, where I mentioned the Christmas market in Gamla Stan (the Old Town). But as I visited the market on Sunday, I thought I would post some pictures to get you inspired! It is a great market to visit and very accessible... open every day, 11am to 6pm, until December 23rd.

The perfect place to pick up some hand made Christmas decorations, local arts & crafts, yummy holiday delicacies (jams, sausages, candies, etc;) or just buy som glögg (hot spiced wine) and walk around sokaing up the atmosphere. Only a 15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel... but make sure you bundle up!

Riddarholmen

Palaces surrounding Birger Jarl Square

One of the central islands of Stockholm and, along with Gamla Stan, one of the most historic, Riddarholmen is often overlooked by visitors. Located just adjacent to Gamla Stan, Riddarholmen is the home of some of Stockholm's most beautiful buildings including Riddarholmen Church. The fact that the main central highway separates the two islands may deter visitors, but a bridge over the highway connects them making a visit to Riddarholmen quite easy. The lack of shops, restaurants and cafés also makes it much quieter than neighbouring Gamla Stan. This makes it the perfect place to escape the crowds and soak up some history.

Statue of Birger Jarl, Stockholm's founder

Many Swedish noble families had their palaces here during the 17th and 18th centuries. These days the buildings house the appellate and Supreme courts as well as many Swedish government agencies. The fact that it was the nobility that lived here means that the cobblestone streets are much wider and brighter than Gamla Stan (where the working class lived before Stockholm expanded). There are great views of Stockholm from the waterfront of Riddarholmen... especially the north shore with views of the City Hall.

Riddarholmen Church

The Riddarholm Church dates back as far as the 13th century and is the only remaining medieval monastery church in Stockholm (built originally as a grey friars monastery). It is most famous for being the final resting place of the kings & queens of Sweden up until the 1950's. Every regent from Gustav II Adolf to Gustav V is buried here... with the exception of Queen Christina who is buried in St Peters in Rome. It is also the resting place of many nobles and a few of the medieval kings. It is, unfortunately, only open to the public during the summer months. Another fun, and adventurous, thing to do on Riddarholmen during the warmer months is one of the roof top tours... not for people afraid of heights!

Viking Restaurant Aifur

As promised...

Entrance...

I recently visited Aifur, a restaurant dedicated to "the gastronomic heritage from the Viking Age", for a dinner with relatives. To be honest, I was a little sceptical before the visit. Themed restaurants aren't really my thing and I thought it might be "too touristy". I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there were many tourists there, but hey... it is located in Gamla Stan! Aifur is owned by Swedish pop-star Martin Eriksson, who is a real Viking aficianado, so it does feel more serious than other history themed restaurants. The restaurant is quite dark and fitted with long tables with the benches covered with sheep skins. Hanging on the walls were tapestries, shields and weapons. When we first arrived, we had one long table to ourselves. But as the restaurant filled up, we soon had company from other diners and it was part of the fun to see how others reacted to their surroundings. 

Dinner! Note the utensils.

I was also sceptical about the food... how good can Viking cuisine actually be? But it was good (Viking cuisine modernized?)! The ingredients are mainly from the Viking Age- items that could be found in Scandinavia or brought in through trade. They have a nice explanation of each dish on the menu that ties it in with the Viking history. We had the honey and garlic marinated rack of lamb which was delicious. We did try some mead before dinner. A little sweet, not really my taste but they had some nice non-Viking wine that went well with the lamb. Click here for the menu, scroll down for the English version. A word of warning: they do announce you to the other diners as you enter the restaurant. A little embarassing but lots of fun after you have a drink and can cheer and laugh at the discomfort of other patrons as they arrive. So, all in all, a good experience. I wouldn't go there for a romatic dinner... but fun for a family or people interested in history. 
Other Viking experiences in Stockholm!

Shields along the wall.

Other restaurant recommendations...

Museum Tre Kronor

Entrance to museum

I took the opportunity the other day to visit a museum here in Stockholm that I had never been to, but had always been curious about... Museum Tre Kronor. You would think that I have visited all 80+ museums in Stockholm, but I am still working on it! This museum is dedicated to the original castle in Stockholm, called Tre Kronor, which burned down in 1697. The current Royal Palace is built on the site of the old castle. The museum is located in Gamla Stan under the north wing of the palace (much of which survived the fire) in parts of the original Tre Kronor structure. Besides recounting the history of the castle, there is information about the construction of the castle and life within the walls. It was quite interesting, though I would recommend perhaps a visit to the nearby Medieval Museum first to get an overview of the history of Stockholm at the time. Tre Kronor means "three crowns" and, besides being the name of the old castle, is the symbol of Sweden as well as the name of the national ice hockey team. The three crown symbol can be seen on top of the City Hall Tower which I recently wrote about.

Quite dark inside! Good for ambiance, bad for pictures.

Entrance costs 150 SEK, and it is good to note that the fee gives you entrance as well to the Royal Apartments, The Treasury and Gustav III's Museum of Antiquities (within a 7 day time period). The latter museum is included just during the summer months. Free entrance to all museums included in the Stockholm Card. If you time your visit properly, you can watch the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace before or after visiting the museum (12:15 all days except for Sundays and holidays when it starts at 1:15pm).
Click here for other museum recommendations.

Changing of the guards

Stockholm Early Music Festival

Photo: Manuel Fischer

Looking for something cultural to do this weekend? The Stockholm Early Music Festival is in full swing! This festival is dedicated to music from the past... medieval, baroque and renaissance music to be more precise. It features both Swedish and international artists, performing in some of Stockholm's most beautiful churches like the Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan), Finnish Church (Finska Kyrkan) and German Church (Tyska Krykan). They have a cute motto which is "it's never too late for early music" and it is nice that they are keeping this cultural legacy alive every year. The festival will go on all weekend (June 6th through 10th) and you can view the program as well as purchase tickets by clicking here.

Holiday Inspiration

 It has been an unusually warm autumn and we are still waiting for our first snowfall here in Stockholm. But that doesn't mean we don't have any Christmas spirit! Here are some pictures I took yesterday evening during a walk through the Old Town (Gamla Stan) to help you get in the mood...

40 m high gorgeous Christmas tree

Abstract Santas in storefront window



Christmas market, where you can purchase...



...hand-made Santas and...



...angels galore!



Restaurant: Fem Små Hus

Entrance to the restaurant...

My colleagues and I paid a visit yesterday evening to a classic Stockholm restaurant: Fem Små Hus. This restaurant, located in Gamla Stan- just a stone's throw from the Royal Palace, has been around for over 40 years and is a great place to try some Swedish cuisine. The menu is filled with great local Swedish produce, such as chantarelles, herring, salmon, cloudberries, reindeer and elk. We had the gravad lax (marinated salmon) for the first course, followed by a fillet of veal with a morel sauce... all were delicious.

Besides the wonderful food, the historic atmosphere makes this restaurant worth a visit. The restaurant is spread out through 5 connected houses (the name literally means "five small houses") and is comprised of 9 vaulted cellar rooms. There are stairs and passageways connecting the rooms and the walls are covered with paintings, tapestries and candles... all of which add to the historic atmosphere. Parts of the restaurant actually date back to 1651.

Stairs leading down to the restaurant

The restaurant, an easy 15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel, is open 7 days a week.
Click here for some other restaurant recommendations!

Gamla Stan- "the Old Town"

It's a little embarrassing that I've been writing a tourist blog about Stockholm for over a year and I haven't written about the number one tourist attraction: Gamla Stan. I guess it's mostly because this island is so centrally located, just a ten minute walk from the Rival Hotel, that visitors can't help but visit it at some point during their stay in Stockholm.

Buildings in the Stortorget square

Gamla Stan, which literally means "old town", is the original core of Stockholm and where the city was founded sometime in the 13th century. Geographically it is the center of the city and almost all traffic (foot, car, bus & subway) going between the northern and southern sections of central Stockholm passes through or under Gamla Stan. It is also the border between the Baltic Sea to the east and Lake Mälaren to the west.

Up the hill to... Storkyrkan

Gamla Stan is the perfect place to stroll around for half a day or more to soak up some history. There are many interesting sights to see/visit like the Royal Palace, the Treasury, the Nobel Museum, the church Storkyrkan and the square Stortorget. There is plenty of interesting architecture to look at with most of the buildings dating back from the Middle Ages. Shopping is also a good option... a great place for souvenirs, antiques and Swedish handicraft. There are also plenty of good restaurants to be found on the island. Some that I can recommend are Kryp In, Pontus by the Sea, Le Rouge, Fem Små Hus, Pubologi, Djuret and Den Gyldene Freden. Some parts are more "touristy" than others... especially the street Västerlånggatan, a pedestrian street filled mainly with souvenir shops and Italian restaurants (for some strange reason). But don't let the amount of tourists put you off, you should definitely visit Gamla Stan when coming to Stockholm!

The Royal Palace