Snowy Stockholm
I have just returned from a lovely three day weekend in Stockholm, Sweden! I travelled with a friend from work, Megan, and a friend of hers from college, Mike, who is studying in Madrid, and met us there.
So, on Thursday, it snowed all day in the Hague, which was very lovely to watch out my window at work (see pictures!) It also meant we could leave work at 2pm - the Dutch don't handle snow very well!! We were worried that the trains and planes wouldn't be running, and as we were catching a train to Amsterdam, and a plane from Amsterdam, we left work at 3pm, only to find that everything was running on time, so we were early enough to grab food and relax.
We arrived safely in Stockholm, found the hotel and Mike, and went for a drink in a funky pub nearby, enjoying the really cold weather - minus 5 degrees! The next morning we switched hotels (a long complicated story, our first place was a bit far out of town, so Megan had found a better deal in a more central location), and then went for a wander around the town. It was snowing, and very cold, but so pretty - Stockholm is a city made up of islands, so all the lakes were frozen, snow everywhere! And lovely old buildings and streets - such a nice city!
We went to the Vasamuseum, which is where a 15th century warship is housed - it was built to fight the Danes, but sunk after an hour on its first outing!! But it for some reason didn't rot under water, and is perfectly preserved - it's pretty amazing to see!
After lunch at a lovely little coffee shop, and some more wandering, we had a nap then headed out for the night. We had been given some good recommendations from one of Megan and Mike's friends who used to live there, so we went to the Blue Moon Club, which had a nice fancy dinner, and a floor show - 5 guys singing covers of well known songs, sometimes in English, sometimes in Swedish, with funky dance moves! They performed 3 times throughout the night, with a fun DJ in between, so a good night was had by all!!
On Saturday we went for brunch at Mike's cousin's place, who is Swiss, but married to a Swedish girl - very nice to have some traditional Swedish food, and see some photos of the country! Then we walked to City Hall, where the Nobel prize is presented, (past some lovely frozen lakes, strong enough to walk on!!), and then coffee in a converted prison!
After another nap, we went out for dinner at this crazy Thai place, where you wait for 2 hours for a table, in the bar, but then go into this fun huge decorated place, with waterfalls and lights and paintings everywhere - we ate dinner in a rickshaw!
Sunday was basically check out and wander around, and then we headed back home to the Hague - it was really nice to get away for the weekend, and have a relaxing time - and after minus 10 degree temperatures, it feels positively balmy to have 7 degrees here in the Hague!!
So, on Thursday, it snowed all day in the Hague, which was very lovely to watch out my window at work (see pictures!) It also meant we could leave work at 2pm - the Dutch don't handle snow very well!! We were worried that the trains and planes wouldn't be running, and as we were catching a train to Amsterdam, and a plane from Amsterdam, we left work at 3pm, only to find that everything was running on time, so we were early enough to grab food and relax.
We arrived safely in Stockholm, found the hotel and Mike, and went for a drink in a funky pub nearby, enjoying the really cold weather - minus 5 degrees! The next morning we switched hotels (a long complicated story, our first place was a bit far out of town, so Megan had found a better deal in a more central location), and then went for a wander around the town. It was snowing, and very cold, but so pretty - Stockholm is a city made up of islands, so all the lakes were frozen, snow everywhere! And lovely old buildings and streets - such a nice city!
We went to the Vasamuseum, which is where a 15th century warship is housed - it was built to fight the Danes, but sunk after an hour on its first outing!! But it for some reason didn't rot under water, and is perfectly preserved - it's pretty amazing to see!
After lunch at a lovely little coffee shop, and some more wandering, we had a nap then headed out for the night. We had been given some good recommendations from one of Megan and Mike's friends who used to live there, so we went to the Blue Moon Club, which had a nice fancy dinner, and a floor show - 5 guys singing covers of well known songs, sometimes in English, sometimes in Swedish, with funky dance moves! They performed 3 times throughout the night, with a fun DJ in between, so a good night was had by all!!
On Saturday we went for brunch at Mike's cousin's place, who is Swiss, but married to a Swedish girl - very nice to have some traditional Swedish food, and see some photos of the country! Then we walked to City Hall, where the Nobel prize is presented, (past some lovely frozen lakes, strong enough to walk on!!), and then coffee in a converted prison!
After another nap, we went out for dinner at this crazy Thai place, where you wait for 2 hours for a table, in the bar, but then go into this fun huge decorated place, with waterfalls and lights and paintings everywhere - we ate dinner in a rickshaw!
Sunday was basically check out and wander around, and then we headed back home to the Hague - it was really nice to get away for the weekend, and have a relaxing time - and after minus 10 degree temperatures, it feels positively balmy to have 7 degrees here in the Hague!!
posted by Laura B @ 9:14 pm
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