Beautiful Sweden

Stockholm, nature and gorgeous women. Most people have these keywords in mind when they think of Sweden. We will definitely name these issues, however: in this blog we will tell you how a local thinks of Sweden.

A friend of ours lived for almost a year in the capital of Sweden and he fell in love with this city because of its culture, nature, the great number of historical sights, canals and impressive architecture.

Culture
When visiting Stockholm, you definitely need to see the impressive Vasa warship museum. Here you find the oldest restored warship of the world and you can explore it from the in- and outside! Nearby, there is the City hall, the revenue of the Nobel price banquet. Although this is extremely popular among tourists and therefore very busy, you will have to see the national proud of Sweden. 

If you think shopping is also a cultural thing, you won’t be disappointed when entering the city centre: There are plenty of stores with trendy clothes for a decent price. Our recommendation is to go to ‘acne jeans’. These locals won the title ‘designer of the year’ in 2000 and now have stores in New York, Paris and Brazil. 


Nature
Even if you would go a few days and only visit  the old centre (Gamla Stan), you will be aware of the tidiness all around you. In  Hökarängen, the place where our friend lived, is a soccer pitch with artificial grass, including goals with nets and wheels and a basketball court with chain nets. This sounds normal, but imagine this in your own country: how long will it take before the nets are broken and the pitch is all messed up with garbage?  This will not happen in Sweden: public space is treated as it is their own space. As a reward of your kindness, you will have free access to delicious, ice cold water because of its drinking fountains all over the public places. Still not satisfied? You will never have to go back to your place with a flat tire because of the high pressure pumps on the bicycle parking racks. 

A perfect place to get rid of your hangover is the Swedish nature. You can reach dense forests with spots perhaps undiscovered and natural lakes to swim in. This will take a few minutes when departure from centre by public transport: metro, bus and train all use the same tickets or travel cards, for a decent price. Otherwise, you can also rent public bicycles during the warmer months. Biking is promoted in Stockholm and you will feel safe on the cycling paths which lead you anywhere. 

Nightlife
However, to get a hangover, you first need to go out and explore the nightlife of Stockholm. Södermalm or Medborgarplatsen will provide the variety you seek. In the summer, Stockholm’s main park Kungsträdgården has open air concerts or youth events which you can wander around and even participate, so don’t get too surprised if you hear an unknown kid freestyle rapping in your native language.
If festivals are not your thing, you can always go to Uppsala, which is a nearby student city. A pro for single men: ladies will approach you, instead of you having to approach them, this is their custom. A little con is the alcohol arrangement: the prices are high because you’ll only be able to buy it in bars and clubs or stores called Systembolaget.

After all the ‘öl’, food is the next step. There is a big variety of kitchens and restaurants, but the recommendation of our friend is to try the kebab tallrik; a plate with fries, kebab, salad and sauces.

Swedish people
Swedish people are not only nice to their own environment, but they are also friendly to you. The people are somewhat distant or quiet, but with a respectful approach they are smart, social, friendly and most likely able to talk back in decent English.
But the best known properties of the Swedish people are their looks. Because we are a travel blog, we thought giving our opinion about beautiful locals is not our task. However, we think single travellers would appreciate these ‘hotspots’. Not convinced? See Google images and be convinced!

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