stockholm

Whatever you do, don't miss city hall where they award the Nobel Prize, and take a cruise. My visit to Scandinavia was many moons ago, so that sticks out as the "major" ones for now.

My daughter used to live in Segeltorp just south of Stockholm. While there I visited the zoo and a small aquarium. Just a little further on there's a very nice boat museum. A very famous reclamation from the deep, the Vasa, is on display. The changing of the guard at the castle is a good take. Lots of nice shops nearby.

Thanks, you two. Did you have any language problems? Do many Swedes speak English?

Nearly 100% speak English. Although my ex wife was a Swedish-Finn and spoke Swedish fluently, It was not necessary. I never had any difficulty even when alone.

Detano, bobsmyth is absolutely right. It is very easy to get along with English in Sweden.

I will direct my Swedish husband - BigDice67 - to this thread. Maybe he has some information for you, too.

Have fun! Stockholm is wonderful!

The English language is compulsary in most European countries, but especially where they cater to tourists. Not to worry.

Hi!
There shouldn't be a language problem if you are a tourist. Almost everyone speaks English at different levels in Stockholm.
You can check out the Stockholm Town website to see whats going on. May is a lovely time of the year (hopefully it will be warm and not rainy) and it should be possible to take boats going out to the Stockholm archipelago for day trips. If you are coming with kids, don't forget Skansen and the Vasa museum.

Vasa Museum


http://www.vasamuseet.se/Vasamuseet/

site is in Swedish but has a box to switch to English

No language problems in Sweden - and I even speak 2 words of Swedish!

Stockholm is a lovely city - full of interesting places to wander about. The Vasa Museum is fascinating. The Maritime Museum is a big disappointment - all models, rather than the real thing.

Stockholm does seem rather expensive though! (We found a fantastic food market - God nows where!)

I was going to say it can get chilly in May - but I see you come from Canadia, so can probably cope with that. Aussies found it decidedly nippy!

Well, I'm back and had two wonderful weeks in Stockholm. All Swedes speak English and the city is full of interesting sites. Built on 24000 islands, there seems to be water everywhere. Transportation is tops, subway, busses etc.
.
Museums galore and design stores to make your mouth water; so do the blond women.

detano...

Glad you're back and had a good time. I've been several times and always find it fascinating.

Can't see what was so wonderful about those blonde Swedish women, though............

<some of the men, on the other hand.....>

There are many very blond girls in Stockholm. Not all of them are beautiful. But the few who are can be real stunners.
Amazing how many young and middle aged men have their heads shaved. It seems to be attractive enough to the other sex.
All things considered, Stockholm is a lovely city (and one of the few in Europe that was not bombed). One thing that impressed me was the total lack of 9.99. All prices are straight, you eat for 50 kroners or 80 or 140. No 49.99 nonsense. Refreshing.

Other than the fact that there can be some stunners in Stockholm, how about relating some of your personal experiences, sights and sounds - including foods and drinks?

At 750 000 inhabitants, Stockholm is a small capital city, easily seen on foot. The transit system is very good: excellent subway and many buses of the double length type.
I must have walked 10 miles a day; so much to see. Shopping seems to be #1 on the agenda. Glamorous stores and malls everywhere.
Swedes are well dressed and well educated; almost all of them speak English.
They are good and polite drivers; no speed bumps anywhere. What puzzled me was the absence of small cars. In Germany or France small vehicles lead the pack, in Stockholm I saw few of them. Hardly any SUVs, but medium size and station wagons galore.
In Canada a litre gas is $0.84. In Stockholm it is 10.8 Kroner ($1.88). We don't appreciate our low prices, bitching all the way.
Restaurants abound in this city. Prices are steep (for my budget) but the food is good. I ate very well in modest or slightly better restaurants.
Even the most chic restaurants serve traditional meals in a glamorous way. Swedes love their history and celebrate the old ways a lot. The Royal Family is revered, probably because they are not so distant or arrogant.
The Swedes are proud of their brain power and especially their design. Swedish design is known for its clean lines and minimalism. Glass, silver, steel, wood and architecture, all outstanding.
For a country of only 9 million the Swedes rank high in many fields.
Their middle class is strong and their quality of life is always near the top on world lists, along with the other Scandinavian nations.
Immigrants are something new here, a few decades ago there were few or none. The young have adapted well; one sees black and white mingle without problems. Young couples; blond husband and black wife are not infrequent.
One of our desk clerks was Iranian. He told me that he cannot go dancing on week-ends because of membership problems in night clubs. So there are some race problems. As usual, the rotten few spoil it for all the others. Seems that the Swedes like to dance with their own blond partners. The most frustrating part is that these discotheques are owned by immigrants who like to avoid race-problems.
I took one subway all the way to the terminal, 15 km to the outskirts of Stockholm. Outside of city center the train surfaces and serves dozens of bedroom suburbs. All of them large groups of huge apartment blocks; modern and surrounded by green parks. I saw relatively few one family houses; most people live in apartments which are more expensive near the city center.
Judging by the Stockholm bars and restaurants, which seem to be full most of the time, Swedes must earn good wages.
I judge countries by the gap between the top 10% and the bottom 10% (wage earners).
The gap seems to be small, a good sign.

di, Thanks for your observations and personal experiences. I too visited Stockholm many years ago (about 15), and had nothing but good memories. It was clean back then, and was impressed by their architecture and designing skills of almost everything including furniture. It's good that you enjoyed their food and drinks; I also like to 'splurge' on good food and stay at more moderate cost hotels. Thanks for sharing.

Detano,

Good to read that you had a good time. Being married to a Swede and working for a Swedish company, I feel quite connected to Sweden. Even though I do feel a bit exotic there with dark hair and brown eyes - of course, I enjoy that :-)

Your observations are very interesting. You are definitely not a 'typical tourist'!