Day 1: Arrival and a Preview
Arrival
As is typical for a flight to Scandinavia, we arrived at the Stockholm’s Arlanda airport at about 7:30 a.m. After clearing customs, we headed for the Arlanda Express, a comfortable commuter-style train that took us to the Stockholm Central Station in less than 20 minutes.
Because we had several hours to kill before we could check in to our room, we secured our bags in a train station locker, and went out for a walk and a bite to eat. We stepped into the lovely historic St. Clara’s Church (below), which now serves as a mission for Stockholm’s diverse immigrant community.
We picked up our bags and traveled by foot, around 40 minutes, to our Airbnb. While this gave us an opportunity to preview the historic Gamla Stan neighborhood, it’s a miracle our rolling luggage survived the cobblestones. If we were doing it again, I would have taken the metro after retrieving our luggage from the train station lockers, and saved the historic streets for another day.
The Room
Nicer hotels in Stockholm can be fairly pricey, unless you are willing to book one of the underground, often windowless sleeping rooms, and we were not! We were on a budget and opted instead for an Airbnb in the hip and bustling neighborhood of Sodermalm, across a short bridge from Gamla Stan, and with easy access to transportation and an array of shopping and food options. This studio apartment in an historic building was comfortable and very quiet, with a great shower and simple kitchen. The only downside - and I understand this is typical for Scandinavian lodging - was the somewhat flimsy bedding/pillows and the provision of only two small towels. Otherwise, we really enjoyed the space, including the in-house laundry machines.
Meatballs, Of Course
After a short nap in our room, we explored our neighborhood on foot, and took in a few great views of center city across the water. We had an early dinner at Meatballs for the People (yes, that’s the name), where we enjoyed this traditional Swedish fare. We then settled into our room to rest up for the next day’s adventure.
