Exchange in Uppsala - Part 5: Visiting Stockholm
This post is the part of a series regarding my exchange semester in Uppsala, Sweden 🇸🇪
You can find all posts here:
Planning
As my mum is staying with me for the first week of my exchange semester, we also planned to go to Stockholm for a couple of days. So we booked a hotel in advance from Thursday, August 10th until Sunday, August 13th. Everything else was not planned, though. We just packed our stuff on Thursday noon and booked a train.
Journey to Stockholm
Fortunately, Uppsala is really close to Stockholm. It only takes 40 minutes to get from one city to the other. There are multiple options available. We chose the SJ Inter City train for the trip toward Stockholm. And as usual, there was a delay for our train. In the end, we took another one. Because when your original train is more than 20 minutes delayed, you can use the ticket on all other SJ trains (this does not include private companies such as Mälartåg though) and you are entitled for a partial refund. The experience onboard was nice. Wi-Fi was available and better than what you can expect on the German railway network. Even in tunnels it worked. But I still guess it's a German issue to even not get that right on a flat land between two small towns, as experienced on our journey towards Uelzen.
Main station
Arrived in Stockholm, we were greeted again by the same platform as on our initial stop there a few days ago. As mentioned in the old post, it didn't make the best first impression. Unlike last time, we also visited the station itself. And it paints a different picture. It looks really welcoming by offering a few stores, a direct connection to the Metro (Tunnelbana), and commuter rail services. But to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by its size. I guess I expected a bit more Berlin Hbf from the perspective of scale. But in reality, it compares more to a train station in a smaller city. Maybe Potsdam Hbf would be a good comparision.
Metro
Afterwards, we took the Metro to get to our hotel in the west of Stockholm. It was a 15-minute tour which was really pleasant. In general, their Metro system works really great, it's clean, offers a high density, and good connections throughout the city. It's extended by an even bigger bus network that fills the gaps in-between. All in all, I can highly recommend the public transit in Stockholm.
A small walk
Getting back to our first day. Soon after we put our luggage in our room, we went back on the street. Our first trip got us to Nybroplan. It's a public plaza east of the city centre. It's located on a shoreline, and we took the time to walk along the river towards the next tram station. The location offers a great view. You can see a few boats, and even a big cruise ship on the other side of the river. We also got to see the amusement park (Gröna Lund) on the other side.
Then we took the tram back to the city centre. Interestingly, there is only one tram line left in Stockholm itself - the 7. Every other line was replaced by the Tunnelbana or buses. Arrived back in the city centre at T-Centralen - we went for the lookout for something for dinner. My mum wanted to eat something Italian, so we decided to try out Basta, an Italian restaurant chain in Sweden.
Dinner
To get to Basta was a small challenge itself. It is located within a shopping centre which closes at 20:00. Afterwards, you have to use the back entrance to get to the 4th floor, where the restaurant is located. For that, they even made a YouTube Short to explain how to get there. The normal elevator at the back entrance does not go to the 4th floor in the after hours. Therefore, you have to get to the basement floor where a supermarket is located and switch to a freight elevator, which is actually going towards the 4th floor.
Anyway, the restaurant itself was really nice. It had a great atmosphere, really kind waiters and even a terrace to get a nice view of the plaza in front of the building. The pizza was also really delicious. They even offered vegan/vegetarian alternatives for their chicken-based pizza. Additionally, we ordered their homemade strawberry lemonade, which was very delicious too.
And I want to make a small side note: Restaurant visits in Sweden are pricier than in Germany. For example, we paid for two drinks and a pizza each €56 including a 10% tip.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. It was already late, and my mum went to bed. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to check out the gym. It was in the basement of the hotel and offered a few machines and weights to train with. I chose the treadmill and ran a few kilometres. Afterwards, I also went to the sauna. It was pretty nice to be alone in a sauna at 1 am 😅.
Second day
We started our second day with a really good breakfast. The hotel offered a variety of typical breakfast options. Soon after, we went again into the city. Our destination was the island where the Gröna lund amusement park is located. There, you can also find the Abba museum with a massive queue in front of it.
My mum bought a city guide for our trip to Stockholm. In there, I saw the Skansen which, I thought, was a collection of old buildings that were used in the past throughout Sweden. As it turned out, a few buildings can be found there, but in general, it was more like a zoo. But we only noticed that afterwards. Anyway, it's an enjoyable Zoo with numerous aquariums and animals. For example, they exhibit some jellyfish in a cylinder shaped tank. It looks really impressive:
We also saw a lynx, a brown bear, a few reindeers, an otter, and a moose.
Ferry
After Skansen, we walked by Gröna lund towards the pier. There you can take a ferry to the Gamla Stan island south of the central station. The SL ferries are part of the normal SL tickets. I highly recommend using them to get a view from the water towards Stockholm. On the island you can find Kungliga Slotten - the royal palace. We just went by and didn't go inside. Also, nearby is the Swedish parliament. I actually wanted to go inside, but it looked not open to the public.
Solna Centrum
On the first day, we also went to Solna Centrum. It's an outskirt city of Stockholm, with an artwork collection inside the tunnelbana station. It's only a short trip towards the station and it's definitely worth it.
Third day
On that day, we visited the Stadshuset. The city hall of Stockholm. They offer tours through the facilities and a tower to climb. We decided to do the latter and were rewarded with a great view of Stockholm. Also, it's an old building with some pathways that let you think they never end. The last few passages looked almost the same, and you have to pass them 16 times to get to the top.
Passages of the tower
And from the top you can see the parliament and the royal palace:
Left: Royal Palace, Right: Parliament
Dinner
For dinner, we decided to go to an Indian restaurant. It was super delicious, and I can recommend the restaurant if are into Indian food, and you are visiting Stockholm too.
Last Day
On our last day in Stockholm, we visited the Paradox Museum. It's a place full of optical illusions and a great place to take pictures. My mum was really buffed by all the things she saw and liked the experience very much.
Conclusion
And again we are at the end of today's post. Thanks for reading this far! We are now back in Uppsala and my mum will stay for another two days until her departure on Tuesday evening. Stay tuned for more content!
PS: While we were away, Freddy waited for us and watched over my apartment. Lukliy he did a very great job and nothing happened to it.
