I was very much looking forward to visiting Stockholm and couldn’t wait to visit the first Christmas market of the year! The flight over to Arlanda Airport was nice and easy and after a short coach ride, we arrived at the hotel around 2pm. I had been told that the sunset was really early in Stockholm, so myself and four of the crew decided to change quickly and then meet downstairs. Turns out the sunset was at 14:50 so we only had about 50 minutes of day light – crazy!
We walked into the Old Town and headed straight to the Christmas markets. I couldn’t believe how quickly it got dark, and by 3pm, it was almost pitch black! It felt so surreal.
The Old Town is really pretty, with lots of small shops and cafes. It was absolutely freezing and I was suffering without some gloves! We finally found the Christmas market, however, it was a little disappointing. It was much smaller than we anticipated and there wasn’t any food stalls! I did get myself some Glögg though – Sweden’s traditional seasonal mulled wine.
As it was still early (even though it felt like midnight), we carried on walking around the city. We stopped by the Royal Palace and then found a beautiful garden square called Kungsträdgården where they had an ice skating rink. Apparently this place is filled with cherry blossom trees in the spring so I would love to come back then and see that!
It was then time for some dinner and one of the crew recommended a place called Eataly which was nearby. We shared a large pizza and then I got some pasta as well. The food was delicious!
The crew were lovely, and we sat there for hours chatting away! We then made our way back to the hotel to get some sleep.
I was up early the next morning as I wanted to make the most of the layover and see a bit more of Stockholm in the daylight. I had a walk around the Old Town again and then did some more Christmas shopping. I found a great store called Lagerhaus which is a Swedish homeware chain that was so cool and cheap, similar to Ikea.
I had a wonderful time here in Stockholm and I actually enjoyed the cold weather. I have a few more cold layovers coming up so I am really looking forward to these now. I definitely wouldn’t mind returning here, hopefully in the spring or summer next time!
Thanks for having me Stockholm.
Thanks for reading.
Kerry May xo
Keeping Up with Kerry 