A Weekend in Stockholm

Friday 23 August 2013


We keep an informal list of weekend destinations - places that don't require taking holiday days because the flights are direct (or nearly direct) and the travel costs reasonable (for Stavanger.)  When I notice a gap in our travel calendar longer than a month, I'll start to peruse flights.  More often than not, a return trip over a weekend will end up being too expensive or the flight connections too lengthy to make it worthwhile but occasionally, I'll come across something feasible.

At the beginning of June, in the midst of our crazy travel schedule, the August calendar was looking a little bare and low and behold, flights to Stockholm had come down in price.  Tickets were bought, hotel booked and the trip was put on the back-burner as we prepared to travel to North America via France.

Stockholm was one of those places we visited with little planning and few expectations.  I think we assumed the city would be quite similar Oslo and while we enjoyed our weekend there, we weren't particularly smitten with Norway's capital city but upon arrival in Sweden, we were pleasantly surprised.
This Scandinavian city felt urban and the architecture was more inspiring.  Water in every direction made for pretty pictures and walking paths made the city very accessible by foot.  We ate really, really well and had the perfect mix of learning and exploring with relaxing and people watching.  Of course, the sunny weather helped.

Having come across the Story Hotel in our Condé Nast Traveller magazine, we decided to make it our base for our weekend in Stockholm.  The location was ideal - in Östermalm, noted to be a higher end neighbourhood in the city filled with restaurants, shops and a stone's throw from many of the major sites.  The hotel was hip and quirky from the decor to the happening lounge on the main floor.

We booked the "Bath Room" (those of you who love baths as much as I do and find yourself living without one will seek them out in nice hotels) and while it was small, it was completely functional.  The long glass wall dividing the bathroom from the rest of the room was unique and perhaps for some, a little too 'revealing.'  While the sink and toilet are a little more discreet, privacy is definitely lacking should you 'ahem' require it.  But, with that being said, we quite enjoyed it for a short weekend in the city and as always, I appreciate hotels with a little personality and this one certainly had it.

Should you find yourself booking a room, definitely ask for an upper floor.  As I said, the bar downstairs is happening, particularly on a Friday night, and I'm not sure I'd want to find myself right above it unless I was planning on joining in.

The Details
+ Flights were purchased through SAS and required a stop in Oslo.
+We took the Arlanda Express from the airport to centre and found it fast, clean and easy to use.  From there, it was about a 20 minute walk to the hotel which was fine with minimal luggage.  We did take a taxi on the way back.
+We stayed at the Story Hotel but booked through Mr & Mrs Smith for a better rate.

**More to come on Stockholm and how we spent our time there but in case you're interested, you can check out our visits to other Scandinavian cities - Oslo & Copenhagen.

24 comments:

  1. It's been a few years since I've been to Stockholm, but I loved it there!

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  2. For some reason Stockholm is always the city that first comes to mind when I think of Scandinavia. It looks so charming and like you said, the waterways seem to make it very photogenic :) So glad you guys enjoyed the weekend, little getaways are the best!

    xxx
    Jenna

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  3. I would love to visit Stockholm and the hotel looks absolutely amazing.

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  4. I find Stockholm way more beautiful than Oslo. Oslo feels dirty, Stockholm clean somehow.

    If you a looking for at great weekend trip, I recommend a 320 km (maybe a little bit long) drive from Stavanger to Rjukan and then visit Gaustatoppen, the moutain with the best view in Norway, allthough it's far from beeing the highest moutain.

    You can choose if you want to climb it or take the expensive lift inside (!) the mountain. On a clear day you will see an area bigger than Denmark! You can see about 1/6 of Norway from the top.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Gaustatoppen_360_view_2012.jpg

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    1. Looks stunning! We'll definitely keep that in mind!

      We're also hoping to head South before the summer weather leaves us - I hear Kristiansand is beautiful!

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  5. The Arlanda Express is AWESOME. I wish more cities had high speed trains like that...especially after long flights and arriving to destinations late at night. When we arrived in Stockholm before our cruise, I was so happy to have just a 20 minute train ride into the city at 11pm at night...instead of a 40 minute bus ride. Worth the money, for sure! Can't wait to hear more from your time there! Which reminds me, I still need to post about mine! Ahh someday... ;)

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  6. Stockholm is definitely on my list to make it to in the next few years... I always hear great things about it.

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  7. Story Hotel looks gorgeous! I also have an informal list of weekend destinations and have been feeling the bite (even though we went to some lovely places this summer) as the summer comes to a close. We're planning on going to Montreal for Labor Day weekend--a mini European retreat without getting on a plane :) Thanks for co-hosting Fresh Face Fridays!

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    1. Montreal sounds nice! I spent a summer in Quebec City but only had a quick visit to Montreal. We certainly want to go back!

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  8. We enjoyed Stockholm but it was so darn expensive! The hotel we stayed in was really nice too, though. Very comfortable and sleek looking!

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  9. Beautiful! I've always wanted to visit Sweden- it looks like such an amazing country!

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  10. Wish I could go to Sweden right now, it looks so beautiful and unique! Great photos. Found you on the fresh face friday bloghop =]

    A Golden State of Mind

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  11. Came over from the bloghop - I love your blog, your life sounds so intereting! :) And Sweden? Beautiful!

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  12. I've been reading your blog for awhile now and it was nice to read about your trip to Stockholm! I'm from Finland but I've been living in Stockholm for two years now. I love this city and I'm looking forward to read more about your trip :)

    /Tiia
    www.plungebytiia.com

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    1. Thanks for commenting Tiia! You are quite lucky to call Stockholm home - what a great city!

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  13. love that sink bowl... but always thing its so weird when hotels have the shower and toilet IN the room and not behind a door and wall

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  14. What a cool hotel room! It's beautiful!

    I also love that you keep a list of weekend trips. I need to start doing that, too. It's just so hard to imagine only spending a day or two in a city. I'm afraid I wouldn't want to leave that quickly!

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  15. I just have been to Helsinki yet, but I definitely want to visit other Skandinavian cities, like Stockholm, and this hotel room seems awesome ;)
    A couple of years ago I visited Vienna with my parents and we had a bathroom which was not completely closed.. so you couls basically hear (and smell^^) everything in the whole room >.< pretty creepy! But funny as well^^

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    1. Oh gosh - one thing with my husband but I certainly wouldn't like it with my parents!

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  16. Jay, I'm always impressed by your travels and the hotel you stayed in Stokholm looks great! I often check on Mr & Mrs Smith and a friend recently recommended me Splendia (http://www.splendia.com/), are you familiar with it? Take care, Caterina

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    1. Thanks Caterina! I haven't heard of Splendia but I'm definitely going to look into it!

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  17. I'm obsessed with your photography. Have you taken classes or do you just have a natural eye?

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  18. This breaks my heart, because I never made it to Stockholm :( but I'm glad that you guys had the chance to see this amazing city! Lovely pics!

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