After leaving the arctic and the northern lights, we look for a little holiday cheer in Stockholm.  Stockholm is an amazing place to visit for the holidays!  We also hear that Santa Claus is hiding out in Stockholm and we set out to find him and see the city.  ;-)  Merry Christmas!

After leaving Split Croatia, our main focus was Tromso and the northern lights.  We had very rough weather and didn't know if we could see it during our week visit.  We share what happened in the video blog.

You can also check-out all the past episodes here.

The Nordic countries are renown for some of the most balanced governance - better wealth distribution, investment in higher education, more environmentally focused, open and free press, little government corruption, and thriving economies.  So, what do you expect when you land in the largest city of the Nordic countries?  The bar is set high.

There are certainly classic architecture, amazing monuments, and grand parks.  Stockholm has an abundance of museums and theaters.  Everywhere you turn is a school.  The public libraries and other public spaces are filled with kids “studying”.  Then you have the world shaping Swedish brands (IKEA, Spotify, Skype, H&M, Electrolux, AstraZeneca, Volvo) that help drive a healthy Swedish economy.  Of course, you have the classic people-centric European city planning (communal plazas and pedestrian and cycling pathways) designed to connect people.  So, the city lives up to expectation!

Although with every major metropolitan, there is always an unsavory underside; however, in our brief visit, we were a bit surprised to not really find it.  It was a little unexpected. 

Here are some unexpected things about the city:

• Friendly multilingual society – You will be hard press to find a Swede that doesn’t speak fluent English.  Like many European countries, they often study several languages.  They know communication connects people.  That’s why many of Nordic countries learn each other’s languages as well, but it was surprising to hear so much English.
• Hustle and bustle of silence – You can stand in the center of the city and watch rush hour with near silence.  It’s crazy cool!  Honking is only meant for emergencies.  So, you rarely hear it.  Roads and cars are well maintained for minimum noise.  I hear there are even rules on types of tires that are allowed, which further enhance this effect.
• Society moving like clock-work – To say Stockholm is a law and order society is an understatement, because it’s more than that.  It’s about respect and being courteous to your fellow neighbor.  On the streets you see pedestrians, cars, and bikes move in a formulated rhythm.  Vehicles always stop for pedestrians.  Pedestrians don’t interrupt traffic flow by crossing at crosswalks and at the right time.  Bikers know the rules of the road and signal appropriately.  On transit, people give up seats for the elderly or help a mom with a stroller.  We didn’t find graffiti marking up the city or even a homeless person on the street.  At least it wasn’t obvious like the many large metropolitans we visited on this trip.  It’s kind of amazing!
• Swedish food a surprising wonderment – My palate might be Swedish.  I love the pickled herring, cured and smoke salmons, and those meatballs!  Pretty much every Swedish dish we had was delicious.  My only disappointment was that we were on a tight budget.  Tip: Tipping isn’t expected, but the general convention is to round up the bill to even it out, which is a good sign of appreciation.  We can also recommend these restaurants: Oaxen Slip  and Bakfickan.

We really didn’t explore enough of Stockholm to truly understand it, but from what we saw as a tourist, Stockholm might be the perfect city.  It at least makes us want to come back to see and discover more of Stockholm and Sweden.  It’s amazing!

-Vu

P.S.

After Tromso, Stockholm was a little friendlier to the pocket book, which was nice, but don't expect a bargain.
 
 Grocery Beer Price Index: 15.90 SEK for 33cl Bordsol Nils Oscar  ($1.92)

When we downsized and got ready to move across the world to get ready to set sail, we never figured that we would ever need winter clothes again, but with the boat not ready, we found an opportunity to wander to places we’ve not been and do something we been wanting to do. 

So, before we are in perpetual summer, we want to experience a proper snowy winter.  There’s only one place for that.  The arctic circle!

My only reference to a place like that was this show called Northern Exposure.  I never really watched it, but I caught enough episodes to get a sense of what it was like to live in a small town near or in the arctic.  For me, Tromsø has the quirky personality and out-of-this-world seasons of (fictitious) Cicely Alaska meld with Viking modern aesthetic and culture.  Personally, that is attractive enough to come see this place of polar nights (sun never rises) and midnight sun (sun never sets)!

However, we are here to see the northern lights or aurora borealis!  Tromsø is one of the places in the world where you can pretty much see the northern lights all the time, if the sky is clear and dark.  With it in the arctic circle, you can look up and see the aurora circle all around you above.  It’s pretty amazing!  We were definitely not disappointed. 

Within the city, there are several really great tours to help you see the northern lights or you can head out on your own with a rental car (you should have experience driving on ice).  We personally like meeting new people and driving didn’t seem that appealing.  To chase the lights, it was a no brainer to go with guides who knew the best places and were in constant contact with other guides on the best places at the moment.  For us, it made all the difference on a day where it was very cloudy and the aurora was weak.  They were amazing!!!  We would recommend these guys.

Tromsø is setup for tourism and there is a lot of options for outdoor adventures.  Unfortunately for us, either the weather was bad or the adventure wasn’t available on the day we were free.  So, it can be unpredictable, but even on the down days,  Tromsø can be spectacular (see more below)!

Here’s our thoughts on Tromsø:

1. Northern Lights!  Unless you come in the summer, this is probably why you are in Tromsø.  It’s a must do!  Tip: Don't buy a bunch of expensive clothes and gear for this trip, especially if you are going to use it once.  Some of the tours provide what you need or you can rent what you want in town at a very reasonable price.
2. Enjoy an amazing culinary experience!  Tromsø is littered with some fabulous restaurants that deliver on creative Scandinavian cuisine.  For example, we had a great dinner at Mathallen, which we would highly recommend.
3. You get better value with the finer eats!  Folks from outside of Scandinavia will probably suffer a little sticker shock when visiting Tromsø on pretty much everything.  For foods, what we found was a compression of prices.  For example, cheap food cost way more (2x or more) while fine dining is at a slight discount with amazing quality, especially on seafood.  So, if you can afford it, spring for the good stuff.  You will be much happier with your meal and feel like you got a good deal.  We learned the hard way!
4. Don’t forget about the town!  The tours are definitely great, but they are expensive.  It’s worthwhile walking around: 1) Tromsø center and landmarks, 2) Prestvannet, 3) Tromsø arktisk-alpine botaniske hage, 4) Arctic Cathedral, and 5) Tromsø cable car.

Seeing the aurora is an amazing experience!  Something worth doing.  Of course, there are many places where you can see the northern lights, but we can definitely recommend Tromsø. 

If you want to see what it was like, check back in a couple of weeks.  We will have a video that shares some of the things we experienced.
 
-Vu
 
P.S.  If your are looking at the Grocery Beer Price Index (GBPI) in the blog, Tromsø definitely set a new high.
 
Grocery Beer Price Index: 29.50 NOK for 500ml Mack Pilsner ($3.58)