Finally, I got to meet that one last capital of the North I hadn’t received the pleasure of meeting yet. In the heart of Scandi, in the country of Ikea, H&M and Spotify and many more things that I don’t remember because I don’t care too much about it (many thanks still), lies Stockholm. Supposedly the prettiest one of the Nordic cities, which I find hard to judge but also easy to understand. We swapped Santorini for Stockholm after we realized we enjoyed plenty of sunshine in Greece and our skins turned chronically warm and the heat kept us from sleeping. So despite our original plan of heading for Santorini, we cancelled everything to fly to Stockholm sooner than planned. I longed for the colder temperatures and the innovative, yet peaceful culture. I longed for a simple walk by the river accompanied by gulls or an entertaining stroll trough tiny medieval streets. So needless to say, after 10 dreamy but educational days in Greece, as most didn’t go as planned, we decided to take a lesson from that and stop planning. We only booked a hostel in Stockholm for the first 3 nights, and from there on we would see where the road would lead. Stockholm turned out to be just as warm as Greece which I found pretty ironic as we attempted to flee from the heat. But I quickly noticed this was the kind of heat I could handle, as it was interrupted by a nice river breeze and as the buildings threw a big shade over us at most times. It had been a long travel of 7 flying hours in total but finally I arrived to a place where I didn’t feel like a tourist ready to spend money, but like a local coming home.
I’d always had this undeniable bound with Scandinavia and the south of Sweden was an undiscovered treasure for me thus far. But somehow in all Scandinavian countries I really felt at home. It was the quiet, even in the biggest cities, the life, expressed in elements of nature, and the peace, as people seemed to be relaxing at all times. When we walked into the city this was the first thing we noticed, people relaxing on one of the many benches, people sitting on terraces without their phones around, and people simply walking around without earphones in and their eyes on a screen. Luckily I could easily mingle because I didn’t even have a phone anymore. Walking trough one of these wide city streets where traffic actually was crazy and people were a little more rushy, I still couldn’t stress. The sun was shining on my face and people always seemed to be in a good mood here. Having left the street full of renovations we entered an old city bridge, accompanied by a lot of gold. And around us the city was alive, proudly arising above the river. I never understood how people managed to make massive buildings like that in times without machinery, and it never failed to impress me how buildings touching the clouds and stretching along the river could become this big. All of them were covered in soft colours and with a very blinding amount of white and grey, decorated with millions of tiny windows with proud little towers parading on top and tiny balconies at the front. In between these giants, alleys crisscrossed their way into the city, louring us along.
That’s how we arrived into Gamlastan, the old city. This was basically the only demand on my not that long list of demands. I used to be that traveller that had a very precise list of must do’s, must sees, must eats and must buys, but this trip taught me to go with the flow. Why plan a whole list for yourself when travelling is the only way to break free from organising, planning and ruling? Why not just go wherever you wander? That was the only rule we had made together; no rules. And the only thing we had to do, was not having to do anything. I loved that spirit, and with that in mind we entered the tiny streets of Gamlastan. Every building here had some kind of sunny shade allowing you to see the exact movements of the paint brush, as no effort was made to create an equal colour, which made the alley all the more pure. The cobblestones were true ancle breakers especially considering we did not pay attention to the small road at all and mainly stared at the windows that were far more interesting. Little wooden horses, proving the handcraft arts of Sweden. Tons of bakeries with the cutest windows that you just wanted to eat as a whole, and of course many, many stores, some with old toys, some providing souvenirs, and some tiny little bars that allowed people to enjoy todays sun, although it couldn’t reach behind the massive walls of Gamlastan. This main alley again labyrinth-ed itself into many more alleys that suddenly popped up behind the sunny walls, going up- or down hill after a low tunnel blocked half the view. Little lanterns lit up the already bright alleys, their wooden signs proudly announcing all the local prides of the city.
We managed to resist many charms louring within the stores and ended up at a lovely little square, each city has them. These tiny squares hidden between these typical old, red yellow and orange buildings, creating that southern-Europe atmosphere. It’s always filled with tiny terraces and happy people and therefore, a good little hideaway before continuing the stroll. I always liked the tiny details about these buildings, like the craftwork around the windows, or the fact that they bended forward scarily as if they were about to drop on your head. That’s when we headed towards the river, anyone’s favourite place to be on sunny days like these. And it didn’t disappointed. At the harbour we immediately sat down to let ourselves be overwhelmed by the present but not disturbing noises of the traffic, the sweet but not too distracting smells of the foodtrucks, and the sparkly but not too blinding glimmers on the water, as the sun reflected on its dark waves. Little boats were going up and down the riverside, clearly all on important missions and constantly dropping of people to make a quick determinate trip back. It was entertaining to see the water traffic and we watched it until the sun started burning in my neck and we headed for shadow. Down here by the water, the roads were busy and filled with surprisingly few cars and surprisingly many electro-steps and bikes. I also noticed the low amount of trash hanging around, I realized satisfied, as we climbed a very steep stairway in between yellow, wooden apartments. That I still adored more than anything, the old, colourful wooden houses. Having reached the top of these stairs more empty, cobblestone roads between more red, orange and yellow buildings appeared, and we challenged ourselves by climbing up even more.
That’s how we ended up in our favourite neighbourhood, Sodermalm. The surprisingly high amount of tourist from before completely faded into a sudden new area full of locals, with more outdated squared buildings, still colourful but simply more outdated and a little less outstanding. Less stores, more supermarkets and locals sitting by the road on benches or tiny terraces. Less traffic noises, more kids playing around. We quickly left that wide streets to enter sideroads that we loved even more. The brick outdated apartments weren’t that special, and there weren’t any tempting stores anymore either, but it was exactly the lack of tourism factors that made us enjoy this neighbourhood; watching people actually LIVE in Stockholm. Watching them buy their groceries, walk their dogs or chill on their balconies. It sounds like a creepy stalkers move but in reality, we just adored feeling like a local. With nothing but instinct we found the most adorable gravel path behind some houses that was completely hidden from the city by bushes, and allowed us to have sneekpeeks into rose gardens were people nipped a beer in the evening sun, tiny playgrounds that I as a kid dreamed of, and not much later, a spectacular view over the city. The sparkling river, the massive bridges, and the endless gathering of big towered buildings guarding over the city. All the traffic, all the people, all the sounds, suddenly seemed so small from up here. It was just a city, filled with people that all had their own stories to tell and dreams to chase. Standing here on top realizing that, was somehow very mesmerizing, just like the liquorish-alike tower that blocked my view with such a strong resemblance to liquorish that I wanted to eat it away and see more of the view. But for now, feeling big while the city felt small, I was okay with anything the city provided.
- It's an amazing life
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