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You’re going to love Stockholm!

By Arie Boris, Editor-in-Chief, CruiseGourmet.com

I just loved this city! It was my first visit after an 11-day Baltic cruise on the Crystal Symphony, and it is the perfect post-cruise destination.

Stockholm is a walking city with so much to offer to people who like to stroll around taking the day as it comes and at the same time, the city offers a sophisticated and wide variety of cultural and historical experiences for those of you who prefer to plan your day. The sun shined during our entire two day visit making this beautiful city and its historic sites even more appealing.

The oldest part of Stockholm is Gamla Stan (the old town). It includes the Royal Palace, museums like the Royal Armory and the Royal Treasury and has a classic “changing of the guards” in the outer courtyard. Gamla Stan is home to the Nobel museum.

Our first stop was to the City Hall of Stockholm, a living symbol of the city, it is home to the annual Nobel Prize banquet. The city hall was designed by Ragnar Ostberg and completed in 1923. It is a unique example of twentieth century modern architecture with a very distinctive Swedish twist. The city hall can only be visited with a guided tour and are available in English at specific times throughout the day. The tower is open in the summer and offers a terrific view of Stockholm.

We then took a short cab ride to the Vasa Museum. In 1628 this grand vessel, the pride of King Gustav Adolf’s Swedish Navy, set sail and within minutes sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbor. After 330 years, the Vasa was salvaged and restored and is now the world’s only preserved 17th century ship. Adorned with more than 700 carved sculptures, she is also a wealth of 17th century art work. The museum’s design is excellent. Throughout the building there are media displays that are informative and visually appealing. (www.vasamuseet.se)

We then strolled through a nearby park and hopped a ferry to the old town where we wondered through the narrow medieval streets, where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of this thriving city center. After winding our way through this delightful area, we found ourselves near the Grand Hotel which houses Stockholm’s hottest and most trendy restaurant, Mathias. We had lunch at The Food Bar, Mathias Dalhgren’s casual restaurant open for both lunch and dinner. His more formal venue “Mathias” is open only for dinner and reservations are required months in advance.

The Food Bar presented an interesting blend of fusion and traditional Swedish cuisine using fresh local specialties. We started with a selection of appetizers that were, in a word- wow! Shrimp in a horseradish mayonnaise from Smogen, along with a crispy fried plaice from Bohuslan with parsley, mayonnaise and lemon…it was outstanding. Of course, we had a delicate and delicious pickeled herring with sour cream, new potatoes, and chives; a local favorite. We were then treated to a taste of the award winning Scandinavian “dish of the year 2008,” tartar of cured salmon with cucumber, apple, horseradish and new potatoes. The award was well justified!

The dessert was an unexpected pleasure…carmelized raw rhubarb from a local farm with lemon sponge cake, and goat milk ice cream– definitely an acquired taste but special and unique. We met Mathias Dalhgren, a jovial and likable fellow who enjoys his celebrity and loves creating new and unusual culinary experiences. (www.mdghs.com)

Our two days in Stockholm reflected just a taste of what this fantastic city has to offer. We will be back! For more information about this great city log onto: www.stockholmtown.com

And one last tip… We had an early morning flight from Stockholm’s Arlandia Airport and stayed at the Radisson SAS SkyCity Hotel. It is literally in the airport’s SkyCity Center between terminals 4 and 5. The view from our room overlooked aircraft at their gates, the runways and the pedestrian traffic below in the terminal’s shopping mall. With its sleek modern Scandinavian design, the hotel offers access to the shops, eateries and all the amenities a business traveler could want. Upon Checking out in the morning, the hotel desk clerk suggested we walk the short distance to the Continental Airlines BusinessFirst counter, check our luggage and come back to the hotel for a leisurely breakfast buffet (which was really fantastic!) It was the best pre-flight experience I have had in a long time. For more information about one of the best airport hotels ever, log onto: www.stockholm.radissonsas.com

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