​Another Wild Wednesday with the Wandering Puffin!!!

If you thought you had missed a post last week, no worries, there was not one. With the Easter holiday, welcoming clients to Italy and being under the weather, well, it was not to be and really, it was a nice hiatus, but now, back to work and on the road.

Actually, the week up until 2 days ago was simply doing the nuts and bolts of the business. Paperwork, tax work, invoicing, and working on travel arrangements to the point where I had essentially caught up with my work and that felt good. Sometimes it is good to take a break, especially before the start of high season, and I needed it.

As I slipped into this opening salvo, I am on the road again and literally writing this post on another wild Wednesday and after an amazing day out. Where you may ask, and I am glad you did. It has been getting hot in Rome and yes, that is normal, so I headed north and today, I am heading even further north. I am in Sweden and flew in two nights ago, and had one full day to explore Stockholm, a city I had been before, several times in fact, but not for about 10 years, and while I will be heading to the Swedish Lapland, which I did last year, it will be different, and different experiences and ideas for you, my colleagues, readers, clients to consider as a destination, not just for igloos and northern lights, but as a potential summer destination.

I digress as that will be next week’s Wednesday addition.

This week, and a day, Stockholm.

Yes, in the past I have explored the streets of the old town, known as the Gamla Stan and been to the Vasamuseum where once a ship sank, they brought it up and then built a museum around it, so this time around, I wanted something different and all day yesterday, I walked, took excellent public transport, and pounded out about 14 or 15 km on my now, very weary feet, but it was all worth it.

What did I experience? Again, glad you asked, and I am here to share some ideas that you may not have thought about.

Stockholm has an amazing history and a lucky one I must say, since it, as a country, until recently, remained neutral for hundreds of years, until they joined NATO, given the current geo-political environment, so unlike other major capital cities in history that were destroyed or partially destroyed during wars, Stockholm’s old town is intact as are its classic architecture which makes up many museums, royal theaters, concert halls, parliament and other structures around the city.

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, but the royal family essentially has no powers, but they can have input.

Anyway, what was yesterday, my Stockholm in a day.

I love history and animals, and Stockholm has both.

They have a living history museum called Skansen, which also has a children’s farm and also Nordic animal species. The living history is made up of homes, farmsteads and stores and other buildings of another time, back in the 1800’s and they have people dressed up in period costumes to explain the way of life and there demonstrations including pottery and glassmaking. I am sure others, but those are two I saw.

I also saw bear, harbor seals, European bison, horses, cows and goats, or maybe they were sheep.

I also saw lots of school groups, so it was a wonderful family-friendly experience, and it is.

I should note that it was in the 1860’s when there was famine in Sweden that many emigrated to America and ultimately ended up in places like Minnesota, where you might just find a family or two of Swedish or other Scandinavian ancestry.

In the end, I spent about 2 ½ hours there and easy to get there by bus or tram.

Also, stopped by a café nearby called Artur’s café and had a coffee and sweet before heading there as the café opened at 9 and Skansen opened at 10:00. Always check the seasonal hours.

After experiencing Swedish history, the focus became food and I head back to the city center where I met up with my guide for 3 ½ hour foodie tour and some quintessential and quality, mostly, foodie of Sweden.

Yes, there was salmon and herring, and a fish soup, there were different smoked and cured meats of wild game like bear, moose and reindeer. There were different cheeses, and a dessert or two.

Of course, there was the classic Swedish meatball which apparently, only came about around 100 years ago. It was 70 percent beef and 30 percent pork. A little potato to go with it and pickled cucumbers. It was excellent.

The one item I did not like and honestly, really never liked was the licorice tasting, but that is not the Swede’s fault. I just don’t like licorice, and I give it the old college try, but spit almost all the samples out.

But it is part of Swedish culture and actually of Scandinavian culture.

In the end, we ended up chatting for a good hour after over coffee and a sweet.

A wonderful experience.

Yes, I was the only one on the tour, which sometimes can be awkward, but we chatted throughout on all different topics.

Only one other time did I have this experience and that was in Porto, and again, making it into a conversation, not just you are the guide, and I am the traveler, it makes the time go more smoothly.

Getting to know my guides is important, remember, I married one.

After leaving at around 6:00 pm, I was off again, and as there is a lot of construction going on in Stockholm, much of the travel time was walking and it was one of the few museums that was open late.

It was the Fotografiska Museum and, while I had already had the living history museum and a foodie tour, this place sounded interesting and so I took a chance.

I am not a photographer, I enjoy taking pictures.

What I enjoyed most was the presentation of several famous, but no, I can’t recall the names, photographers, and black and white photography and much of it was from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and a bit beyond, and so it was different and a nice change from what I usually see in museums.

Last, but not least, and you all know that I am a Hard Rock fan, and you won’t believe it, but there is one in Stockholm.

Actually, there had been one there before and I believe I had been there at the old one, but this one had opened within the past year or two, so it counted as my 96th or 97th Hard Rock.

Funny, I sat in a booth next to a couple from Luxembourg who have made it a lifetime of Hard Rocks.

They said they planned travel around Hard Rocks.

Yes, I have done some of that, but to date, I think they said they had been to nearly 270.

Of course, many do not exist anymore, but others keep popping up and so, my list will continue.

Not as intensely as before, but they may come into play.

In the end, had classic Buffalo Wings and Ribs and enjoyed some nice conversation which always seems to be the case when I go to a Hard Rock café, Rock Shop, hotel and/or casino.

So, in the end, I had left my hotel about 8:00 am to get to my first stop and got back to my hotel about 11:30 pm and 14 kms walking later, that was my day in Stockholm.

Not classic, but very different.

Could I have come in a day earlier, of course, but I was very proud of what I accomplished in a day, but yes, there is so much more to see.

Have you ever done a one-day marathon of a destination? Where, when and most importantly, why?

What’s one travel experience that changed the way you see a place or yourself?

If you could explore any city like I did Stockholm in just one day, where would you go and why?

Thank you for sharing and your support.

Now I wait to board my plane in about 30 minutes or so and off to the Swedish Lapland and looking forward to sharing my experiences next week.