Daniel and I arrived on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 17th, 2019 to one of the four airports near Stockholm, for me to find out there was a different currency (Swedish crown, SEK or kr) in Sweden and that we were more than one hour away from the city. Goddamn. I had partied hard the night before at Razzmatazz and didn’t remember how I passed security and hopped on the plane in Barcelona, but everything seemed to flow smoothly. I even helped a lady placing her bag on the top compartment (imagine the foul stench of my mouth that early morning). I was about to have one of the worst hangovers so far, for the rest of the day.
Despite this, once we got to the Generator hostel, conveniently located near Gamla Stan, I was very excited. I always had been curious about nordic countries, especially Sweden and I was eager to walk around and see what it was like. I was feeling pretty weak and wasn’t capable of having a beer, but I managed to eat some nice Mexican food at La Neta, before walking around through some pedestrian-only streets with stores of all kinds.
Daniel had been there before and knew his way around, which proved to be a blessing throughout our Eurotrip. We walked past stores, malls, and places to hang out. We passed some big palace that was guarded by soldiers (the Royal Palace I think) and there was a guard change, which was nice to see. This was an emotional moment for me, as I couldn’t believe I was in Sweden by my own means!
It was nighttime already and the sights weren’t very clear to me, as it was dark, but it was nonetheless quite impressive: huge buildings with neon signs by the side of the river, several bridges going over it, while old and new constructions merged together in harmony.
That night I learned there is a little island-like place in Stockholm named Gamla Stan where you can find a lot of restaurants, bars, and the usual touristic-oriented businesses (souvenir stores, ATMs, junk food joints).
The two I loved the most was a viking-themed restaurant called Aifur where a huge, bearded guy announces your party’s arrival to the rest of the place, blows a horn, and everyone claps, and a pirate-themed bar called Lasse I Gatan, where there’s a lot of beer variety and live music. I still wasn’t feeling very well, so we returned to the hostel early. We played some Mario Kart in the lobby, peeked at some dancing contest that was going on there, and went to sleep early.
The next day I walked around Gamla Stan again, with perfect weather, and was able to admire the beauty of Stockholm, its streets, landscape, and women. I remember enjoying an ice cream while crossing bridges, palaces, churches, and other general commerce.
I came across a group of children protesting against climate change. This is where Greta Thunberg started her Friday’s for Future activism. It was surreal for me to see those children, marching and chanting in the streets with their teachers and relatives, who then settled in a corner to rest and have a snack. This is a movement that have since expanded to many places around the world, so seeing it live was so cool.
In the afternoon, I met with Daniel to go out. We decided to go to Sodermalm, an area that someone in the hostel recommended to us. We rode there in Lime scooters, which was exciting but somewhat dangerous, as I have poor balance and there were lots of people passing by in all directions in bicycles, scooters, etc. It was awesome to cross some of Stockholm’s bridges like this and I would do it again even if I fall down or crash miserably.
We bar-hopped for a while, including an expensive-looking rooftop bar that was so packed we left after one beer. We ended up in a bar that had an underground space where once again, we were amused by how good-looking the local women were. After enjoying some beers, we went to a MAX, one of the most popular burger brands in Sweden, and then looked for a club to party until the early morning but found nothing.
For our third day in Stockholm, we moved to a hotel to take a rest from shared rooms for one night. After settling there, we went out for lunch and found a nice Italian restaurant in a quiet, residential neighborhood. It’s amazing how quiet and uneventful some areas can be, while just a couple of blocks away there are hordes of tourists walking by, and a likewise amount of salespeople trying to make a living.
At night we decided to go on a pub crawl tour, where we got to know four different places to go out for a drink. The one I liked the most was a Super Mario Bros-themed bar that had a party going on the lower floor. There was also a blackjack table in a corner. We ended up in a fancy and weirdly decorated lounge that didn’t resemble a party place, but it had a great vibe all night long.
I got to talk to some of the people who were doing the pub crawl with us, like a French kid who showed me the middle finger and then, drunk, apologized several times and offered to buy drinks, as well as a German woman, who spilled some beer on me because I thought she was the mother of the girl she was with, as well as a couple of Swedish girls who were very nice. I remember dancing and having some drinks by the side of the bar until an Uber picked us up.
We were supposed to leave for Budapest the next day, but the plane malfunctioned and we had to stay another night near the airport, but it was a nice opportunity to relax, regroup and prepare for the Retox hostel. I left Stockholm with a great impression. It’s a city that you should visit if you have the chance and get to walk around Gamla Stan, its surroundings, and explore. Next time I hope to visit in the summer.
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