Best Toast Skagen in Stockholm

Restaurant Riche has a pricey but oh-so good Toast Skagen (half 159 SEK, whole 199 SEK)

This is by far one of the best I have ever tried, so if you are a fan of the classic toast Skagen, head to Riche on Birger Jarlsgatan 4 (almost down by the water at Nybroplan). T- östermalstorg, exit Stureplan/Birger Jarlsgatan.

http://www.riche.se/riche-about

Toast Skagen is a classic Swedish starter that everyone has to try (except those allergic to shellfish). It is a combination of shrimp and other ingredients on a small piece of sautéd bread. It was created by the popular Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman, who worked at Riche. He embraced Swedish culinary traditions during the decades immediately after World War II. At a time when home cooking was starting to fade away and be replaced by foreign fast food, he also elevated classic Swedish dishes into fancy restaurant repertoire, lending them new status.

Vaxholm

copyright Lennart Hansson

Vaxholm got its name from Vaxholm castle (built in 1549) , built on an island on the inlet to Stockholm by king Gustav Vasa.  The town itself was established in 1558.

Vaxholm became a popular spa town and summer retreat in the 1880s for Stockholmers. Until 1912, houses were only allowed to be built of wood, which gave Vaxholm a unique character.

The town serves as a gateway to the archipelago and is always packed  on sunny summer days.it is a typical summer town with not much going on winter time.

If you are looking for a nice meal, visit Vaxholms Hotell, right on the water. They serve traditional Scandinavian cuisine and is in the mid-price range (according to Swedish standards)

Vaxholm is easy to reach by bus or ferry from Stockholm. Bus 670 runs from Tekniska Hogskolan tunnelbana station, travel time is about 45 minutes. Timetable can be checked at www.sl.se

Boats leave from Stockholm’s Strömkajen next to the Grand Hotel. Waxholmsbolaget runs the ferries (www.waxholmsbolaget.se), who are very frequent in the summer but less so in the winter.

I’m back!

after a 4.5 year break all about Sweden is back. Better than ever.

Read our blog for the latest tips about places to visit, restaurants, places to go out, traditions and news.

City parks in Stockholm

Stockholm has about 38 hectares of parkland and greenbelt areas with some 35,000 park trees. Here are some of the most known ones.

Hagaparken
Hagaparken, on the outskirts of Stockholm city is a huge park with lots of biking and running trails, as well as big meadows and forest areas overlooking the water. There are also several things to see in the park. There is a butterfly house which is well worth a visit. In the Solna part of the park, near the butterfly house, there are a few small buildings that were built for the royalties in the 18^th century. How to get there: take a bus to Roslagstull or Haga norra or Haga Sodra.
Humlegården
Humlegården was established during the reign of Gustavus Adolphus as a place to grow brewers’ hops. Later, it evolved into a kind of amusement park, with carrousels and dance pavilions. The lime trees lining the avenues probably date from the reign of Queen Kristina. In 1877, the Royal Library moved here, and today has huge underground archives. There are many statues, including figures of Carolus Linnaeus and the chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Tours of the Royal Library are arranged during the summer. How to get there: take the subway or bus to Stureplan/Ostermalmstorg.
Kungsträdgården
This popular meeting place served as a kitchen garden for the court during the Middle Ages. It was long the sole province of royalty. The first Swedish arts and industry exhibition was held here in 1866. Kungsträdgården was also the scene of the “battle of the elms”, when its elms were slated to be felled to make room for an underground station. Ultimately, they were spared the axe and the station was built a short distance from the park. Today, the park is home to an open-air stage, a winter skating rink and several restaurants and cafés. The northern section of the park was given a facelift in 1998. Among the statues are figures of Karl XIII (with the lions) and Karl XII. How to get there: take the subway or bus to Kungsträdgården or Hamngatan.
Vitabergsparken
Vitabergsparken, on the southern part of Sodermalm, was laid out at the turn of the century, and contains within its precincts Sofia church (1906) and a number of historic wooden houses. How to get there: bus to Sofia (bus 2) or Asogatan (bus 3) or walk from subway station Medborgarplatsen or Skanstull.

Midsummer

Perhaps the most characteristically Swedish tradition of them all is the Midsummer celebration. The Midsummer holiday is celebrated on the weekend closest to 24 June, with Midsummer Eve on Friday followed by Midsummer Day on Saturday. Midsummer marks the longest day of the year, and the skies never really grow dark. We celebrate the light and the greening of the natural world.
Most Stockholmers leave to the archipelago or the countryside during Midsummer weekend, but those who stay behind in the city have many options, too. Skansen, the world´s oldest open-air museum, holds a grand and festive Midsummer celebration, with dancing and games to the tones of Swedish folk music. Many participants wear traditional folk costumes and wreaths of flowers in their hair. Midsummer is celebrated in similar fashion at locations throughout Stockholm. A maypole decorated with flowers and leaves is raised in a meadow. The maypole is put together in the shape of cross with wreaths hanging from its crosspiece. Once the maypole has been raised, the party can begin, with dancing, singing and games around the maypole followed by traditional dishes including herring (marinated with vinegar, sugar, onions and spices) and new potatoes. Beer and snaps wash down the food. One folk tradition that still lives on is that unmarried girls pick seven types of flowers during the night and put them under their pillow when they go to bed. According to tradition, they will dream of their husband to be.

Play golf on Gotland

 

Gotland is perfect for golf, and there are many places where you can play. Most of the courses listed below are pay & play, so you don’t have to be a member to play.

 

1. Stenkyrka Golf Tjauti Pay & Play
2. Slite Golf Club 18 hole park- and wood course
3. Lugnet 9 hole park course, Pay & Play
4. Hästnäs Golfbana Pay & Play
5. Gotska Golf Club 18-hole links course
6. Nygårds Golf Pay & Play
7. Suderbys Golf Club 9-hole course
8. Visby Golf Club 18-hole seaside links course
9. Ljugarn Golf Club Wood 9-hole course
10. Gumbalde Golf Club 18-hole open park course
11. När Golf Club 18-hole nature course
12. Petsarve Gårdsgolf Pay & Play

Here is a list of all the golf clubs on Gotland:

Gotska Golf Club
18+9 holes, par 68+72
Links course
Travel: Visby Airport
Phone: +46 498 21 55 45

Ljugarn Golf Club
9 holes, par 36
Forest course
Travel: Road 143 to Ljugarn
Phone: +46 498 49 34 95

Slite Golf Club
18 holes, par 71
Forest and park course
Travel: Road 143, turn left Othem
Phone: +46 498 22 61 70

Visby Golf Club (Kronholmen)
27 holes, par 72
Seaside course
Travel: Road 140, 25 km south of Visby
Phone: +46 498 24 50 58

Gumbalde Golf Club
18 holes, par 71
Open park course with water
Travel: Road 144 to Stånga
Phone: +46 498 48 28 80

När Golf Club
18 holes, par 68
Nature course close to the sea
Travel: From När road to Närshamn
Phone: +46 498 49 23 20

Suderbys Golf Club
9-hole course, par 32
18-hole championship course in 2006.
Travel: Road 140, 7 km south of Visby
Phone: +46 498 29 65 45

 

Visit Visby

Visby is located on the island of Gotland, east of southers Sweden in the Baltic sea. You can get there by ferry or plane from Stockholm or other cities on the sout-east coast of Sweden.
Visby is a very well-preserved medieval city with a vast network of narrow, cobble stone streets. The many ruins of churches and abbeys give Visby its unique charm. 500 years ago, Visby was the centre of the Hanseatic League – a mighty trade network of 30 independent cities. The Hanseatic League made the town rich and during the 12th and 13th centuries it became one of the most prominent towns in the Baltic Sea region. A defense wall with more than 50 towers surrounds the old stone houses and churches. The ring wall is about 3.5 kilometers long and 11 meters tall, and within the wall are the ruins of 23 churches and abbeys.
In 1995 Visby was put on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, entailing a responsibility for keeping the unique cultural values intact. The World Heritage Committee wrote: “Visby is an outstanding example of a Northern European walled Hanseatic town which has in a unique way preserved its townscape and its extremely valuable buildings, which in form and function clearly reflect this significant human settlement.”

Many architectural historians consider Visby to be the finest example of early gothic architecture in the northern Europe. 200 medieval stone buildings have been preserved. Fiskargränd is one of Visby’s most popular narrow streets with its roses and tiny houses.
Visby also has a beautiful botanical garden where one can relax after a day exploring the old town. Don’t miss to watch the setting sun at the kissing gate! Within the wall, there are large numbers of small shops, restaurants, pubs and clubs, many of which keep open all year round. They are especially crowded during the summer, when a lot of people from Stockholm come to the island for their holidays. Every summer, Visby has “the Medieval Weeks” with a lot of activities for everyone, picturing life in medieval Visby.

 

The Monarchy

Sweden is a monarchy and the king is the Head of State but he has no longer any authority in the governing of the state. The king’s task is of representative and ceremonial character. But this has not always been the case. In the 1809 Constitution, which was valid until 1974, the king had the formal power to govern the country. It was the king who appointed and dismissed the ministers and he was the highest military commander, among other things. The king’s authority had declined even before the change of constitution in 1974. The last king who actively tried to influence parliament was King Gustaf V during World War II.
The present king, King Carl XVI Gustaf was born in 1946, the son of Prince Gustav Adolf and Princess Sibylla. He became king after his grandfather’s, King Gustav VI Adolf, death in 1973. In 1976 the king married Silvia Sommerlath and they have three children: crown princess Victoria, prince Carl Philip and princess Madeleine.
Until 1980 the crown was inherited by men only (agnatic succession), but in 1980 the order of succession was changed to strictly cognatic succession, which means that both male and female descendants to King Carl XVI Gustaf have the right to the throne. An elder sister or brother takes precedence over a younger sister or brother. Thus crown princess Victoria will become Queen and Head of State after her father.
The royal family does not live in the royal Palace of Stockholm. Instead they have lived in the Palace of Drottningholm outside of Stockholm since 1982. The king is known for his great interest in nature and environmental questions, he is Chairman of Honour in the World Scout Federation and chairman of honor of the Swedish WWF.

Alliance wins election

The Alliance won the Swedish election with about 48% against 46% for the Social Democrats and its allies. The new Prime Minister will be Fredrik Reinfeldt of the Moderate Party, since his party got the most votes of the Alliance parties. He will have to present the new government by October 6th and the budget 10 days later. There is a lot of speculations about who will get the most important posts, like Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance Minister.

Flying to Sweden from the UK and Ireland

Flying to Sweden from the British Isles and Ireland is easy. Many airlines fly the same routes, making the prices relatively low. Note that Ryanair flies to a central airport in Gothenburg, making them an excellent choice, but to airports about 1.5 hours outside Stockholm.
Here are the direct routes to Sweden listed, make sure you check the prices with different airlines before you book your ticket. Also, if you are going to southern Sweden, near Malmo, check the prices to Copenhagen.

• British Airways flies London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda.

• SAS flies London Heathrow, London City, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester to Stockholm Arlanda.
• London Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham to Gothenburg Landvetter.

• FlyMe flies London Stanstead to Gothenburg Landvetter.

• Ryanair flies Dublin, London Stanstead and Glasgow Prestwick to Gothenburg City.
• Dublin and London Stanstead to Malmo Sturup.
• London Luton to Stockholm Vasteras.
• London Stanstead and Glasgow Prestwick to Stockholm Skavsta (Nykoping).