100 days

[Austman]

The train in from the airport was very pleasant and efficient. The thing with luggage is the physical lifting up onto platforms etc, stairs esp with a crowd. We caught the train in Amsterdam and caught the lift up which was fine only to have a platform change five minutes before departure. The lifts were swamped so no lift so with a pack of people it was down the stairs then up the next one. Not pleasant at all and dangerous for older people. Can do without it on a holiday. I think the taxi to the port was around $18 equiv.

Well yes, but all Stockholm metro stations have lifts and are family and luggage friendly. So are the buses - they have had kneeling ones for decades. I suppose $18 is fine but it depends where one is staying in Stockholm! Most sites say the current taxi fare from central station is around SEK 200:- to SEK 300:- (which is not close to $18).

Checking Taxi Stockholm just now and it's SEK 225:- or $35. SEK 300:- would be $47. And it would be more than that if you are further away from central.


Anyway - as in all of Scandinavia, public transport works very well and is certainly an option worth considering if you can manage it!

 

[drron]

One year ago our taxi from the Sheraton to the whisper was 200 Sek with tip.Didn't worry us.

 

[Pushka]

Well yes, but all Stockholm metro stations have lifts and are family and luggage friendly. So are the buses - they have had kneeling ones for decades. I suppose $18 is fine but it depends where one is staying in Stockholm! Most sites say the current taxi fare from central station is around SEK 200:- to SEK 300:- (which is not close to $18).

Checking Taxi Stockholm just now and it's SEK 225:- or $35. SEK 300:- would be $47. And it would be more than that if you are further away from central.


Anyway - as in all of Scandinavia, public transport works very well and is certainly an option worth considering if you can manage it!

Maybe. It was left over cash so it didn't stress me so much.

Guess I'm into convenience. . We schlepped our luggage a huge distance in Venice due to being dropped off at the wrong port and I never want to repeat that. Was so tired at the end and then their escalator was broken and I tripped on the last step (hate walking up escalators as they have a greater height) and cut my hand. Now I like to arrive in comfort.

 

[Austman]

One year ago our taxi from the Sheraton to the whisper was 200 Sek with tip.Didn't worry us.

It's only about 4km as it's on the same side/area of the city. But paying SEK 225:- ($35) for a 4km trip might worry some. And it might be a lot more than that from other areas of central Stockholm. Paying SEK 30:- ($4.65) might be more attractive. It might even be included if you have already bought a 24/72 hour travel card.

 

[turtlemichael]

Austman, we will be at the Hilton Slussen when we get there. It is on the red line too. I'll check it out. Looking at Google it looks an indirect walk at the Gardet end?

 

[Austman]

Austman, we will be at the Hilton Slussen when we get there. It is on the red line too. I'll check it out. Looking at Google it looks an indirect walk at the Gardet end?

The Hilton Slussen is bit further away from Värtahamnen than central (and the Sheraton/Radisson Blu hotels). It's on the other side of Gamla Stan. But it's right on the metro red line to Gärdet. It is a bit of a walk from Gärdet to Värtahamnen (10 mins or so). So that's your concern I think. But pretty flat and easy walking. Not fun if it's raining etc.

By the way - Hilton Slussen is on Södermalm. Södermalm, an island, is a wonderful area usually missed by tourists. So, if you have time, instead of instinctively heading to Gamla Stan and the city, go the other direction and explore a bit.

Slussen (literally "the sluice" - between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea) itself is a bit awful but it's in the middle of many great locations.

 

[turtlemichael]

.... Taxis are not cheap in Stockholm, so be prepared - but if only there once - I suppose - who cares?

You are right there. Our taxi yesterday cost 180 SEK, or just under 30 AUD, for the 5 minute trip from Central Station to the Hilton Slussen. Google tells me it was 1.6km. That was on the meter which, as it ticked over, reminded me of the electricity meter in "The Adventures of Barry Mackenzie"

 

[turtlemichael]

Here we are in Stockholm in superb weather. Rain is forecast in a couple of days but that prospect was not a worry today. It got to 23C - get your shirts off folks! I think this is the warmest day we have had in Europe in our 5 weeks here.

We flew SAS from CPH to ARN. It was quite a pleasant short flight although the boarding process was chaotic. I had not experienced group boarding through electronic gates before. Group A was called (having no *A status we were group G!). Of course, inevitably every man and his dog headed for the electronic gate. The 75% who were Group B and beyond were rejected and it was chaotic as those entitled could not get to the gate through the jumble of bags and people. I reckon it took twice as long to board as other priority systems.

Anyway, we got to Stockholm only a little late and took the ARN Express for the 20 minute trip to the city. The train is somewhat dated now but still works well. The taxi fare to the Hilton Slussen from Central Station came as a shock (see above) but we got here in good time and in good condition. Today was spent wandering though Gamla Stan and Sodemalm, behind the hotel, at Austman's suggestion. Both were impressive. Soldermalm appears to be a very livable and diverse neighbourhood on the edge of the CBD.

Tonight we have been to an excellent restaurant called Tradition on Gamla Stan - a modern take on traditional Swedish cuisine. The meatballs were to die for!

The colours of Stockholm remind me of Australia. This pic is taken from the Hilton Slussen lounge.


The same pic taken 5 hours later at sunset. I think the change in the light is amazing.


We found this on the room guide. It is good to know that there are still pedants in the world!


Royal guard at the Palace.


In Sodermalm.

 

[kevrosmith]

I enjoyed a few very good meals at Tranan, and a local friend recommended it also. It's just north of the city at Odenplan but easy to access getting off the train at Odenplan station. Some very traditional Swedish dishes there.

 

[Melburnian1]

turtlemichael, early on in this excellent report you mentined how you were having difficulty tracking flights. One trick is to use Google to search for (say) BA1 - when it appears, find it on the FlightRadar24 site and then once in that, click on the aircraft registration if that is showing. This will then give you a list and you'll be able to see from where your plane is arriving. This doesn't always work as sometimes FR24 does not "know" which aircraft is operating a particular flight that has yet to depart.

You also commented about being unable to find space for a suitcase on a train in England or Scotland. It's generally best if there is a designated space at the end of the car (typically near the door into the passenger saloon) to place suitcases there (stackable); if not, depending on the car design, placing it at the back of the last row of seats (assuming the seats are all forward facing, or at least the last row is) can be useful. Overhead luggage racks on trains are normally not designed for heavy 20 to 32 kilogram suitcases.

In your great reviews of various Hiltons, you mentioned that a criteria you use to rate an hotel is whether two suitcases can be laid flat without tripping on them. Do you also use the criteria of whether the hotel has at least one stand for placing a suitcase on? None of your photos showed one of these. Were they present, or not provided? I love them as it saves having to bend down to floor level.

You deserve plaudits for finding cheap online train fares in the UK. I find the National Rail site good for this at last minute.

 

[Austman]

But it's right on the metro red line to Gärdet. It is a bit of a walk from Gärdet to Värtahamnen (10 mins or so). So that's your concern I think. But pretty flat and easy walking. Not fun if it's raining etc.

For anyone interested, here is a map of the Värtahamnen area and how to get there from metro station Gärdet or from bus line 76 (which goes via Slussen then central Stockholm, runs every 10 mins most of the day and takes 10-15 mins or less).

https://www.tallinksilja.se/documen...len-2017/5892207d-4498-44fa-8ccb-b18b9823f2f7

http://sl.se/ficktid/sommar/S76.pdf

 

[turtlemichael]

turtlemichael, early on in this excellent report you mentined how you were having difficulty tracking flights. One trick is to use Google to search for (say) BA1 - when it appears, find it on the FlightRadar24 site and then once in that, click on the aircraft registration if that is showing. This will then give you a list and you'll be able to see from where your plane is arriving. This doesn't always work as sometimes FR24 does not "know" which aircraft is operating a particular flight that has yet to depart.

Thanks for that.

You also commented about being unable to find space for a suitcase on a train in England or Scotland. It's generally best if there is a designated space at the end of the car (typically near the door into the passenger saloon) to place suitcases there (stackable); if not, depending on the car design, placing it at the back of the last row of seats (assuming the seats are all forward facing, or at least the last row is) can be useful. Overhead luggage racks on trains are normally not designed for heavy 20 to 32 kilogram suitcases.

The problem is when all those options are full of baggage which we found to be the case quite common. We soon learned how to do the dash to be in the first few passengers to board after the platform is announced.

In your great reviews of various Hiltons, you mentioned that a criteria you use to rate an hotel is whether two suitcases can be laid flat without tripping on them. Do you also use the criteria of whether the hotel has at least one stand for placing a suitcase on? None of your photos showed one of these. Were they present, or not provided? I love them as it saves having to bend down to floor level.

Most if not all rooms have had a foldout luggage rack. I store it in the wardrobe. The racks we have had are not designed for large permanently open suitcases or you risk all the contents ending on the floor. Our longest stay, at the Hilton Bankside, was for 10 days and we unpacked what we thought we'd need and stored the cases.

You deserve plaudits for finding cheap online train fares in the UK. I find the National Rail site good for this at last minute.

What I did was open a Virgin Trains account and booked all of them on that site using National Rail for research. It might apply to other rail companies too (and there might be other ways of doing it) but what I found was it was convenient to have the numerous separate bookings in one place for reference. The other plus was that when booking via Virgin sometimes trains were available a week or two in advance of the operator's site. eg The opening date on the operator's site was 90 days in advance of the journey but Virgin had them available to book 104 days in advance. I always got the same price. Early booking is usually the key to cheap fares but you need to have set plans, travel insurance and an OCD type personality.

 

[turtlemichael]

For anyone interested, here is a map of the Värtahamnen area and how to get there from metro station Gärdet or from bus line 76 (which goes via Slussen then central Stockholm, runs every 10 mins most of the day and takes 10-15 mins or less).

https://www.tallinksilja.se/documen...len-2017/5892207d-4498-44fa-8ccb-b18b9823f2f7

http://sl.se/ficktid/sommar/S76.pdf

Thanks Austman. I hope someone will make use of it. The OH has put his foot down, because of the luggage, so we'll get a taxi which the Hilton concierge has told me will be around 300 sek. They apparently all take credit cards too.

 

[flightobserver]

Did you get to see the changing of the guards in Stockholm at the palace? It is quite extravagant and you are able to get quite close to it unlike the British one. There is a marching band performance too - they played ABBA and Europe when I was there which was rather patriotic

 

[turtlemichael]

I have a sad memory of Stockholm from my only other visit which was in 1988. I was with the OH who was attending a conference so I had plenty of time on my hands to wander about. It was late June and great weather. I was near one of the tourist wharf areas and became conscious of someone acting erratically near me so I kept my distance and did, as you do, ignore him. A minute later there was a splash behind me and much activity on the wharf. He had either jumped in or fallen in. It was very quickly that a police launch was fishing his body out of the water. The lifebuoy photo below brought back the memory.

Another of Austman's excellent suggestions was to go to Saltsjobaden which is a very small beach town about 30 minutes from Slussen by train. As this was the near perfect day, the first one I have worn shorts, we decided to go for lunch. We are at the stage of this trip that we need to slow down a bit and it is good the cruise part is only 3 days away.

Unfortunately, we found at the station that the train is out of action until late September because of track work but there was a substitute bus. That worked out ok once we found it. I guess you do trackwork here when the weather allows. Saltsjobaden is extremely pretty and very laid back. It felt to me a little like an undeveloped Provincetown. Anywhere like it in Australia so close to a large city would be much more developed.It clearly is a boatie's heaven though there were a few hardy kids swimming.

 

[turtlemichael]

In Saltsjobaden the place to stay is the appropriately named Grand Hotel. We didn't stay but did have a superb lunch on the terrace.


The Grand Hotel Saltsjobaden.


View from the Terrace. The waiter told us that the water in front freezes over each year which is currently hard to believe.


Better view from the Terrace!


One of the best Herring starters i have ever had. Strong praise.


Arctic char with summer vegetables.

 

[turtlemichael]

Did you get to see the changing of the guards in Stockholm at the palace? It is quite extravagant and you are able to get quite close to it unlike the British one. There is a marching band performance too - they played ABBA and Europe when I was there which was rather patriotic

I think it must vary from day to day. It may have something to do with whether the Queen is in residence which she appears not to be at the moment. Yesterday there was no band and it was all very simple. There were still huge crowds up close to the action.

 

[Austman]

Thanks Austman. I hope someone will make use of it. The OH has put his foot down, because of the luggage, so we'll get a taxi which the Hilton concierge has told me will be around 300 sek. They apparently all take credit cards too.

And fair enough too!

Unfortunately, we found at the station that the train is out of action until late September because of track work but there was a substitute bus.

That's a pity, the train, a modified older style metro train that uses overhead power, is quite fun. Still, the busses in Stockholm are mostly pretty comfortable too.

View from the Terrace. The waiter told us that the water in front freezes over each year which is currently hard to believe.

It pretty much freezes over all around Stockholm. Most of the boats you see then have to be lifted out of the water for winter! It always seemed like a lot of work to me - but when you love boating...

 

[Pushka]

What surprised me in the Baltic countries was how quickly the close by waters must turn to solid ice and then must thaw again. Enough so that trucks can be driven some distance.

Austman - having lived there do the temperatures just seem to plummet overnight to get that cold that quickly? What time of the year?

I remember being in NY in early November and one day we were hot in T shirts and the next were hastily buying gloves caps and scarves off the street vendors. Turned to freezing overnight.

 

[Austman]

Austman - having lived there do the temperatures just seem to plummet overnight to get that cold that quickly? What time of the year?

They didn't seem to. But Stockholm is not a hot place even in the middle of summer - low to mid 20s are typical. I thought Stockholm had long, "soft" summer days - with hardly a need for sunscreen. The Scandinavians do have great complexions. What I found noticeable was the huge daily change in the amount of daylight (and any sunshine) going from around 6 hours in the middle of winter (it seemed less than that) to nearly 19 hours in the middle of summer (and it sometimes seemed more than that).