Winter in Stockholm

I'm away for Christmas now but I thought you might enjoy my photos from my winter trip to Stockholm, Sweden two years ago. Stockholm in winter was certainly not at the top of my travel wish list but I'm glad I went. It was really pretty and everyone was so nice. I also think it's fun to travel to Europe near the holidays since they always have great holiday markets and decorations like the Christmas tree in the harbor above.

The first day we arrived, there was a huge snowstorm so the entire city was blanketed in snow and had had a picture postcard beauty. It was also really cold and unlike New York, where the snow is immediately shoveled away, the snow in Stockholm just keeps piling up and all they do is throw some sand down for traction. If you plan to visit Sweden in the winter, definitely pack some practical footwear and warm clothes!

On the island of Gamla Stan, or Old Town, the cobblestone streets snake up and down the hills. On the main street, are the tourist shops but if you walk up the hill, you will find charming little shops and cafes...that is if you don't fall first!

The cafe in the square on Gamla Stan was decorated with greenery for the holidays.

The interior of another cafe was decorated in a traditional Swedish style. I love the pale blue woodwork and wallpaper. Many homes and business also display candles in their windows as well as lighted stars.

On Gamla Stan, there was a shop that had this funny little monkey on display in the window, which we thought was amusing. I wish I had taken a photo of the cute little antique shop across the street where we bought vintage Christmas ornaments and traditional Swedish Dala wood horse and roosters. I bought a lovely vintage rooster for about $20 USD which I actually thought was a bargain until my parent's presented me with two very similar vintage Swedish roosters that they bought at a flea market in Pennsylvania for $5 for the pair. Oh well.

I love this photo of the entrance above where they used natural greenery and berries as holiday decorations. Sweden is known for it's design and has a whole area of the city full of design shops. Most unfortunately were closed when I was there but they are definitely worth checking out if you ever happen to visit Stockholm.

The old buildings on the square were all very charming and painted in various shades of yellows and reds. The focal point was the large fountain and the Christmas tree in the center of the square.

We stayed at the popular Rival Hotel which is owned by a member of ABBA and overlooks a beautiful park Mariatorget that is referred to as the Soho area of Stockholm. The area has very cute shops and restaurants and the subway was close and very easy to navigate. The rooms were very well decorated and had very comfortable beds with fluffy white duvets. Each room has an interesting blown up photograph printed on canvas above the bed. An idea worth stealing for your own home.

On New Year's day, we took a very cold boat ride along the archipelago. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to do when you are hung over and tired after a night out at Riche, the cool Stockholm restaurant/club, but it was worth it. It was great to see the city from the water including the monastery above.

It's funny how some of the photos look like they were taken in black and white because it was so snowy and grey. We sat outside for as long as we could stand it so I missed taking photos of the trip back and side the island where all the mansions were located, including those of former ABBA members. In Stockholm, they take ABBA very seriously! They also all take long walks along the water on Sundays even on the coldest and snowiest days.

I think I would like to take another trip to Stockholm when it's summer and the sun shines all day and night instead of the dark and snowy winter but I guess I'd rather go somewhere cold than no where at all. Vi ses sénare Stockholm!

Hej Stockholm!

All I really want to do is take a vacation where I sit on the beach and do nothing for a week but for some reason, I keep getting talked into cold weather vacations. I can't really complain, I'd rather go someplace cold than no place at all, so when a Swedish friend in New York asked a few of us if we wanted to spend New Year's in Stockholm a few years back, we jumped at the chance. I will have to dedicate a real post to the trip but most of it involves snow and it's just too soon for me to think about that right now!

While in Stockholm, we stayed at a fabulous boutique hotel, The Rival, owned by a former member of ABBA. It's a really great place to stay and I will get to that in another post but while we were there, we made it a point to stop by The Grand Hotel for lunch one day. At that point, the Grand Hotel was nice but a bit dodgy and a little musty. A place your grandmother would enjoy but not anymore. The Grand Hotel has undergone a huge renovation and so have the restaurants. Mathias Dahlgren has opened two restaurants in the famed hotel and they are getting rave reviews not only for the food but for the decor, designed by the renowned British interior designer Ilse Crawford.

The gilded screen in the photos above was created by Studio Job and depicts culinary tools, Swedish icons and Viking ships and marks the entrance to the restaurant Mathias Dahlgren with a great flourish. It reminds me of all the wonderful cut wood crafts that you can find in the Scandinavian countries.

There are actually two restaurants, the first is Matsalen ("The Dining Room"), seen above. It is more formal yet also very simple and elegant. Just what you would expect for a Swedish interior, even if it was designed by a Brit.

In the more formal restaurant, Ilse Crawford chose finer finishes and products, including a Carlo Scarpa chandelier. Crawford says she "was drawn to the idea of a new Swedish kitchen that would be global and local without being, you know, fushion. I'm not a historicist. But I like the idea of DNA, and what was interesting was to find the Swedish roots, things that are incredibly evocative of the context, and take them forward."

Matsalen also has reupholstered Grand Hotel chairs and a table designed by Carl Malmsten, one of the most famous furniture makers in Sweden. An interesting note is that the designer was apparently brought up in the house that is now the restaurant and made the table for his family in 1926 which means the table has never left the building!

The floors are a grey oak herringbone and the other tables created by Crawford have curvaceous iron bases and there are velvet covered Chesterfield sofas as banquettes.

In the more casual restaurant, Matbaren ("The Food Bar"), the cooking is more basic and classic and the decor is robust. "We used solid public spaces - feeling materials - zinc, oak paneling that gives you the feeling of a Stockholm bar, a tile floor adapted from the stairwell floors in the building (actually an adjacent 1878 residence annexed by the hotel)," says Crawford.

There is also a mix of Swedish and global she says citing the juxtaposition of rough 18th-century tables and with Jorn Utzon's Tivoli pendant lights and red can-bottomed chairs by Vico Magistretti. Chef and owner Mathias Dahlgren claims the design is reminiscent of a typical Swedish farmhouse kitchen.

All I know is that after seeing this amazingly beautiful restaurant, I have to plan a summer trip to Stockholm. One when the sun is shining for almost the entire day and there is no snow on the ground!

Photos courtesy of The Grand Hotel