42 sleepless hours in Stockholm

After spending a sleepless night in the Brussels airport, I reached Stockholm early October morning, and camped in the arrivals hall to wait for Kristina.  First thing to note, Stockholm Skavsta airport is NOT in Stockholm. It took us more than an hour to reach the city centre (time without sleep : 30 hrs). 

When preparing for our late-October trip to Scandinavia, me and Kristina brought our best winter-wear, but what we got was far beyond our expectations. As soon as we left the bus, icy wind shot in our faces as we struggled to find the hostel. The directions given on the hostel website suggested getting there on foot. Google Maps warned me it was a 20-30 minute walk, but we went along with the hostel suggestions. Half an hour later, with ice-cut hands and  bruised cheeks dragging our suitcases over cobbled streets of Stockholm we finally reached our shelter. 

As challenging as  the weather was, me and Kristina found Best Hostel Old Town Skeppsbron wonderful. Free tea, coffee and pasta any time, with large living areas felt more like a student apartment than tourist accommodation. If you don't count the weird middle-aged Romanian man in the bunk bed across the room, the accommodation was lovely. When I initially booked a '28-bed mixed dorm' I expected an army-like setting, but the actual dorm was divided in smaller compartments of around eight beds, with book shelves, wardrobes and reading lights to make it more home-like.

After settling in and having  a cup of tea, we met up with Gustaf, my old debating friend, who is a local in the Swedish capital. We went out for a massively overpriced cider and found ourselves in the company of PhD students at Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). As much as we tried to fit in, our cover was blown quickly when we couldn't fully participate in their economic-political conversations. We were pleasantly surprised though - we expected SSE PhD candidates to be arrogant snobs, but they turned out to be incredibly friendly and easy-going (time without sleep: 42 hrs).

The next days of Stockholm were mainly sightseeing. I couldn't help this Swedish capital reminding me of Riga with its narrow cobbled streets and  nordic architecture. We wondered around the Old town, Gustaf took us on an educational Stockholm tour - from seeing the prettiest, as well as ugliest buildings of the city, the library, universities, the SSE headquarters all finished with delicious Swedish meatballs for dinner. Try the small Nya Blå Dörren restaurant near Slussen metro stop, great value, atmosphere and food!

http://www.bla-dorren.se/
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Best-Hostel-Old-Town-Skeppsbron/Stockholm/30695