Stockholm, Sweden – Day 3

My last day in Stockholm began with rain. How appropriate. I rolled out of bed at 10:30, which normally I’d call lazy and unnecessary (at least while traveling), but I went to sleep at 4am the night before. Why? ’cause I’m a dumbass and spent time doing business-related things which I shouldn’t have. Work-life separation, people. I need to practice what I preach.

Admittedly, I’m writing this recap several months after the fact, and I have written down that I had the ‘best coffee’ at Espresso House. And it took me a few days to recall this so-called ‘best coffee’, which kind of invalidates my original thought. But now I remember it was at a chain coffee shop, which just goes to show how mediocre coffee is in Scandinavia. But you know what, $5.50 for a big-ass coffee and scone in Sweden is a steal, so maybe that’s why I deemed it the best.

Walking through the main shopping area, I realized how stereotypically Swedish the mannequins looked in the store displays. Blond with defined facial features? Yeah, totally Swedish.

I had but one item on my agenda for my last day in Stockholm: Skansen, the open air market. Skansen is essentially a replica of a 19th century Swedish town, complete with old-timey buildings and animals typical of the country. So I spent the afternoon wandering into tiny homes and shops and saw some reindeer and was quite the happy camper. This was definitely the highlight of Stockholm for me, and hey I even learned a thing or two about Swedish culture and history.

I felt like I should pay one more visit to the old town before leaving, which is how I came to spend the evening in Gamla Stan. I also felt like I should try one of Sweden’s signature dishes, the pytt i panna, aka hash. I felt horribly touristy ordering it, but it was quite tasty. I followed it up with the tiniest cup of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for a mere $3.50!

And that’s about all I have to say about Stockholm.

Dear Gotland: Please be better than Stockholm. And please don’t be too rainy.