Many travel companies offer combined tours to two or three Scandinavian countries. Most often it is Finland-Sweden, less often Finland-Sweden-Denmark, even less often Norway is added to them.
Unfortunately, visiting Sweden (what can we say about Norway and Denmark!) is not always given a sufficient amount of time. And in vain! This country is no less, and maybe even more interesting, than Finland. In particular, this applies to the Swedish capital – Stockholm. The Swedes themselves call this city “beauty on the water” and “the eighth wonder of the world”. He will tell you his ancient legends, whirl in the labyrinth of narrow streets of the Old Town, enchant you with majestic palaces and museums, lead you along the medieval cobblestone pavements: The warmest impressions of visiting Stockholm are preserved for a long time. This city enters the soul gradually, but forever.
What makes the strongest impression on a person who first came to Stockholm? Probably, it depends on the person himself, on his individuality, and on the time of year. The climate of Sweden is unusually mild for the northern country: unlike Russia, in winter it was quite warm there. And in Stockholm, even in the heart of the city, there is very clean air. No wonder it is recognized as the cleanest capital of the world – there really are no problems with the environment.
What sights, architectural monuments are remembered the most? The huge Royal Palace (in Swedish Kungliga Slottet), which is considered to be one of the symbols of the city. After all, Sweden is a monarchy, and the royal family in the country is treated with great respect. In the majestic building of the palace reigns a real royal luxury. This is not only the dwelling of the royal family, but also a unique historical monument. The castle on this place stood from the XII century, and the construction of the current building was completed in the XVIII century.
In the spacious underground halls of the Royal Palace is the Treasury, which stores the jewels of the Swedish kings. On the square in front of the palace, the royal guardsmen carry a guard. Every day at exactly noon there is a solemn and colorful ceremony of changing the guard. In this palace in the center of Stockholm, official receptions usually take place, and King Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia with three already adult children prefer to live in the country palace of Drotningholm. There you can also make an excursion – the palace is open to visitors.
The world’s oldest open-air museum “Skansen” brought old houses and buildings from all over Sweden, and in the park you can see real wild animals – representatives of the fauna of the forests and mountains of the country. Skansen is open to visitors all year round. Swedes love to celebrate holidays there, and then the usually calm and quiet museum is full of joyful people. Kids are especially having fun.
Excursions and just walks around Stockholm are in the first place. Everything else stays for later. Some tourists come here to have fun in clubs and bars, go to pop and rock concerts, join modern trends in fashion. Others will prefer traditional Swedish dance floors where an orchestra plays. Connoisseurs of beer bars and modern restaurants will go to the quarters of Södermalm and Kupchekalmen. Fans of classical and modern productions are waiting for the famous theaters “Dramaten” and “Operan”. Cinema lovers are invited by a unique cinema with super sound and three-dimensional image. If you prefer active recreation and sports, then in winter you can, for example, go ice skating directly on the mirror ice of the stockholm canals. For lovers of shopping in Stockholm there are huge department stores, markets, and small shops where you can take the opportunity and buy Swedish goods, as well as products of well-known companies even cheaper than in other European cities. And gourmets are waiting for a lot of small cozy cafes, where the menu consists exclusively of Swedish dishes, and exquisite restaurants, where the cuisine of different peoples of the world is presented.
The attitude towards visitors is the most benevolent, while it does not depend on nationality. There are practically no problems in communication: almost all Swedes are fluent in English. Therefore, if you speak and understand English at least a little, you can easily find out the answer to any question you are interested in.
Stockholm is interesting at any time of the year. In this friendly city you want to come again and again.
