Welcome to Stockholm, Sweden!

Isn't it great that we can travel the world without actually going anywhere? What a time to be alive! All you need is a bit of imagination.

If you have been keeping up with the news, you'll know that the entire world is pretty much shut down due to a pandemic, which means traveling isn't possible right now and won't be for some time, but not to worry! I am going to show you how to “vacation” at home.

With my new “Virtual Travel” series, I am going to take you guys to some of my favorite places around the world, and we are starting with Stockholm, Sweden!

I am half Swedish and have been to Stockholm countless times. It's a city that amazes me, and I am not just talking about the endless amounts of meatballs.

Anywho, all meatballs aside (for now). I chose Stockholm first because it's one of my favorite cities in Europe. It's a city comprised of 14 islands connected by 57 bridges and home to fascinating museums, drool-worthy food (chocolate and meatballs, duh!), and a laid back culture that strives for a “work hard but not too hard” lifestyle.

This guide will take you around Stockholm, showing you many of the city's prominent landmarks, guiding you through a few of the best museums, tasting some traditional Swedish dishes, and much more!

So get your “bags” packed, and let's start our day wandering the beautiful city of Stockholm!

What to get before “traveling” to Stockholm

To start, we will be making a traditional Swedish breakfast, which includes bread, butter, cheese, and any extra toppings you want, like cucumbers, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Swedish caviar, cold cuts, and sausages. You can also get muesli with plain yogurt if you would like.

Later in the day, we will have a Fika, a traditional Swedish coffee break, so to be prepared, you should get a few things ready:

• Make sure you have coffee readily available
• bake a batch of Swedish Cinnamon rolls, any cake or cookie recipe, or buy pastries from the store.

And finally, we will be making Swedish meatballs so make sure you have the ingredients you need!

That's all you need to fully partake in this virtual Stockholm experience!

Before we start exploring Stockholm, you should set the mood for your “trip,” so it feels like you are there. Here are a few things you can purchase that will help your atmosphere feel a bit more Swedish.

We can't wander Stockholm on an empty stomach now, can we? Let's make a traditional Swedish breakfast! Breakfast in Sweden is very simple and usually pretty light. Swedes tend to start their morning with a coffee and a smörgås which is an open faced sandwich with butter or margarine and cheese on top of Rye bread, but other traditional toppings can be added like tomatoes, cucumbers, cold cuts, and sausages. Muesli served with yoghurt is also a popular breakfast and can be eaten with a smörgås

Here is how to make a typical Swedish breakfast:

• Start with a piece of bread and spread margarine or butter on it.
• Add a couple slices of Vasterbotten cheese on top, but if you can't find it Gruyere, Jarlsberg, or Comte cheese will work just fine.
•  Add other toppings like, tomato, cucumber, cold cuts, sausage, ham, hard boiled eggs, or Swedish caviar. Go as simple or as crazy as you want!
• Grab a cup of strong coffee and/or an orange juice.
• Pour a bowl of Muesli and top it with plain yoghurt (filmjölk is used in Sweden which is a sour yoghurt, but any plain yoghurt will work just fine!)

I hope you are filled up and ready to explore Stockholm! You are in for a busy day, so grab some Swedish snacks  and let's get started!

Let's learn some Swedish!

Our first order of business is to learn some common Swedish Phrases. Most people in Stockholm will speak English, but it never hurts to learn some local phrases; people will still appreciate it. We will go over the most common phrases, and then I will give you recommendations on how you can further your Swedish education.

Okay, let's get this party started!

If you are going to travel to Stockholm (even virtually), you need to learn about Fika and partake in this Swedish tradition. Essentially, Fika means “coffee and cake break,” but any Swede will tell you it's much more than that. Fika is a state of mind, ingrained in the Swedish culture. Every Swede will take at least one Fika a day, but sometimes two or three. It's a part of the Swedish culture so much that every business is required to give employees a Fika break. (offices will even have a Fika room).

You will generally find people enjoying their Fika in a cafe, but since this is a virtual tour and you are doing it from home, you can prepare your own Fika. Most likely, you will have coffee in your house, but tea is perfectly acceptable if you don't like coffee. Then the pastry! I highly recommend making Swedish Cinnamon buns, and I have an excellent recipe for them! They are a lot easier than they look but do take some time to make, so keep that in mind.

If you don't want to make cinnamon buns, you can bake a cake, cookies, or buy from the store. Last but not least, video chat with a friend. Tell her or him about Fika and convince them to do it with you. It's a lot of fun to share the magic of Fika with someone you care about.

Now, there aren't typically any rules for Fika, but many would argue that it is an art, and there are certain things that need to be done for it to be considered a “Fika”. For example,

• Fika should include a cup of coffee and a pastry.
• Have a Fika with friends or colleagues. It's a time to catch up with the people in your life you care about and not think about work, so in these times when we can't go anywhere, try and get a couple of friends together over Skype and have a Fika together!
• You could also do Fika alone. I do it by sipping coffee while reading a book or writing in my journal.

To learn more about Fika, watch the video below!

You may be familiar with the famous Swedish pop band ABBA! They are famous for several songs including “Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, and Money Money Money” Plus a broadway play and movie based off their songs. That being said, you probably aren't surprised that Stockholm has an Abba museum, and our “trip” to Stockholm wouldn't be complete without a visit.

Below you will find a playlist of popular ABBA songs and a museum tour. I would recommend playing the playlist as you are “walking” through the museum – just mute the museum video and enjoy!

Back when Sweden was an ice-filled wasteland, Vikings roamed the country, pillaging villages and murdering those who got in their way. I'll admit, the Vikings were horrible people, but their history is incredibly interesting. The Vasa museum is one of the most popular museums in Stockholm and the most visited in Scandinavia. It holds hundreds of artifacts from the Viking era, including their main attraction: the Vasa Ship built in the 17th century.

The story of the Vasa ship goes: When the ship was built and ready to sail, it only made it out 1300 meters before a light gust of wind swept the ship to its side (so sad!), tragically sinking it, killing 53 passengers. The ship was long forgotten for over 300 years until it was found in 1956 by a marine technician and finally salvaged in 1959 -61.

For this portion of our tour, we are going to explore the Vasa museum via their website. They have their entire audio tour and exhibit descriptions online. You can listen to each audio guide in conjunction with each exhibit. The audio guide comes in several languages.

• Audio Guides
• Exhibits 

It's time for dinner! You have had a crazy long day exploring Stockholm, and I hope you have had fun. For dinner, we are going to be making Swedish meatballs with gravy. Traditional Swedish meatballs are typically served with roasted or baked potatoes, lingonberry jam, and without gravy, but because gravy is delicious and adds so much flavor, we are going make some to put on top of our meatballs.

Instead of potatoes, you can serve them with egg noodles or macaroni, but I recommend opting for the potatoes. I have never eaten them any other way. Here is my favorite Swedish meatball recipe without further ado, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

It's been a loooooong day, and it's almost over! Our last activity is watching a pre-recorded concert from Stockholms concert hall (Koncerhuset). It's famously the home of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and where the Nobel Prize Ceremonies are held. During the year, hundreds of concerts are hosted, including orchestra, chamber music, jazz, and world music.

All the online concerts are free and about an hour-long, so sit back, relax, and let the music take you away.

A few concerts you may enjoy are:

• National Day Concert (Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Ida Sand Trio (Jazz)
• Music Through the Centuries (Chamber Music)

Now that our day in Stockholm is complete, you can choose to learn more about Stockholm and Sweden by checking out these movies, TV shows, and books. Plus, other Swedish items you may like.

Movies

TV Shows

Books

Other Swedish items you may like

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