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Stockholm - who, what, where?

Whisky Priestess

11:48 / 03.02.06

I and some others are going to Stockholm for a mate's birthday from March 9-11 (Thu-Sat). Tell me:

a) do you live there? Fancy showing us around? Fancy a drink?

b) do you know any cool bars/pubs/clubs/museums/shops etc that we should not miss?

c) how about youth hostels/hotels/friendly floors?

(I'll move this to the Gathering if requested but I thought it would get more traffic in Convo)

Mon Oncle Ignatius

12:58 / 03.02.06

I've been there, about 6 years ago. We stayed with friends outside the city, so I have no idea about accomodation, but I can heartily recommend the Fylkingen for all kinds of more avant arts and musical projects, if that's of interest. It's an intriguing space too.

There is a great dining hall in Stockholm, the name of which escapes me, which is an old Victorian working people's establishment where many students hang out. You eat at communal tables on cafeteria-style benches, in a wood-panelled room. I seem to recall they do serve reindeer, even, though that's not something I would ever try personally. Anyhow, it's a cool non-touristy place to go, and they had (6 years ago) some rather odd cartoony paintings about sperm on display.

Any Stockholmers recognise this place BTW?

In the Old City there are of course the obligatory Viking accoutrement shops near some quite good record stores, so all your axe/chainmail/Bathory/black metal needs can be taken care of in a short space of time. Again, should such things interest you, of course. The Old City in general is a great place to wander around, and there's also the monument to the Olaf Palme (the prime minister murdered in the street a few decades back) fairly nearby which is quite simple and moving.

Note on alcohol - it is expensive in Sweden (or was...) but you I recall you can get cheaper beers etc. from supermarkets provided the alcohol level is below 3% or something.

I'm sure Swedes/residents/people who've been there more recently can enlighten you further far better than I can though.

Damn, I think I want to go to Scandinavia again now. Even if it is very very very cold there right now.

18:29 / 03.02.06

I hear that if they keep you there against your will, you start to really like it.

Whisky Priestess

13:38 / 04.02.06

That's what I'm rather hoping they'll do.

14:25 / 04.02.06

I love that city....was there last summer for a few dyas doing outdoorsie stuff which probably won't be much fun in March. If I remember correctly, there is a YHA hostel in the Old Town, which would be a lovely place to stay.

Lilly Nowhere Late

21:07 / 04.02.06

Stockholm was weird in my recollection. It was actually only 5years ago that we were there unless I was pregnant for 2 years. I recall that pregnancy tests are difficult to believe in Sweedish. The snow is waist deep and the people are quite a lot like narcoleptic robots(with good reason) until summer. Everything is clean and neat and very visually just like amerika. Most places have coat rooms and it's safe to leave your wet boots, hats and gloves on the radiators immediately inside supermarkets. I would not rush back there unless it was definitely summer and I had access to my own dog and more of the great outdoors. Still it isn't an unpleasant place.

Mon Oncle Ignatius

09:08 / 05.02.06

It was actually only 5years ago that we were there unless I was pregnant for 2 years

[aside]

Maybe it just seemed like it...

[/aside]

Whisky Priestess

10:21 / 11.02.06

OK, I have been given two choices: (all prices per person for three nights)

Choice 1:
the City Backpackers' Hostel (centrally located and, apparently, the cleanest hostel in Sweden)
There are two options here:
- a 4 bed dorm with shared facilities: £50.70
- an apartment that sleeps 6, with kitchen and bathroom: £82

Choice 2
Pensionat Oden
- centrally located (they have three pensions, but the best option is in the city centre) and highly recommended by a friend:
- a double room £95 (so basically people would be sharing with 1 other person for a bit more cash rather than three others for less)

Problem is, I can look at the very pretty pictures on the pensionat site but not the backpacker's place site - and I really like the sound of the six-bed apartment because I don't like communal showers/kitchens - but if it looks like a gulag I'll stump up a bit extra for the luxury of a guesthouse.

Could any kind soul with the relevant posh software visit the backpackers' site and tell me if the rooms look halfway decent? They seem to be space-age rotating images rather than jpgs so I can't see them on this PC.

Mon Oncle Ignatius

13:02 / 11.02.06

Could any kind soul with the relevant posh software visit the backpackers' site and tell me if the rooms look halfway decent? They seem to be space-age rotating images rather than jpgs so I can't see them on this PC.

They look alright; old building done up in clean modern Swedish style by the looks of it, with lockers in the rooms, smallish kitchen. Definitely seems decent enough from a cursory glance through the panoramic views - which are pretty cool, and you can look up and down too, for what it's worth.

As for the software - I think from the look of the page source that it's probably a Java applet, so you might just need to install the JRE from the Sun website on your computer.

13:53 / 11.02.06

This should be what one of the City backpackers hostel room looks like, like.

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Image hosting by Photobucket

17:45 / 11.02.06

Hmm, basic but functional - not bad for the price, fo' sho'.

Thanks all.

(WP in her weekend Alex clothes)

Whisky Priestess

10:41 / 02.03.06

Can people give me a rough idea of exactly how expensive it is to drink in Sweden? Like, London prices, London upmarket bar prices, London strip club prices?

£3 for a beer? £5? £10?
How about wine (my main drink?)

Just so's I know how much cash to plan on spending.

13:11 / 02.03.06

The only wine in Sweden is used for pickling herring; they give aquavit to toddlers, though. In fact, there are free aquavit fountains in the squares of all the major cities. The last time I was in Malmo, some prankster had stuck licorice into the fountains there so it all tasted like sambuca.

Whisky Priestess

13:17 / 02.03.06

Ah, how I wish that were true ...

Mon Oncle Ignatius

16:29 / 02.03.06

Like, London prices, London upmarket bar prices, London strip club prices?

I'm not sure I bought many drinks at a bar all the time I was there, or maybe just the one or two - we drank at home for the most part as it was cheaper.

I seem to recall it was much more expensive than London prices for beer, somewhere around your latter option I suppose - though I've never been to a strip club in London, or Stockholm as it happens, so only have the idea that drinking in such a venue would be horrendously bad on the bank balance. You will probably need to hock your granny's spare set of teeth to pay for a glass of wine* - so change up plenty of Krona before you go.

*wild guess here, but you get the idea