The Tranquil Little Town That Is Vaxholm

You might want to experience a one day getaway in Sigtuna first.

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Another couple of days off of school and my friend Linh and I went to the small but cozy town of Vaxholm, just over thirty kilometers away from Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. 

We used our SL cards to use the tunnelbana (the subway system) to Tekniska Högskolan (in the red line towards Mörby Centrum) before we changed to Bus number 670 to Vaxholms Kyrka. Once we reached the church, we hopped off, admired the shining sun and walked to central Vaxholm.

Upon walking, we notice that Vaxholm is just like Stockholm's Old Town, Gamla Stan. The architectural design of the houses, the pavement composed out of bricks and the magnificent view of the water makes me think about walking through the narrow streets and admiring the shops and boutiques in Gamla Stan.

Vaxholms Centrum

After some more walking, we reached the pier. There was only a few boats sighted, so you can clearly see the islands close to Vaxholm, separated by the water. The weather was amazing for a walk, so we spent more time walking around the pier and browsing the shops to soak up some Vitamin D.

We then saw one of Vaxhom's most precious attractions, the Vaxholm Fortress. The fortress is situated on a separate island with no connections by land whatsoever.

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Afterwards, Linh and I walked some more and had lunch in Vaxholm's Pizzeria, before boarding a bus bound back to Stockholm.

Another small walk/Sweden adventure today was successfully completed. Honestly, I expected more from Vaxholm, as the standards set by our first trip to Sigtuna were really high. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this day.

Where in Sweden should I explore next? Leave me a comment!

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Read More - Solna's Karlberg Castle

- Unlucky Numbers Around The Wolrd

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The Stockholm Observatory

Located near the Stockholm Public Library is the Stockholm Observatory, located at the peak of the hill at Observatorieparken.

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Lisa, Linh and their younger siblings had a picnic on one side of the observatory. I have been to the Observatory countless amount of times, and I have never been disappointed with my climb.

We had a picnic near this statue, just overlooking the public library itself.

Before reaching the observatory itself, you would need to climb a lot of steps, but once there, you will see the magnificent views of Stockholm that it offers. Below is a sneak peek of the awesomeness that we saw once on top of the hill:

We then chose to go down the hill to Observatorieparken, where everyone had a joyous time playing around the spacious playground.

Since this park is very close to our house, it didn't bother me to walk there. It's really fun to just sit down, relax and savour the views that you are given. It's better to explore the area around you with your friends, too!

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- The Stockholm City Hall 

- Skansen - Stockholm's Open Air Museum

- The Vasa Museum

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EATS: Stockholm Fisk

For 2014's Mother's Day, we took mom to Stockholm Fisk, one of her favorite restaurants since our stay here in Stockholm.

As we were perusing their interesting menu, we got greeted by a complementary basket of bread and butter.

I got the white asparagus with French goat cheese and Iberico Berotta. White asparagus is a rarity in Europe, and is grown only for a short period of time. I have tried white asparagus before, and I did not enjoy it. I don't enjoy asparagus in general - white or green. 

Impressively, the white asparagus in this meal tasted so much better than the first ones I've tried. They were tender and complemented the goats cheese. The addition of the ham was an excellent touch to the meal.

On the flip side, my mom and sister tried the authentic toast Skagen, which is essentially a piece of toast with fresh prawns smothered with dill and mayonnaise on top. My dad had the moules / mussels. I have tried samplings of all our appetizers, and all were very delicious.

Onto mains. I had the "grown up" version of the fish and chips (by grown up, I mean it's not from the kid's menu). Needless to say, the presentation was so cute! The fries were served in a mini version of the baskets you use for the deep-fryer. Also, the dish was served with curry remoulade and guacamole. 

By itself, the fish tasted quite plain. When combined with the curry sauce, the meal was more interesting. The remoulade turned the flat and plain flavor of the fish into an Indian, citron-y, enjoyable main course. Fries are fries, therefore it was good. A bit disappointed with my main... I hope that I stuck with my gut and chose the mackerel, but that's for next time.

My parents got the platter of assorted seafoods from the seasonal menu, with fresh seafood such as crab, fresh prawns, oysters, lobster and caviar. This was also served with sliced toasted bread.

This is only one side of this humongous plate of the sea!

For the first time in my life, I tried lobster. It was quite hard work actually to take off the meat, but it was great. I also enjoyed the slices of salmon served on the platter on bread, mixed with a tad of mayonnaise, caviar and some shredded onion. Delightful!

For dessert, I just had a plain old scoop of vanilla ice cream with almonds, serving as a nice little finishing touch to the meal.

Today was filled with trying out new different wonders of the sea. Lobster, mussels, toast skagen. These new experiences and firsts will be unforgettable, and more are surely to come!

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The Karlberg Castle (Solna)

A day went pass and I thought, "Why not take a walk with my family?". After a quick fifteen minute Google search, I stumbled upon the Karlberg Castle - a castle in Solna which was a mere six kilometers away from where we lived.

We packed some water bottles, wore our jackets and off we went. 

After arriving, we got to see a small dock where we got to sit and take pictures of the castle. Check it out!

After another kilometer of walking along a path, we then got to see the castle up close. 

All I can say is that the palace is very beautiful from the outside. The simplicity of it's architectural design and symmetry amazes me. Also, there is a reasonable area facing the castle covered with grass facing Karlbergssjön, where it is perfect to have a picnic. 

See you next time Solna! Meanwhile, check out these other great Stockholm posts: 

- The Stockholm City Hall 

- Skansen - Stockholm's Open Air Museum

- The Vasa Museum

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A One Day Getaway In Sigtuna

Stockholm is a very wonderful place. Sometimes, you just really want to get away from the hustle and bustle that is in Stockholm and just go to a  very relaxing place.

A few days back, me and two of my good friends went to a city just under fifty kilometers away from Stockholm called Sigtuna.

After a forty-five minute car ride, we arrived at Sigtuna proper. We quickly got to tour the town and even sit and chat at the one of the oldest coffee houses in Sweden, Tant Brun!

The Sigtuna Town Proper

Tant Brun!

We then walked to the pier where we saw a ton of boats, and this very astounding view of the surrounding islands. At the harbor, we got to see some ducks and birds hanging around and got the chance to feed them!

A view of the majestic pier.

We then had lunch at the local pizzeria, where it offered awesome views of the city.

Afterwards, we tried to drive to the Skolkoster Castle, but we couldn't find the way so we turned back to Sigtuna, and got a humongous ice cream at the shops at the pier.

Words cannot describe the excitement and the joy that I felt while roaming around this small, cozy, astounding city. It was quite of a tight fit for a day, but I got to spend it with two of my craziest friends and had a very filling mushroom and ham pizza for lunch. There was only so much time to spend in this wonderful paradise, so I look forward in going there again sometime!

Where do you think I should explore next? Vaxholm? Uppsala? Kiruna? Leave them in the comments below!

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