Navigation: Previous Day | Home | Next Day
Stockholm Day 9 - 20-June

Ant attack
Yesterday was quit hectic and the last 3 days I haven't met as much people as I liked to. The morning of the 20th of june was by far the worst, though also the most interesting. I woke up with a nice sun shining through the porch holes. I had an ant walking over my pillow and smashed it. I got up and when I hit the ground it appeared that the ant was not alone. On my bed there were black spots crawling all over the place, during the night I found it a bit cold and I saw that there was a crack in the door, the ant must have entered the room this way, maybe to seek shelter for the rain? I immediately remember my bottle of marmalade and my bread which are locked-up in my backpack. After inspection of the bottle of marmalade I inspect my bread. After putting the marmalade on the couch the ants rushed towards it. And I see that there are quite some of them.

When checking in I had the option to rent paper sheets or cotton sheets. The paper sheets were much cheaper and I took those, I decide to put the jar of marmalade on my bed and start removing the ants from other parts of the hut. Fortunately they didn't get into my backpack because I keep the thing closed at night. Only my, slightly wet, towel was not in the pack so it could dry a little bit. Ants were walking over the towel but I got rid of those outside on the deck. Next action was to wrap up my paper bedlinnen around the marmalade (this is really attractive to ants) and throw everything in the litter bin. Naturally my hut didn't had any bin so I threw it away outdoor in a bin on the ship.

I decide to pack my stuff, inform the reception and arrange another sleeping place. The reception understands the situation, because it is sunday they cannot do anything about the condition in the room and after a quick check on the computer they offer me a bed in a 4-bed room on the shore instead. I am happy to accept that and after 15:00h I can check-in for this room. Time to go into the city.

To enter Gamla Stan you have to cross a bridge somewhere, one of these entrances leads right to the Royal Palace (the building on the left).

Sightseeing in Stockholm
In a much better mood I buy some breakfast (the ants were enjoying mine). After buying some sandwiches I walk all around the town. The city looks just like Sundsvall, but of course it is much bigger and much nicer decorated. It looks still like a "copy" of other cities. But it is just a matter of getting used to Stockholm, eventually you will love it in Stockholm. The main attraction in Stockholm is Gamla Stan (the Old City) which is located on an island. The huge royal palace is here and there are a lot of narrow alleys and little squares. The place is also crowded with tourist shops and at the shore there is a vikingship sailing small circles over the water. Numerous small ferryboats sail to other islands nearby Stockholm, the surrounding area is a big archipelago and several islands can only be reached by boat.

Gamla Stan, the old town where cars don't come and pedestrians dominate the narrow streets.

Norrmalm is the modern city centre. Here you can find the NK, the biggest store of the city (some kind of Harrods) and also the place where a Swedish minister was stabbed. Inside the store they have a large maypole for the midsummernight. Further there are mainly modern buildings here and the big shopping street. The tourist information is here as well in a big glass building. The city is quite large to explore by foot, but it is manageable. The decorated buildings, avenues and all the water give the city a very friendly atmosphere.


The main square of Norrmalm, the sunday morning was still quiet but in a few hours it's crowded with people here. The building on the right houses the tourist information and several Cultural things. the big fountain has windows at the bottom so you can look at the fountain when walking underneath it. Further down the road you see the large pillar of the NK.


A Maypole for midsummernight in the NK. Actually it's forbidden to take any pictures, but ah well....

In the afternoon I check in for my new room and find the situation to be much better than on the boat. The building doesn't really have a common room (there are 3 couches and a billiard) but there are enough possibilities to meet people here. and it doesn't look like any bugs would be willing to enter the room here.

After check-in it's time for a late lunch, I manage to find a supermarket, the easiest way to find them is to go into a subway station as supermarkets tend to be located underground here. After buying something to drink and eat I go to the Djurgården island. This island contains a theme park (Gröna Lund), an open-air museum, the Vasa Museum and several other attractions. There is also a large normal park. On the isle people are issuing free bottles of drink, I now have my bag full with a free bottle of drink and some drinks I bought at the supermarket.

In the evening I get back to the hostel, meet some people at the billiard and win in a 2 against 2 match.