under the blanket fort

stockholm in photos

what fond memories of my short trip to Sweden! the days felt like never ending mornings - i'd wake up in bright sunlight and go to bed under a sky that refused to go any darker than cerulean. i actually didn't expect to come away with much from this solo getaway nor did i want to expect much considering the luck i had on my first trip sleeping atop dead (?) bed bugs (?) in Portugal. for the best outcome, i'd have to bury my expectations in the ground. that way, i'd be content with the smallest delights.

...and it worked. i had an amazing time. i'll let the rest of my photos and captions do the talking but my overall impression of Stockholm is:

thank you to Jedda's post, "The Beauty of the Everyday", for inspiring me to share these photos. they're finally free to breathe in that cool bear blog air!

Stockholm Palace on my first day, my wandering feet took me to Stockholm Palace. the relief i felt when i finally spotted people! i was starting to think i was on an empty movie set.

The colorful buildings of Stortorget Stortorget, the public square. a little ways away from the palace and quay, i found where everyone was hiding. a public square indeed, i witnessed an awkward date, a cult demonstration, and many cute dogs here.

Café Valvet in Gamla Stan big ice cream.

Kanelbullar Kanelbullar (cinnamon bun) from Café Valvet. it may look good in this photo, but it was super dry. i tried to wash it down with their lemonade but i only became more parched. an all around disappointment. i'm willing to give Kanelbullar another shot. fresh out the oven this time, please.

A girl wearing a flower crown i didn't know where everyone was getting their flower crowns, but i wanted one, too :(

Wild boar sausage and mash from The Hairy Pig wild boar sausage 'n' mash from The Hairy Pig. i am so glad that the stars aligned and brought me here instead of giving me the patience to line up for the more popular restaurants. the food was so, so good. the boar sausage? JUICY. the red wine sauce? delightful. the mashed? mushed! the salad? refreshing! the cream dressing was neither too rich nor runny. a 5/5 meal and 5/5 service from the single employee on the floor.

Vasa ship Vasa, the world's best preserved ship from the 17th century, at Vasa Museet. i spent almost four hours taking in every display and placard across the four floors lol. when i say i take my time, i take it.

Palestinian flag free, free Palestine.

Hannah Modigh exhibit in Fotografiska Stockholm Hannah Modigh's exhibit, Searching for Sivagami, at Fotografiska Stockholm documents her reunion with her childhood nanny. i thought about my grandma and the way i was attached to her hip as a kid, and then about aging and death, naturally. expectedly. if it weren't for the people around me, i would've allowed myself to bawl.

Video room in Fotografiska Stockholm viewing room playing Anton Corbjin's music videos from the 80s to now. as a huge fan of music videos, i couldn't pass up the chance to watch them in a cozy dark room! note to self: my future house will have a theater room with bean bags.

Lasagna from Sundbergs Konditori lasagna, some sweet tea (so good!), and chai from Sundbergs Konditori. that lasagna hit. the. spot. not pictured: a raspberry cheesecake that the server forgot to give me and i had to go up for.

Monteliusvägen lookout point capping the day off with the view of the city from the Monteliusvägen lookout point. my plan was to watch the sunset but i had forgotten it was going down at 10 pm. i was too early.

View of Stockholm Stockholm in color.

Bird wing a happy accident: a shot of a bird's wing which led me to play around with the shutter speed for an hour, trying to catch more birds.

Guy walking past subway a chilly walk back to the hotel.

City view through the fence can you tell how much fun i had shooting with the grainy black and white filter?

flower crowns by the trash the Midsummer aftermath.

i hope you enjoyed this show and tell. i would love to do more in the future!