Nordic Freeze: Travel Lessons Taught by Stockholm

 

The angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard!” - Luke 1:13

 

Stockholm is probably as charming as what I read when I was planning this trip. But it sometimes happens that missteps and misfortune can cloud one’s perception of a place. From getting lost a couple of times and spending a bleak Christmas in a hotel far from festivities, transport terminals and eating places, Stockholm did not delight as the cities we visited in Norway did.

 

But as in any life experience, it’s always best to see the good in everything and learn whatever the situation is trying to teach you.

 

The first and most important lesson I learned is that God is with us all the way and He hears our prayers. Although this is a truth already planted deep in my heart, our Stockholm experience highlighted it. He sent us someone to help when we had trouble with the bus ticket machine, kept me from being injured when I slipped on the ice with my luggage, and showed us the way when we got lost a couple of times.

 

The second lesson is something I already mentioned in my previous blogs on Norway: MAKE SURE YOU’RE BOOKED IN A HOTEL THAT’S CONVENIENTLY LOCATED!!! Our hotel in Stockholm was far from everything and that aggravated our situation especially since we spent Christmas there.

 

This third one may only be applicable to seniors like me. Younger people like my sons had a different take on our experience. For context, we got lost in the train station. Then, I almost fell headlong on the icy street as we took a very long walk in the dark and cold from the train station to the hotel. Lesson learned. I made a rule for the rest of the trip: TAKE A CAB FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE HOTEL.

 

As far as city transport is concerned, it’s a good idea that my sons suggested we buy transport passes in all the cities we visited. It saved us a lot of time. This first-time traveler to Europe appreciated that convenience we don’t have back home.

Now for the bright side. The win for me in this trip is the Stockholm City Tour we took on the Hop On Hop Off bus. It allowed us to see a lot of the sights even if we didn’t hop off and on because of the wintry weather. There were many stops but these were the sites and sights that piqued my interest, some of which I managed to take decent photos of:

·       Stop No. 1: Strömgatan/The Royal Opera

·       Stop No. 2: Riddarholmskyrkan – The final resting place of Swedish kings and Stockholm’s only preserved medieval monastery church

·       Stop No. 4: Viking Line/Stadsgården Cruise Berth – dock for cruise ships visiting Stockholm (made more attractive by the fact that the name of the ship berthed there is a variant of mine)

·       Stockholm Police on horseback

·       Biologiska Museet (Biological Museum)

·       Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum)

·       Stop No. 10: Strandvägen – Shopping district with exclusive restaurants and the departure point for excursions and dining cruises in the archipelago

·       Stop No. 15: Stureplan – high class entertainment district (It’s also the place where we got on the wrong bus.)

·       Stop No. 19: Stadshuset (Stockholm City Hall) 

After doing the round of stops, we got off at Gamla Stan (Old Town). This is where I got to enjoy Stockholm.

 

We had lunch in a quaint restaurant, Old Town Bistro, and feasted on their Grilled Salmon with Black Pasta, Striploin Steak, Swedish Burger & Fries.

 

Then we spent some time browsing in a bookstore Jaffy wanted to see, the Science Fiction Bokhandeln.

 

As always, the Julmarknad (Christmas Market) in the Gamla Stan Stortorget (Main Square) delighted me.

 

We also got to see the building where the Nobelmuseet (Nobel Prize Museum) is housed which was near the Christmas market.

 

On the day before Christmas, Jaffy and I watched a movie in IMAX at the Mall of Scandinavia, the fourth largest mall in the Nordic countries.

 

In Stockholm, we spent the simplest Christmas we have ever had. Noche Buena and Christmas brunch were in our hotel room eating grocery and 7 11-bought food. Buddy brought me to the Christmas evening mass at S:ta (Sankta) Eugenia Katolska Kyrka (Roman Catholic Church of St. Eugenia). I was also given a glimpse of a European Christmas with skaters at the Kungsträdgården (King’s Garden), the former Royal Gardens now a park in central Stockholm.

There may have been quite a lot of dark spots in our Stockholm sojourn but I’m grateful God sent some bright spots. Let me end this blog with a reflection I wrote that Christmas night:

 

The Simplicity of Christmas

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” - John 1:14

As Jaffy felt sick again, only Buddy and I heard mass. We got off the bus at Kungsträdgården. I was enchanted by the Christmas evening scene. There was a skating rink with a lot of people gliding on it. Fairy lights twinkled around the park, also lighting up two giant reindeers.

 

I made my way to the big building that I thought was St. Eugenia Church until Buddy stopped me. “Where are you going? The church is supposed to be over there,” he said as he checked his phone for directions. “We’re in Europe. Catholic churches are not always big here.”

When we found it, I was surprised that it was just at the ground floor of a big building with a very unimposing entrance. At mass, the simplicity of the first Christmas hit me. Jesus was not born with great fanfare and the glitter we have already associated with Christmas. He was born in a humble manger, a cave like we saw in the Holy Land.

Admittedly, I was disappointed with our family Christmas – cooped up in a hotel room with food bought from the grocery and the trusty 7 11. Totally different from what we have back home. But seeing the entrance of St. Eugenia Church and Baby Jesus in the manger made me realize the meaning of Christmas lies in its simplicity. It’s not about gifts, tinsel, a festive table and blinking lights. It is simply about God’s love for mankind.