whats Stockholm like?

People should collide with Damon Albarn at any given opportunity. I have done so myself and would heartily recommend it. Perhaps one day he will break.

AT STOCKHOLM

We could not speak, although the sudden glow
Of passion mantling to the crimson cheek
Of either, told our tale of love, although
We could not speak.

What need of language, barren and false and bleak,
While our white arms could link each other so,
And fond red lips their partners mutely seek?

What time for language, when our kisses flow
Eloquent, warm, as words are cold and weak? --
Or now -- Ah! sweetheart, even were it so
We could not speak!

--Aleister Crowley (used in a PTV album, of course)

http://medlem.spray.se/tjesan/

I'm going Sept 8-12 with another Canadian friend (we both live in London), and am about to book an apartment for us (way cheaper than hotels, and I like having a kitchen!). Supposedly all the apartments are in central Stockholm, but I see these words a lot: Ostermalm, Karlaplan, Gamla Stan, Vasastan, Kungsholmen, Norrmalm, Sodermalm. I assume these are different districts or something. Are there good ones/bad ones?

Tips for cool things to do at night and good record stores are of course welcome too!

"Ostermalm, Karlaplan, Gamla Stan, Vasastan, Kungsholmen, Norrmalm, Sodermalm"

All these are fine and in central Stockholm! Östermalm/Karlaplan = posh & boring. I'd say go with Södermalm but any of those areas = good.

Record stores ==> St Eriksgatan (map: http://shorl.com/gafosevigrubi)

Remind me in a while and I'll find some tips for clubs etc when it's a bit closer to the dates. What kinds of stuff do you like?

I did hear that Soder is good too. As for clubs I'm pretty happy anywhere as long as it's not a really tacky place for boring posh yuppie people. I'm into dirty rock&roll/indie bars but also like club/techno/dj stuff as well, so I'm pretty flexible...

When were you in Stockholm, Colette?

yeah, debaser sounds familiar. was scary because i went by myself, but met a few people at the end of the night, and was very fun once i wasn't feeling so conscious about being alone.

even though it's such a tourist thing to do, i really liked both the ice gallery and the ice bar.

At Tranan in Östermalm:
Friday Sept 10th 8 pm-1 am:
Andreas Tilliander (live)
Autohorse (live)
+ Pluxemburg Soundsystem & Make it Happen dj:s

Andreas Tilliander plays some kind of minimal electronica. Quite good, I'd say.

At friday there will be a quite good semi-illegal club in Söder. I think you're gonna have to acquire membership in advance, but it's quite easy. They always have one live band and have space to play boule and table tennis. Table tennis after a couple of beers are superb, actually.

Also, Debaser has a 2 year anniversary @ friday and saturday. The bands & dj:s are secret/TBA, but they have a good rep of getting nice secret guests. (x-post)

More to do besides the clubs/concerts? That depends on what floats your boat, but if it's nice weather I like a stroll along Norr Mälarstrand (on the south side of Kungsholmen along the water), which starts with the city council house near the city center, through a semi-marina and ends with a park (Rålambshovsparken). If you're like me, you'd like to keep walking along the water all to Fredhäll (where I happen to live) which has beauuuutiful rocks down by the lake Mälaren. Then take the tube from Kristineberg to the city centre again. Or maybe 2/3 stops towards the city to Fridhemsplan/St. Eriksplan and go record-shopping. It's kind of a long walk, something like one hour or so, depending on how fast you walk. But it's so worth it if it's nice weather.

Sadly I can't show you around this weekend, since I'm going to my parents' house to eat surströmming (fermented fish, a northern Sweden speciality).

* Stiernan @ Renstiernas Gata (Södermalm). Supposedly good food. I haven't been there myself, but the reputation is good. Semi-expensive.
* Lo Scudetto @ Renstiernas Gata or Åsögatan (Södermalm). I think it's in the corner of these two streets. Nice italian food. Semi-expensive.
* Chutney @ Katarina Bangata (Södermalm). Quite cheap veggie/vegan food.
* Happy India @ St. Paulsgatan (Södermalm). I'm not 100% positive it's the correct street. Quite close to Mariatorget. Cheap indian food.

And courtesy of the free magazine Nöjesguiden:

* Göteborg @ Midskeppsgatan 31 (Hammarby Sjöstad, just south of Södermalm). Their number one.
* Mistral @ Lilla Nygatan 21 (Gamla Stan (Old Town)). "The best food in Sweden". I think it's quite expensive, say 1000+ Swedish Krona for two people. Also quite small, which makes it kinda hard to get a table.

Oh, I just noticed that Eric Roberson plays at Lydmar at sunday september 12th.

A couple of decent record shops:
Pet Sounds, Skånegatan 53
Badlands, Södermannagatan 14
Freak Scene, St Eiksgatan 64

Hope you will have a good time in Stockholm.

I'm town from Wednesday to Sunday. I am going to some big house party in Soder on Saturday (people I met while on holiday in Spring), but aside from that I have no real plans - all those suggestions look good! Well, they might not be my travelling partner's cup of tea, but I can twist his arm...

Stefan I might check out that Music for the Masses thing - I really didn't know what to do on Wednesday night!

Hanna if you're going to any of those things maybe I'll see you there - a Swedish ILX mini-FAP, or sorts...

And Zinkensdamm is a very good place to be. In fact, I have my thoughts on buying an apartment in that neighborhood. Just one stop with the tube from Zinkensdamm is Hornstull, with Mickes Skivor at the street Hornstulls(gatan/vägen - don't remember).

I just learned today that another very very good thing is happening tomorrow (wednesday) at Café Edenborg at Stora Nygatan 35 in Gamla Stan. The best music mag in Sweden, Sonic Magazine, has a release party from 8 pm to 1 am. Sophie Rimheden is going to play live. She is sooo good, you can listen to three tracks from her new album here: http://www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=CDSVED002 . If I don't want to shoot myself thanks to too much overtime lately I'll be there for certain.

Just realised I've been to Chutney - a friend used to work there. Yeah, it was good and cheap.

Thanks folks.

I actually went to KGB afterwards which was great fun. They played lots of old Depeche Mode/OMD/etc. We got very drunk and wound up meeting some friendly people and going back to their place! A pretty long first night I have to say...

Thursday we ignored all your advice and went to Berns for the hell of it. There was some kind of special Swedish party going on - something to do with prawns(!) Everyone wearing some blue/yellow, flags around, etc. There was bad music, and lots of the 'beautiful people' there, that's for sure. I will have to say this for the record: I know it's a stupid stereotype but holy CRAP I have never seen such a collection of attractive blonde people - women and men. We were a bit shell shocked by all this and didn't stay long.

Friday we went to the Vasa museum. Permit me to repeat a setiment already expressed here: BEST. MUSEUM. EVER. Incredibly interesting. Then we hung around the park since the weather was soooo good (sunny the whole time I was there!). I pretty much saw the entire city by walking around - I did that nice walk along Norr Mälarstrand too. At night we wound up going to 'Metropolis', which was funny because it looked like a good London indie club, only in Stockholm. Met up with people I knew and we had a great time.

Saturday I shopped around Soder - Pet Sounds was a great store. I stocked up on my Jens Lekman... At night we went to a house party nearby and eventually went to Debaser for the big anniversay party. We didn't get there until really late (1:30am), so of course we missed the 'special guests' Soundtrack of our Lives. Oh well. Story of my trip, apparently.

On Sunday I went up St Eiksgatan to have a look around, and Freak Scene was closed. However, a store next door - Record Trader (?) - was open and I picked up TONS of great Swedish music. She even gave me some EPs for free (a 'Canadian discount', she said!). The latest Labrador comp is suberb.

All in all, a great trip. Thanks to the Swedish ILX posse for the tips!

im going to stockholm!! i arrive on the 2nd and leave on the 10th. what things should i do? im looking for both daytime sights (museums, galleries, tourist attractions, record and general shopping) and nighttime stuff (bars, clubs, etc.) is it going to be really unbearably cold?

I was there in August. Definitely go to to Moderna Museet, and try some sushi. The city library is pretty amazing to see (it's all round and stuff) and the Vasa Museet, so amazing you'll ignore the groups around you.
Shopping is basically the same as most european capitals, H&M everywhere, but you'll get some good Scandinavian design.
They say it will be cold, but so cold it will just be dry. Wrap up.
i forget what Island I was on with the cool bars. the metro is great!

bump in case anyone who has suggestions missed this last time around

It isn't very cold, just rainy and dreary. Go to Södermalm for Swedish hipsters and some shopping and getting drunk, go to St Eriksgatan for record stores, take a walk round Gamla Stan (old town) if you don't mind other tourists, and yea Moderna Muséet is nice.

thanks, thread! will be heading there for the Easter holidays...

Gonna be in Europe this spring and thinking about dropping into Stockholm and Oslo. My question is whether 3 nights in each is enough - keeping in mind my main objective is to explore the city by foot and maybe take in a museum, rather than visiting specific things. Also, I typically walk a lot when visiting cities, so can cover a lot of ground.

I obviously realize not all Scandinavian cities are the same, but I can't help compare to Copenhagen, which I decidedly can "do" in 3 nights.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

3 nights in Stockholm and Oslo each, that is.

I feel Oslo can definitely done in 3 nights. Stockholm, being a pretty big archipelago, will be a bit more challenging to do by foot. There's a metro system though, so I think it could be done. Have been there only once though, as a kid some 30 years, so can't tell from recent experience. Have fun! I'm considering Norway for a holiday again this year, such a beautiful country. Will you be "just" visiting the capitals? Asking because the nature's beautiful in both Sweden ánd Norway, great for hiking.

Stockholm is bigger (geographically, demographically, culturally) than the other Nordic capitals, so I'd spend a bit longer there than in Oslo. Probably more historical sights there too, since it used to be the central hub for this whole area. And yeah, Willem is right, Stockholm is not as walkable as, say, Copenhagen or Helsinki, due to its size. You should probably get a metro card.

Thanks!

I think that Stockholm is walkable as long as you're up for walking and you can def see most of it in 3 days/nights (and catch Skansen/Vasamuseet or sth) but it can't hurt to use metro options too.

I hated it at first and wanted to leave, but then I started identifying with the people and we became very close.

me too!

I ultimately booked 4 nights in Stockholm and decided to leave Oslo for another trip, so hope to be able to cover a lot. Looking forward to it.

It's a wonderful city, ideal for walking as long as the streets aren't iced over. A lot of the recommendations upthread still hold afaik (it's been a few years for me) - I particularly like the public library. Woodland Cemetery is a really, really special place, make sure to check it out. City hall and the parliament building are a trip, esp. for those of us used to the US security state - very approachable buildings to poke around (at least outside). Slussen is a fun little clusterfuck of infrastructure with an odd l-shaped bridge; right above there on the hill is a beer garden with a great view. Tantolunden is a good spot for taking in the allotments, and hooks up to a nice promenade along the water. Definitely take a ferry out east into the archipelago - in the spring it'll be early for the full Summer with Monika experience but there are still some beautiful scenes. Have some cardamom buns and as many kinds of snaps/brannvin as you can manage. Don't get any cute ideas about going to Ikea - they are literally exactly the same as anywhere else.

Oslo is ludicrously expensive and not nearly as delightful as Stockholm IME, this is a good choice.

So, any record store recommendations for new and used vinyl and cds (lol, I'm not sure how many record stores are notable for stuff that's neither new or used, nor vinyl or cd) mainly electronic/ambient/experimental stuff?

Hopefully not at the risk of setting too high a bar, I can't wait to finally visit. : D

Going tomorrow for a long weekend.

Any recommendations in a museum/nature/food way. Staying in Sodermalm.

We went 10 years ago and didn't do much good research before going so the following are total mug punter out of date recommendations BUT fwtw:

- I was really sceptical about the Vasa (massive olden days galleon thing) but it was really awesome
- the modern art museum had a show that was good, I can't remember anything about the perm collection
- we went to the following, various levels of fanciness, found each good and friendly:

https://pelikan.se/en
https://mdghs.se/en/matbaren/
https://en.ostermalmshallen.se

Excellent, thanks Tim!

Seconding the Vasa museum, they even have an interactive game console where you can launch a virtual version of the ship yourself and see if you can make it not sink. All my attempts sank unfortunately. There's also a Nobel Prize museum in Stockholm but we didn't go, as I believe that in the spirit of honesty it should be called the Dynamite Museum.

Had an awesome swim this morning.

What about nature, any parks?

Man...:-(

So Sweden gets a new right-wing government: M-KD-L minority with far-right SD support.

The parties call their agreement the “Tidö Agreement” named after the place where they negotiated it.

I dove into the 63-page document. So here’s a thread what the four parties agreed on 🧵 pic.twitter.com/bxK7mPYIZc

— Nassreddin Taibi (@Nassreddin2002) October 14, 2022

fuckin yikes