by Carole Hill

Created on: November 16, 2008

Although my visit to Stockholm was brief, my travel companions and I managed to get a broad spectrum of the city and squeezed in as much as we could. We were pleasantly surprised to find warm sunny skies for our visit during the month of October, which made it much easier to get around.

Stockholm has been dubbed "Venice of the North" because of the extensive waterways that link 14 islands that make up this Capital city.

The sights, landmarks, attractions and activities are plentiful. It is most likely your time that you will not have enough of!

Nonetheless, starting by foot, the fun began in Gamla Stan, the oldest part of town, where we enjoyed strolling through narrow passages, sampling delightful Swedish pastries and browsing through the small shops. I kept noticing a particular little elf-like doll EVERYWHERE! They were in windows, sitting on the floor, outside of shops, hanging from the ceilings, propped in corners, even framed in pictures on a wall. They all had a pointed red hat (much like what we'd call a witch's hat) and most of these dolls had a beard (much like our Santa Claus.) So was it a witch or was it "Witch meets Santa Claus"? I couldn't figure it out. I finally asked a store clerk who spoke English and found out they are "trolls" sometimes referred to as "tomtars" originating from ancient Scandinavian folklore and were said to bring good luck.

We took a bus to another part of the city, snapping photographs of the historic old buildings along the way. The city is rich with history and because of influences from centuries ago, through the renaissance era, the architecture reflects those times. The Stockholm Palace, The Royal Swedish Opera House and Stockholm City Hall are prime examples of classic "must-see" architecture.

There is an abundance of museums in Stockholm, but again, these types of tours take time, so it is important to budget your time wisely. Stockholm has a wide variety of Theatre for Dramatic Arts, Music and the Modern Theatre of Dance for your enjoyment.

The Stockholm Globe Arena is an eye catching Sports arena, said to be one of the largest in the world.

We passed "Grona Lund", a popular Amusement Park with lots of rides and attractions. We saw signs that indicated this arena was also used for rock concerts. Our time was limited so we couldn't go inside, but we just knew this would really be a fun place to go.

The natural beauty of tree-lined streets and the splendor of the pristine parks made this city even more picturesque.

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