Stockholm

We only had 5 hours in Sweden’s capital. It was August 3, 2013 (haha ohmy how late these posts are) and it was easily one of THE nicest days we were able to enjoy, weather-wise. Essentially, we only had time to:

Take our necessary ho/ho tour (on a hop-on/hop-off bus)
Walk around town
Browse the Nobel museum
Eat Swedish meatballs

However, there were so many things that we didn’t get to do in that teeny amount of time, like:

Visit the ABBA museum
Check out the famous metro station art
Go to the giant flagship IKEA at the border of the city

But enough about what we missed out on. I still had a really good time during my 5 short hours in Stockholm!

One of the reasons I was supremely sad at how short our stay was in Stockholm was the fact that the weather was absolutely perfect. It may have been the most perfect day of the entire trip, even.

Just look at how gorgeous it was! And there’s a VIKING LINE, come on.

We spent most of our time on the ho/ho bus, learning about Stockholm and taking in the sights, because our time was so limited. (Fun fact: Yo, Stockholm is a very wealthy city. There are some residents who pay 51% income tax. Officially, more of their income goes to the state than into their own pockets. And they still live like ballers.)

By the time we reached Stockholm, I really wanted to live by the water. A lot. Almost desperately.

Oh man, Stockholm was a beautiful city, it truly was. But let’s not forget those highlights! Like Swedish non-IKEA meatballs:

Verdict: Not really great, from this shop. Honestly, I prefer IKEA’s plates more but the IKEA has its own zipcode and was far away so.

I also got to visit the Nobel museum!

We weren’t able to stay long enough for a guided tour, but you know, all in all, I had a nice time in Stockholm. It was a beautiful city that I cannot afford, but I’d love to spend a little longer there next time. (And see the ABBA museum!)

I will be leaving a post-graduation family vacation to Europe shortly and I couldn’t be more excited! We visited Southern Europe exactly 10 years ago, and now we’re going on a little cruise around the Baltic Sea, so it’s a whole new set of cities that I have been really excited to visit. Although we’re no longer visiting Amsterdam as our original itinerary included, the freed up space means I finally have the chance to visit Paris!

I don’t know if I will get to see all these sights while I’m abroad, and I’ll probably want to see more than I’ve listed here, but I hope that I get to check off a good number of these items by the time I return. 🙂

London, England

Buckingham Palace
London Eye
Tower Bridge
Tower of London
Big Ben
Westminster Alley
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Piccadilly Circus
British Museum
National Gallery
The City of London (Click for a great video on the difference between London, the city, and the “secret” City of London, courtesy of C.G.P. Grey.)
Trafalgar Square
Brick Lane
King’s Cross Station
Hyde Park (thanks Katie!)

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Little Mermaid statue
Round Tower
Rosenborg Castle
Christiansborg Palace
Kronborg Castle
Frederiksborg Palace (basically, if I don’t see at least one castle or palace whilst in Copenhagen, I will be sorely disappointed)
Tycho Brahe Planetarium
Viking Ship Museum
Tivoli Gardens (time permitting)
Gefion Fountain
Christianshavn

Warnemünde/Berlin, Germany

Bit confused here because Berlin is quite a bit inland, so… we shall see. Mostly listing Berlin attractions.

Westmole Lighthouse
Berlin Wall
Tiergarten
Gendarmenmarkt (Deutsch is a real challenge for me…)
Olympic Stadium
Brandenburg Gate
KaDeWe
Neue Synagogue
Berlin Cathedral
Victory Column
Reichstag
Checkpoint Charlie

Tallinn, Estonia

Old Town
Kadriorg Park
Town Wall
Open Air Museum (Rocca Al Mare)
Tower Kiek in de Kök
Viru Square
Russalka

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russian ballet at the Mikhailovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre OR
Russian ballet at the Alexandrinsky Theatre
Peter and Paul Cathedral
St. Isaac’s Cathedral (I am listing many cathedrals on this list. While I’m not religious, I would be a fool to not look forward to visiting these amazing buildings that are a testament to the long history of these nations and to the long history of Christendom.)
Palace Square
Yusupov Palace
Anichov Bridge
Bronze Horseman
Peter and Paul Fortress
Gatchina Palace and Park
Cottage Palace
Nevsky Prospekt
Hermitage Museum
Peterhof Palace (thanks for reminding me of these 2 important ones, Barry!)

Helsinki, Finland

Church in the Rock
Esplanade Park
Upenski Cathedral
Seurasaari Island
Kamppi Chapel of Silence
Design District

Stockholm, Sweden

Millesgarden
Old Town
Canals
Drottningholm Palace
Skeppsholmen
Royal Palace
ABBA Museum 😀
Ericsson Globe
Nobel Museum

Paris, France

Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame
Île de la Cité
L’Arc de Triomphe
Sacré Cœur
Champs-Elysées
Place de la Concorde
Pont Neuf
Tuileries
Panthéon
Louvre
Musée d’Orsay
Les Invalides
Luxembourg Gardens
Trocadéro (thanks Alex!)
(Can we get to Versailles?)
(Maybe Monet’s garden at Giverny?)

So in short, I want to see beautiful parks and squares, castles and palaces, and cathedrals wherever I can, in addition to the places that make each city unique.
I didn’t list many specific museums that I am interested in visiting because I don’t want to worry too much about admission costs and also I don’t know how much time we’ll have to go visit and browse at our leisure. I’m the kind of girl who likes to read all the signs… but I’m usually alone on that. ^^;

I pride myself on being relatively good at articulating how I feel, but I don’t know if I can accurately communicate how excited I am for this trip. Europe is a continent with such a vast and massive history, and so much of it is accessible to the public by just walking around. There is no denying the magnitude of events that happened where I will soon get to walk, taking in the same sights as names I first learned in textbooks did centuries ago.

It’s going to be amazing, no matter which sights I get to see.

What should I see while I’m abroad? What should I pass on? Please leave any and all suggestions in comments! 🙂