Sweden: Stockholm

" If I had to call one European city home, it might be Stockholm. One-third water, one-third parks, one-third city, on the sea, surrounded by woods, bubbling with energy and history, Sweden's stunning capital is green, clean and underrated." - Rick Stein

June 24-28: The last leg of our vacation. I will be presenting a research paper at the real estate conference organized by the European Real Estate Society.

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Stockholm is built on an archipelago of islands connected by bridges. Its location midway along the Baltic Sea made it a natural port, vital to the economy and security of the Swedish peninsula. Today, with 1.8 million people, Stockholm is Sweden's largest city, as well as its cultural, educational, and media center.

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For the visitors, Stockholm offers both old and new. Crawl through Europe's best-preserved old warship and relax on a scenic harbor boat tour. Browse the cobbles and antique shops of the lantern-lit Old Town. Take a trip in time at Skansen, Europe's first and best open-air folk museum. Marvel at Stockholm's glittering City Hall, slick shopping mall, and art museums.

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Overall, we find Stockholm an expensive tourist destination. It seems like everyone is out to earn a profit from tourists. Some examples being: shopkeepers charging extra for stamps (above the face value of the stamp, for service charge?), public toilet entrance fee (approx S$1-2), tap water with a thin slice of lemon in it (S$2) & short subway ride ($5-$8 per trip). At one place (Katarina elevator), we were amuse to find a charge of S$2 to ride the lift (not more than 8 levels). Below are photos we took during our trip.

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Source: Risk Stein's Scandinavia