On my first Rick Steves' tour, I made the mistake of not giving myself enough travel time - I had a stressful day of flight delays and made it to the hotel in the middle of the night, missing out on the extra day I had planned on having! This time, I gave myself an extra day and thankfully had no flight delays. I arrived in Stockholm around 2pm and hopped into the waiting Stockholm taxi I had booked during my layover. After a drive to the city center, I was dropped off at the hotel which was in a quiet neighborhood just a few blocks away from the waterfront and a pedestrian area.
The hotel was clean with very friendly staff and a nice restaurant, where they offered breakfast, fika in the afternoon, and dinner. My room was tiny, but clean, comfortable and had all the essentials - bed, bathroom, towels. There was also a balcony that I had access to, which would be nice in the next few days! I dropped my bag, took a quick shower, then took off to explore! I headed down the pedestrian street, stopping at a grocery store (one of my favorite places to visit in other countries) for some essentials I forgot, an apotek (a pharmacy/drugstore), and a corner store for some snacks. I found a library with a beautiful park in front, where I sat for a few hours, eating my snacks and people watching.
I couldn't keep my eyes open much longer, so I headed back to the hotel. I had dinner in the restaurant, which was fresh, healthy and delicious! I headed back to my room, called my family, and went to sleep! It was hard staying awake all day, but I felt I flipped to Stockholm time pretty fast. I couldn't wait to start our tour the next day.
The hotel was clean with very friendly staff and a nice restaurant, where they offered breakfast, fika in the afternoon, and dinner. My room was tiny, but clean, comfortable and had all the essentials - bed, bathroom, towels. There was also a balcony that I had access to, which would be nice in the next few days! I dropped my bag, took a quick shower, then took off to explore! I headed down the pedestrian street, stopping at a grocery store (one of my favorite places to visit in other countries) for some essentials I forgot, an apotek (a pharmacy/drugstore), and a corner store for some snacks. I found a library with a beautiful park in front, where I sat for a few hours, eating my snacks and people watching.
I couldn't keep my eyes open much longer, so I headed back to the hotel. I had dinner in the restaurant, which was fresh, healthy and delicious! I headed back to my room, called my family, and went to sleep! It was hard staying awake all day, but I felt I flipped to Stockholm time pretty fast. I couldn't wait to start our tour the next day.