Day 17: IKEA, Cottages & Kungsholmen
Solo-exploration in Sweden
July 2, 2022
That morning, I woke up to a little bit of stressful news. The ongoing situation at the Arlanda airport (Stockholm’s main airport). While some of our group members had left early, they seemed to be having trouble getting onto flights, with some being canceled, slow airport processing times, and an impending SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) strike. Hearing what seemed like a few horror stories from our WhatsApp group about the delays and at some point not even being let into the airport until exactly 3 hours before departure (something that usually was standard but under these circumstances didn’t seem like enough time), I was a little worried about what my experience would be there the following morning, so I decided to first make sure all my affairs were in order.
After checking into my flight and making sure my tickets were good to go, I was able to grab breakfast since I had packed my bags previously since checkout was at noon. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with my day (I had wanted to go to the IKEA at Kungens Kurva, the second IKEA and biggest one in the world), however sitting by the window overlooking the park next to our hotel, I was drawn to first explore it and the little cottages again, since it was another overcast morning - a rare sight for us in Stockholm during our trip, and decided to go back to Simmeparken, for a brief morning walk.
Along the Waterfront
By the waterfront and marina, I found a series of paths winding through and around the nearby cottages and found a plaque saying they were the Eriksdal allotments, some of the oldest ones in Stockholm, inspired by similar projects found in Copenhagen. Reading more about it, I learned that they were initially created to give people who may not be fully financially independent access to outdoor activities, and the opportunity to grow their own food. After researching the area more, I found it interesting to see how the mixture of urban agriculture and industrialism was highly studied in the planning process of the rest of Stockholm, with importance placed on having parks and other green spaces in more developed areas.
Around 11 am, a light rain started, so I returned to the hotel to check out and store my bags since it was nearly noon and I still wanted to get a few things done before my check-in time at my new hotel at 3 pm. Next stop: IKEA Kungens Kurva, which was a little more of an adventure since it was located near Skärholmen, about a 40-minute trip outside of Stockholm on public transit. As someone who always enjoys interior design, I always end up going to the local IKEA regardless of where I am, but since it’s a Swedish company, this location was high on my list! Hopping on the metro, I made my way to Slussen, where I would be able to take the red line out to Skärholmen, and then catch a bus that would take me to the store. Leaving around 12:30 pm, I arrived in Skärholmen a bit after 1 pm and found the local bus stop that would take me to my final destination.
The World's Largest IKEA
Arriving at IKEA, it was clear that the Guggenheim Museum (in New York City) aesthetically inspired it with a large rounded portion attached to the traditional blue warehouse-looking building. Perusing the store for a few hours, I admired the room set up and noticed how long the line for the food court was (both for a sit-down meal and the cafe), and finally found a portion dedicated to the history of the location and the brand. One interesting part I enjoyed about this section was seeing the old advertisements from the 1980s and before all in Swedish.
Around 3 pm, I was planning on meeting with one of my professors for a fika break, so I headed back to the city, taking the bus and metro once again. Arriving at Johan & Nyström on Swedenborggatan, we got some coffee and pastries and relaxed for a bit, before saying goodbye. Since it was around 4 pm at that point, I decided I could walk back to the hotel to pick up my luggage so I could find my way to my new hotel that I had booked separately since I was staying in Stockholm for an extra day.
My next hotel, the Scandic Continental, was located on Norrmalm and conveniently situated on top of T-Centralen (the main metro station). When initially booking my trip, knowing I would have to get to the airport by myself, I wanted to make the trip as simple and stress-free as possible, so finding a hotel connected to the metro seemed like the best option, especially since I only was staying there for one night. Checking into my new hotel, I found it interesting that they offered bike and even picnic rental supplies for your time in Stockholm, and was absolutely amazed by the view of City Hall from one of the levels (having heard the hotel also had a rooftop bar I was very interested in checking it out later).
A Final Stroll Around Stockholm
Wanting to get out a bit since I hadn’t explored Kungsholmen (the island next to Norrmalm) other than our brief bike tour, I headed out around 7:45 pm, heading back to the bridge overlooking Vasagatan which would take me to Kungsholmen. My first stop once I got there was to head back to City Hall since I had only briefly seen the courtyard and wanted to see more of the building. Following the sight of the three gold crowns glistening above the trees and other buildings, I found my way to City Hall, which was closing soon, but I still got a brief opportunity to walk through the courtyard and through the inner yard to the waterfront. Exiting from the opposite side, I continued along the waterfront thinking how, if I had more time I would’ve come back here to read since it was so peaceful (but I suppose that’s for another time). Looking at my map that showed my location, I saw there were a few parks a few blocks ahead of me and thought I could go see them before turning back around and heading back in the general vicinity of my hotel (I didn’t want to stay out too late that night since I had an 11:30 am flight the next morning, and at least an hour journey to the airport).
Passing through the green spaces that hosted municipal buildings and churches, it was a peaceful walk, with not many people out in that particular area, and eventually, I found a few quiet shopping streets that were en route to City Hall, looking in the windows at what was for sale. When I got back to City Hall, I saw a few stairs that led down to the water around one of the sides I hadn’t explored yet of the building, so heading down, I was able to get some pictures of the main tower on City Hall in addition to some photos of Gamla Stan across the water. Another interesting thing I saw was what seemed to be a mock tomb, which I later researched and found out was Birger Jarls Kenotaf, or a gold sculpture/mock grave for the founder of Stockholm.
On my way back to my hotel, I circled around Central Station a bit, before heading back to my hotel to briefly check out the rooftop bar that offered amazing views over the archipelago, with City Hall being a focal point. Wanting to get some dinner since it was around 9:30 pm, I headed out to a nearby burger restaurant, which I brought back with me to eat at my hotel, where once again I was able to see an amazing sunset over the city skyline before going to bed since I had an early wake-up the next day.
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