36 Hours in Stockholm
Every summer, Stockholmers depart their city en masse, decamping to country cottages as if compelled by instinct, just as their city is approaching its peak. Don’t follow them. Instead take these long days bathed in Nordic light to explore the Swedish capital’s pristine nature — glittering waterways, blooming parks — between stops at excellent new bars, bakeries and restaurants (confirm opening times as many spots close for summer holidays and reopen in early August). Even the streets are more appealing this time of year, since a new initiative has transformed several blocks into lively summertime pedestrian zones. And with trendsetting shops, cultural gems and night life aplenty, Stockholm seems to ask: Why would you want to be anywhere else?
Friday
1) 3 P.M. FIRST FIKA
Like maypoles at Midsummer or cartoons on Christmas Eve, fika — a coffee break with something sweet to eat — is a touchstone of Swedish culture. Partake in the tradition at Bageri Petrus, a bakery beloved for its back-to-basics goods like fresh-from-the-oven kardemummabullar (cardamom buns) that many consider the city’s hands-down best (25 Swedish kronor, about $2.85). Try one with a light-roast coffee from Koppi, a roaster in southern Sweden, at one of the Parisian-style sidewalk tables outside.
2) 5 P.M. TOP OF THE HILL
Walk over to Skinnarviksberget, a rocky bluff with views overlooking the island of Kungsholmen, to understand why locals boast that theirs is the most beautiful capital in Europe. As the highest natural point in the city center, this spot is an unparalleled vantage for watching boats cruise across the inky waterway lined with handsome gabled buildings and the stately red-brick City Hall. Farther east, stroll along the scenic walking trail Monteliusvagen for similarly spectacular across-the-water views of the islet of Riddarholmen and Gamla Stan (the Old Town).
3) 7:30 P.M. NYTORGET NIBBLES
In April, the self-described “minirestaurang” Bar Agrikultur opened in a prime location on the sunny side of Nytorget, the epicenter of Sodermalm trendiness. There are only about two dozen drop-in seats inside, but ample outdoor seating exists in summer when the block is turned over to pedestrians. Even better than the atmosphere is the food: an ever-changing menu of snacks and refined small plates from the chefs behind the superb eco-Nordic restaurant Agrikultur. Recent highlights included wild-boar salami (65 kronor), white asparagus atop soft scrambled eggs flavored with roasted hay (110 kronor), grilled veal-cheek skewers (100 kronor), and a superlative bread pudding made from yesterday’s sweet buns with a crackly brûléed crust (85 kronor).
4) 10 P.M. HOPS AND GRAPES
Have an opinion about the relative merits of Mosaic versus Citra hops? Then find like-minded company at Omnipollos Hatt, a craft beer bar (and pizzeria) with taps dedicated to the imaginative brews of Omnipollo, a local gypsy brewer making some of the most interesting beers in Scandinavia. A creative spirit — artistic bottle labels, cosmic bar décor — drives the operation and is evident in every brew, from the flavorful IPAs to desserty stouts like the Noa, an aromatic pecan-mud-cake imperial stout. Prefer to talk terroir? Then head to Folii, a new wine-centric bar opened in January by Béatrice Becher and Jonas Sandberg, two of Sweden’s top sommeliers, where most of the multi-page menu is available by the glass, including the 2008 Domaine Jean Grivot from Burgundy.
Saturday
5) 9 A.M. MORNING LOOP
“Djurgardsrundan,” a lap around the green city-center island of Djurgarden, is how many svelte Stockholmers begin their Saturdays. Lace up for a scenic six-mile run around the perimeter, or stroll the short loop, just over two miles, following nature trails east along the waterfront into the parkland. If a rest stop is required, take it at Rosendals Tradgard, a biodynamic garden with plots of vegetables and herbs, fields of wildflowers to gather, a greenhouse cafe and apple orchards offering shade to the weary.
6) 11:30 A.M. DESIGN REDEFINED
Still associate Swedish interior design with austere minimalism or, worse, Ikea? Then absorb the latest trends at Dusty Deco, where the eclectic mix includes Danish design classics, French flea-market finds and modern photography collected by the owner, Edin Memic Kjellvertz, on his travels around the world. In January a spacious second showroom opened in the Ostermalm neighborhood with a flower shop in the entryway. Inside, admire the more-is-more collection of furry 1940s armchairs by Axel Einar Hjorth, vintage Moroccan rugs and whimsical accessories like a palm-tree-shaped table lamp from the ’70s.
7) 1 P.M. FOOD HALL 2.0
While the 19th-century food hall Ostermalms Saluhall is closed for renovations (scheduled to be completed next summer), vendors have been occupying a temporary building across the street. Locals might tell you, sotto voce, that they prefer the spacious new market, a destination for its upscale provisions and casual restaurants. After browsing, take a seat at the seafood specialist Lisa Elmqvist to dine on herring with dark rye bread and aged Vasterbotten cheese (125 kronor); gravlax with sweet mustard sauce (192 kronor); and platters of lobster, langoustines, shrimp and king crab (675 kronor).
8) 3 P.M. SCULPTOR AND SCRIBE
Atop a hill surrounded by parks sits the former studio of Carl Eldh, a pre-eminent sculptor in the first half of the 20th century, whose light-filled atelier and sculpture-dotted garden have been preserved as the Carl Eldh Studio Museum (admission, 80 kronor). The unusual wooden building, designed in 1919 by Ragnar Ostberg (the architect of Stockholm’s City Hall), houses several hundred sculptures by the artist, including many depicting August Strindberg, the father of modern Swedish literature.
9) 7 P.M. DINNER DUO
The chefs Adam Dahlberg and Albin Wessman continue to tinker with the expectations of fine dining at Adam/Albin, an ambitious restaurant opened last year in the same location where the pair previously offered lavish supper clubs, noodle lunches and cooking courses. Here, dinner is now a five-course affair: a choose-your-own-adventure menu with two or three choices per course after snacks, which recently included fried sweetbreads to dip in caviar and divine smoked parsley broth with tender ribbons of squid. At a communal table, the meal proceeded with a delicate caramelized langoustine; hand-cut tartare beneath white mushrooms; garlic-seared scallops in butter sauce with wasabi flowers; and an icy pile of lemon-vervain sorbet, frozen coconut and creamy corn. Dinner, 895 kronor.
10) 11 P.M. COCKTAIL QUARTER
Rare is the peppy dive bar that also pours great cocktails, but look west of Mariatorget, a square on Sodermalm, to find precisely that at Paradiso. There’s a tropical vibe at this rum-specialist bar, thanks in part to the piña coladas made with “pineapple, lime, coconut, love, respect” and Blanca rum (130 kronor). Head a few blocks west to Bar Hommage, whose large wooden doors are vestiges of the building’s former life as a fire station. At the long zinc bar, locals sip cocktails inspired by streets like Uppsala’s Akademigatan (near the resting place of the botanist Carl Linnaeus), which is a floral concoction of mezcal, Carpano bianco, bergamot liqueur, rosemary, lime, sugar, lavender bitters and egg white (135 kronor).
Sunday
11) 10 A.M. BUCOLIC BREAKFAST
Trade brunch in the city for the bucolic Swedish scene at Enskedeparkens Bageri, a bakery and cafe with a storybook location in the southern suburb of Enskede. Nestled between a park and an equestrian school is the cafe — an old gardener’s cottage from the 1700s painted a traditional Falu red — with a matching picket fence. Order a breakfast sandwich on a sourdough roll or a pearl-sugar-topped cinnamon bun and find an outdoor table as horses clip-clop past.
12) 1 P.M. ALONG THE WATER
Sodermalm is known for its trendy restaurants and shops, but the island’s southern edge, bordered by the Arstaviken waterway, is almost entirely dedicated to the pleasures of being outdoors. Begin in the community gardens in Eriksdalslunden, where Stockholmers have been tending to acres of blooming plots, each with its own colorful cottage, since the early 1900s. Then stroll west toward Tantolunden park along the waterside path, past sailing clubs and swimming holes, to find food carts, boules courts with an al fresco bistro and bar, a small beach, swimming piers with a climbing wall and bastu (sauna), mini-golf, playgrounds, and even a new legal graffiti wall.
Sommarstockholm är vacker, intressant och - jämfört med många andra huvudstäder - många trevliga människor
Vi kan vara stolta över vår huvudstad.
Sommarstockholm är vacker, intressant och - jämfört med många andra huvudstäder - många trevliga människor
Vi kan vara stolta över vår huvudstad.
