When I was younger one of my best friends was from Sweden. He came to Canada with his family when he was 10 years old knowing only a small amount of English. My sister-in-law also has a Swedish background and recently returned to Sweden with her mom and daughter, my niece. This past year, while in Brazil, I met a Swedish girl at a hostel and we became inseparable. My once fleeting desire to visit Stockholm has now become an obsession. In preparation for my inevitable trip I have compiled some Sweden travel tips starting with some information for the capital city, Stockholm.

My new Swedish girlfriend lives in Stockholm so she was able to help me put together a list of must-sees. These Stockholm travel tips should prove to be useful as I plan to spend much of my time there. Birgitta loves to ride bike and has arranged for me to have a bike as well. She recommends using the Stockholm City Bikes, which in the summer months you can get at various bike stands through out the city. The service is available when you buy a pass of three days or more or you can even get a pass for the whole season. They have a stipulation that you can only use the bike for three hours at a time so for longer rides I will have to find another source.

In order to spend some quiet, alone time together Birgitta suggested that we plan a walk up to some of the viewpoints in Stockholm. The northern parts of Sodermalm offer some great spots for panoramas of the central part of the city. We will try the Monteliusvagen, which is a walking path that you reach from Bastugatan. She hasn’t been there before so hopefully it as a beautiful as the guidebook says it is. I’m looking forward to the picnic lunch she will prepare with some traditional Swedish food for me to sample.