Stockholm is beautiful but overwhelming at first. The train had lots of travellers and so did Central Station. People visiting for the holidays, coming into the city to shop and attend events. The store windows were beautifully decorated, the squares filled with vendors selling flowers, fruits, vegetables and even luggage. No snow in Malmö or Stockholm but plenty in-between.
I walked around the city on the first day, clocking over 19,000 steps. I got a blister on the ball of my foot but it was amazing to see the city. The lights, the sounds, the water. I was trying to find gamla stan and realized the next day I had walked all around it the day before.
Suddenly the city did not feel so big once I learned more from my new friends as guides. I was very lucky they were willing to meet me. They were so nice and felt like we were life long friends.
I took myself to a Christmas buffet. It had all the traditional food. Different types of herring, salmon, meatballs, sausages and desserts. There were not very many people there as it was early afternoon. It was lonely but I made the best of it.
I walked, took the tram, the subway and the train all in a few days. The last day I walked some more. I did souvenir and Christmas shopping while I waited for the train. I had a wonderful saffron fish stew with gingerbread and glogg to finish it off.
I put my luggage in a locking storage bin at central station so I could walk around and lost the slip to get it back out. It added $45 to my expenses because they had to unlock it for me. I must not have put it safely away. Would have been smart to take a photo just in case. Expensive lesson.
The train ride was fun with a chatty young lady who I had a lot in common with. I took the fast train up and the nice train (snälltåget) home. Not sure why it was called that. It was less expensive than the fast train but only 30 minutes longer.
To see more about Stockholm click the link below.
Take 2 of Life 
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