We are back from Stockholm! Lets just say this trip was full of learning experiences and the cold! We flew out Friday morning, leaving the house at 4:30am to drive to the airport. We get to the Memmingen airport, which they like to claim is Munich. That's a big ole lie! it's definitely an hour west of Munich. We already knew it was that far but it's a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere. We got there with plenty of time to spare which is good because it took us a while to figure out where to park. We then had to check in. In the states they have machines where you put in your info and it prints out your boarding pass or you go to the check in counter and they print it for you or scan it from your phone. Well none of these options were available at this place and the company we flew with, Ryanair, knows how to rip people off. Since we didn't have the piece of paper with our boarding pass they had to charge us a printing fee. Printing fee of 60 euro a person!! They told us they needed the paper so they could rip off the end of it. Are you kidding me?? We had no other choice but to pay for it, so there goes 120 euro. We then proceeded to wait in line for about 20 minutes waiting for the people in front of us to count their coins (I don't know what for). In the end they didn't even print anything!!! The charged us then hand wrote the info down. Ugh, so ridiculous!! We get on the flight, fall asleep and next thing we're in Stockholm, or so this airport likes to claim. We were actually 1.5 hours outside the city and had to pay for a bus. At this point we were paying in the Swedish Krona, so converted it was 32 dollars. We finally get to the city and walk forever to our hotel, it took about 20 minutes. We then went back to the city center and explored a little, had dinner that cost way more than we wanted it to. I believe dinner was around 60 dollars and they weren't even full meals. What they had available on their menu was only their starters!! We walked around some more, freezing cold enjoying the old city.
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| The Gamla Stan or Old City |
Saturday morning we went on a sightseeing boat tour which took us around one of the islands. Then we took a train and a bus to Sweden's oldest city, Sigtuna. And of course there was another fee with this. Apparently there are 2 different types of trains in Sweden. We had a Stockholm card which gave us access to all public transportation. So we hopped on a train and when they came to check tickets it turns out our Stockholm card doesn't work. So we then had to pay for 2 train tickets. Anyway, Sigtuna had some old shops and castle ruins and of course a beautiful view of the water! We went back to the city center and explored the Gamla Stan, or the old city. This was our favorite part, narrow ally ways, cobble stone streets, shopping and of course a lot of cafe's! We found a cozy cafe and sat outside under blankets to enjoy some dessert and hot chocolate.
Sunday morning we went to the worlds largest sphere building where they take you to the top. We got a great view of Stockholm. We then went to the Vasa Museum where a ship from 1628 has been restored. It sank on it's main voyage and was under water in the Stockholm harbor for 333 years. After that we went to the aquarium and open air museum, Skanson, or the "mini Sweden." Many buildings have been transported here from all over Sweden. They also had a mini zoo which had some great animals! And last we went to the Stockholm TV tower, the tallest building in Stockholm. We rode to the top for a great view of the city!
Monday morning we left our hotel at 3:15am to catch the bus back to the airport. Once we get there they look at our tickets, which we printed at the hotel this time, and tell us that we didn't pay to check a bag. Apparently when you add a bag it's only for one way. So another fee of 95 dollars to check our suitcase to get home. We enjoyed Stockholm but we did not enjoy all the unexpected fees and how expensive it was in the city! Saturday and Sunday we stuffed ourselves at breakfast then took an apple and banana for lunch. We did not want to pay for more than one meal a day. Sweden is a cool place and definitely somewhere to visit, just know that it's very expensive. We are glad we went and can check another box off of places we've been!
