Another weekend after another four-day, fifty-plus hour work week. Praise be. Blessed be the fruit, etc. etc.

Last week two of my dearest college friends were in town, so I got to show off the city I've come to know and love, make good use of my employee discount with the restaurant group's wine and cocktail bars, and cross some things off my Stockholm bucket list.

Drottningholm Palace, about 45 minutes away from the city by public transportation, is the main private residence of the Swedish royal family. Situated on the island Lovön, it's similar to Fontainebleau in size and scale. Geometric, Last Year at Marienbad-esque hedges and manicured gardens (including a random off-leash dog park) surround the mansion. And, on the mid-morning weekday that we visited, it was gloriously empty.

Visitors are allowed to wander some of the palace's oldest and grandest rooms, as well as the Chinese Pavilion (a birthday gift to a previous monarch from her husband), with the purchase of a ticket, but the vast gardens operate as a public park. The 18 kilometer Antiquities Trail runs along the border of the entire property; my friends expressed interest but I was secretly glad that we opted not to do that.

Photos below. Click to enlarge.

The gardens are dotted with statues like this one.

Stora Gatan, the main street in the historical city center.

The weather here is beginning to turn. The trees still have their foliage, but the air is cool and crisp. More than ever one must continually check the hourly forecast for rain; I've taken to stashing an umbrella in my purse at all times as well as gloves.

Last weekend I took the commuter train out to Märsta, northwest of Stockholm, and then a bus to Sigtuna. As I watched the city transition to suburbs, large buildings and parking lots gave way to open fields broken up by paved bike trails and cottage-like houses whose red clapboard exteriors made them resemble miniature farmhouses.

Situated on Skarven Bay, Sigtuna is a quaint town dating back to 680. Its medieval church ruins, Norse rune stones, and picturesque historic main street attract visitors, though when I went on a weekday morning it was pretty dead save for an elderly tour group.

Nonetheless, I welcomed the tranquility as I wandered the quiet streets and observed ducks navigating the calm water after a rough work week. I stopped at Tant Brun's, a rustic cafe with low ceilings, antique wooden chairs and tables, and strong coffee served up in copper kettles that took a lot of milk to become, as my sous chef would say, "hamster-colored." (Fika, the Swedish concept of having coffee - and usually with a pastry, is something I've embraced whole-heartedly). Afterward I returned to Stora Gatan to admire its brightly colored and endearingly rickety shops once more before heading back to Stockholm, and reality.

Another rune stone, this time near on the waterfront.

Gothenburg in Photos

Drottningholm Palace

Sigtuna in Photos