IKEA – Miss Tofu

If only time could go back to my exchange and stay right there…Just looking back at the photos brought back absolutely happy memories.

I picked the perfect timing to go back to the Scandinavia. Stockholm in May was so much better than Copenhagen in Feb. (Not quite a fair comparison I agree.) Bright sun hanging on the clear blue sky everyday radiating warmth all over the place. Tall blonde (there were so many blonde people) people with their sunglasses sitting at cafes were spotted everywhere.

We took a stroll across the shopping street and entered the old town where the palace and parliament are. Along the way we arrived the crowded King’s Garden.

I never knew there were cherry blossoms in the King’s Garden. Everyone was out enjoying the Bee- U- tiful weather. (Of course in earlier months it would be completely covered in snow and -30 degrees C)

We stopped by an ice cream shop where they make the ice cream cones fresh from waffles 🙂

The next day I went to the Blue hall alone. I’m sure everyone would know of it because this is where the Nobel Prizes (except the Peace Prize) are given out each year.

However, nothing is blue inside…hmm strange. Well that’s because originally, the architect wanted to paint all the red bricks blue to symbolize it being a water city. Yet he ended up liking the way it looks as it is so so much that he decided to leave it.

During the Nobel banquets, over 1000 guests will gather here to dine with one long table in the middle. Everyone gets merely 60 cm of space, except the royal family and guests of honor who gets 70 cm each. After dinner, they would dance in the sparkly golden room above.

The staircase in the Blue hall was chosen from 7 staircases; the Architect had his wife walked down over and over again to pick the best one. The hall also holds the largest organ in Europe that is now digitalized. The council meetings of Stockholm are also held in a special meeting room with open ceiling that looks like a Viking ship. It also symbolize that all decisions should be made open to the public, accentuating the importance of freedom and democracy.

It was such a special feeling to be stepping on the very tile Nobel Prize winners have stepped foot on. Probably the closest encounter I will ever get to the Nobel Prizes. Another must see place in Stockholm would be the Vasa museum.

After crossing the river(?), I arrived at the Museum area. The Vasa sunk on its Maiden Voyage (I know right, so fail) almost 400 years ago and was recovered around 50 years ago. The ship was so amazingly preserved it was incredible. Only the paintings were off, 90% of the ship was still using it’s original materials.

Back then they believed why the ship sunk was because there were women on board…yea.. but obviously now they can prove that the ship was too narrow and tall. It simply couldn’t withstand the strong wind.

Lastly, 2 more MUST SEEs in Stockholm.

H&M. They were EVERYWHERE! And like the next must see, the shop doesn’t look like there’s an ending to it.

IKEA. I went to the World’s largest IKEA 😀

It’s not because I am small, but the compound was actually gigantic. The food was so cheap and meatballs were so delicious 😛

Now who would like a cup of Slut? xD

Also, there was an ABBA museum that just opened. I never knew they were Swedish! In general, Sweden has so many cafes, nice looking people who speak English very well and it was such a safe place. Definitely one of my favorite cities overall. 🙂