It's just two hours from London to Stockholm , but it feels like you have entered The Twilight Zone,

Arriving in Stockholm you immediately get a sense that all is in order, and everything runs efficiently. The city is remarkably clean and beautifully laid out over several islands with interlocking bridges and waterways. Boats are everywhere, from ferries to fishing boats. This intensely gorgeous city has the rather dull nickname of ”the Water City ” (who came up with that!!?). But water is all around and, unlike Venice, the water is clean and sweet smelling. Stockholm is not an old city by European standards. Most of its striking architecture is no more than 150 years old, with a few older exceptions. Sweden has had a socialist style democracy since 1936 when it started 'the Welfare State'. Unlike the U.S. , welfare is defined as 'a socially conscious society with financial security for all' and to its credit, poverty was virtually wiped out in the 1940's. And that poverty free society is still going strong. Sweden is a rich country with a highly educated public, and Stockholm is the center of that wealth and brain power. The city is safe, clean, and graceful and it’s also very expensive. (This coming from a Londoner!)

Our hotel, The Grand, was located at the base of the bridge leading over to Gamla Stan - the Old Town . A perfect spot from which to explore the city. The Grand Hotel was the site of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies until the 1930's. (Alfred Nobel was Swedish). It's a beautiful old hotel with huge suites and mirrored ballrooms looking out across the harbor. In a word: Grand.

We went out that night to a boat called 'Patricia', a short walk around the harbor from our hotel. This big party boat is the hot spot for Stockholm 's gay life. Someone joked that if the boat were to sink, you'd never be able to get a good haircut in this town again. There were hundreds of tall, blond gorgeous men (and women) on board, and it immediately struck me how cheerful it all was. They were singing silly Swedish pop songs and dancing like a pack of fools. There is simply no such thing as attitude here, as it goes against the national character to think that you are better than anyone else. Swedes don't realize how exotic they can seem to visitors. (Keep in mind that six-foot tall, multi-lingual blondes are as rare as white tigers in most parts of the world. In Scandinavia , they're as common as house cats.) We found them friendly and easy to talk to. They like to practice their perfect English, and they like to meet new people and hear what they think of their city. They are, to use a simple word, ’nice.’

The next day we set out to explore the city - which is best accomplished on foot. The center of Stockholm is relatively small, and walking around the waterways and over the bridges makes for a most charming day out. There are dozens of museums and places of cultural interest to explore, if you have the time. With just three days, we were content to stroll around slowly just taking in the Scandinavian beauty. We stumbled upon the changing of the guards when we walked past the Royal Palace . More tall blondes marching in unison wearing royal blue and white uniforms. Scandinavian beauty indeed!

The only challenge about staying in Stockholm is finding good food. While sandwiches and pastries are of high standard, and readily available, we never found a restaurant that appealed to us. That is most likely because they all served Swedish Cuisine (a misnomer if you ask me). The Swedish may have invented the Smorgasbord, but really, how many ways do you need to eat herring? Outdoor restaurant menus will tempt you with plates such as: Pickled Herring...Smoked Herring...Herring in Marinated Mustard...Herring Fried in Vinegar. After a few more variations on the theme the menu will move on to other gastronomic challenges such as: Gubbrora (anchovies with beet root and capers)...Black Roe...Reindeer Calf Fillet or Liver and Rose Hip Soup. All of these are meant to be washed down with generous amounts of Schnapps. I usually love to sample the local cuisine in a new country, but in Sweden I made an exception.

The weekend we were there, Stockholm was hosting the annual Europride event. We watched the colorful, wacky parade through the center of town that lasted five hours or so. The whole city turns out to drink vodka and watch the parade, while the people in the parade drink vodka and do cartwheels, and push each other around in little wagons. Later we went to a lavish mega-party in the grand ballroom of an extravagant hotel. Martha Wash (of Weather Girls fame) was performing. After all that vodka, neither Freddie nor I could remember much of the evening, but I'm quite sure it was fabulous. 

On the last day we went to the Vasa museum... Stockholm 's number one tourist attraction. The Vasa was a massive oak warship built in 1628. At that time she was the most fearsome, heavily armed ship of its day with sixty four bronze cannons running along two gun decks. She was also top heavy, and the magnificently carved ship capsized and sank on its maiden voyage, less than a mile outside the harbor. Fast forward 333 years and in 1956 a complex salvage operation brought the ancient ship, virtually intact, up from the depths. It was restored over many years, and ship and museum opened to the public in 1990. We spent a few hours admiring the workmanship of the Vasa, and learning about life in Sweden in the 17th century. 

Freddie and I were both in love with Stockholm by the time we left on Sunday night. The city is so completely gorgeous, we started to plan to come back even before we boarded the plane for home. It’s an alien world so far north in the hemisphere. A strange and beautiful world with people to match. I started to wonder if the Swedes might just be the next step in human evolution.  With those blue within blue eyes, they are taller than us, smarter than us, and they have their own secret way of communicating with each other. It’s called Swedish.