1 Sweden, Part Four: Stockholm

"What else? We came here for love."

I'd just asked Kenny from The Good Gringo what had brought these perfect American English speaking food truckers to Stockholm. They had independently moved to Sweden for their significant others and then met in a Swedish for immigrants language class. And logically...next step was to start a food truck selling tasty burritos at, among other Stockholm locales, Hornstulls Marknad: a vintage street market on summer Sundays. The food trucks were awesome--we also got a killer chicken and rice plate from The Funky Chicken--and the clothes and accessories on display would make for a dream shopping spree for any self-respecting hipster. More than a few items caught my eye, but no room in this traveler's suitcase.

We spent three days in Stockholm during our Swedish stay, and loved the hip vibe, beautiful architecture, charming canals, hidden beaches, funky subway stations, and kid-friendliness. (In one child changing room I saw a sign for where to pick up free diapers and wipes if you ran short!) I collected brochures for intriguing-sounding museums like the ABBA, Nobel, and Museum of Spirits, and would have loved to join the Swedes enjoying leisurely beverages on the water. But that's for next time, sans kiddos. Instead we shelled out $50 to visit the Junibacken, essentially an indoor playground most accurately described in our favorite TripAdvisor review as "Hell for adults, heaven for kids." A much more pleasant experience was had at Skansen: a gigantic outdoor museum that combined zoo, history, gardens, and arcade. But one of our favorite activities was family workouts on the ubiquitous outdoor workout equipment scattered across the city.

Our last night in Sweden, we needed to stay close to the airport for a morning flight to Germany. So what better location than on an airplane hotel? Jumbo Stay is a 747 converted to a hotel/hostel with basic rooms along the aisle and a fancy pilot's suite in the cockpit. The rooms are tiny but everything is immaculately clean and charmingly themed. And I can honestly say that of all the cramped sleeps I've had on red-eyes, this was by far the most comfortable.

You can find more pictures from our Sweden travels here.