President Obama's Visit to Stockholm September 4th & 5th!

President Obama has a scheduled visit to Stockholm this week (September 4th & 5th) on his way to the G20 summit in St Petersburg. It is the first time a sitting US president visits Sweden for a bilateral meeting! While this is good news for Sweden, the visit may mean traffic problems for visitors and Stockholmers alike. But as long as you are aware of this in advance and avoid driving, taxis or busses (stick to walking or the excellent subway system) then you should be fine. There may also be traffic problems between Arlanda airport and Stockholm on Wednesday (late morning) and Thursday mid-day when the president travels back and forth. Airport information! If you are also planning on travelling to or from the airport at this time, then stick with either the Arlanda Express train to the Central Train Station or the commuter train (great for Rival Hotel guests!). Boats leaving from Strömkajen, for example Waxholmsbolaget and Strömma's sightseeing tours, will be "rerouted". We shall see what that means! (New Info: The Waxholmsbolaget boat terminal has been moved from Strömkajen to Nybrokajen starting September 3rd and through the 5th. The Djurgård ferry is planning on running as normal! I have also talked with Strömma about how the presidential visit will impact sightseeing tours. Besides moving their boat terminal to Nybrokajen as well, their only answer was that everything should be taken with a "pinch of salt" these three days as things can change at the drop of a hat. In other words, they are as much in the dark as the general public regarding certain closures. The Royal Palace will be closed on the 4th & 5th! The subway station Kungsträdgården (blue line) will be closed all Wednesday until 1pm on Thursday) New-new Info: Strömma's Panorama Bus Tour is canelled both days, The Hop-On & Off Boat will run, but no stop at the Royal Palace. Hop On & Off Bus Tours will do an alternate route where they avoid Gamla Stan.
According to the preliminary schedule it seems that most events & meetings on Wednesday will take place at Rosenbad (prime minister's offices), the Great Synagogue and the KTH school. The plan on Thursday, before he leaves, is to meet the king & queen at the Royal Palace. This is just the preliminary schedule and may be subject to change! Of course, the trip may be cancelled due to the conflict escalation in Syria. Check back to this article for updates, or talk directly to us at the hotel if you are staying with us those days for up to the minute information. The US Embassy website may also be a good source for information. Otherwise "The Local", Swedish newspaper in English, has both his preliminary itinerary as well as traffic information.

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Write by: AN - Friday, August 30, 2013