Winter is Finally Here... Ski Slopes to Open!

It has been a relatively warm winter so far... with no snow and temperatures well above freezing. Quite unusual! But winter (and the snow) has finally come to Stockholm. We had our first real snowfall this past weekend and the weather reports show more snow and continuing below freezing temperatures in the coming weeks.

Map of Hammarbybacken
www.skistar.com/sv/hammarbybacken/

This all means that the ski slopes around Stockholm can finally open for business! To give you an idea of how warm this winter has been... last year the ski slopes opened on December 13th. The Stockholm region has no mountains, so we are talking smaller slopes. But they still have lifts, multiple runs and the opportunity for the popular "after-ski". You can also rent ski and snowboard equipment there, so you don't have to worry about bringing it with you from home.

Hammarbybacken- open in the evening.
www.skistar.com/sv/hammarbybacken/

The closest slope to Stockholm is Hammarbybacken. In fact, it is so close (located in the southern suburbs) that you have great views of downtown Stockholm from the top. They are busy preparing the slope with snow cannons and plan to open on Saturday (Jan 18th). To get to Hammarbybacken from the Rival Hotel, it is only a 20 minute trip with the subway and street car (Tvärbanan) or by direct bus (#74). Other ski slopes in the Stockholm region that are planning on opening this coming weekend are Ekebyhovsbacken and Flottsbrobacken. These are, however, a bit further away than Hammarbybacken! Full list of nearby ski slopes.
Click here to read my article from last year (with more information).

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What to do on New Years Weekend?

(This is old information, for current info... click here!) What to do this New years weekend? Plenty to do... be aware that some museums are open one day and closed the other. Almost all stores are closed on New years Day... and many restaurants.


Friday, December 31th

Museums- Skansen is open from 10am to midnight. A very popular place with Swedes to ring in the New Year... with the hour before midnight filled with music and entertainment. Besides Skansen, the other museums open today are the Vasa Museum and the East Asian Antiquities Museum (Terracotta Warrior exhibit).
The changing of the guards at the Royal Palace in the Old Town: 12:15pm
Tours- Strömma offers the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour, Panorama bus tour as well as the Winter boat tour and Little Archipelago boat tour everyday all weekend.
Other activities- The midnight firework display will take place over the water on the eastern side of Stockholm (ocean side). This can easily be viewed anywhere on the waterfront or a place with a good view.
Ice skating at Kungsträdgården from 11am to 8pm. Hammarbybacken is open for skiing 9am to 4pm. 
Restaurants- Many restaurants closed and the ones that are open serve the traditional nyårsspé dinner. Hope you have a reservation... it's very hard to get one last minute!
Stores- many open, with shorter hours. NK Department store open 10am to 5pm. Gallerian shopping center open 11am to 5pm. Skrapan shopping center open 10am to 4pm.

Saturday, January 1st

Museums- Skansen, Fotografiska, The History Museum and the East Asian Antiquities Museum (where you can see the Terracotta Warrior Exhibition) are all open.
The changing of the guards at the Royal Palace in the Old Town: 1:15pm
Tours- Strömma offers the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour, Panorama bus tour as well as the Winter boat tour and Little Archipelago boat tour  everyday all weekend.
Other activities- Ice skating at Kungsträdgården from 11am to 8pm. Hammarbybacken is open for skiing 11am to 6pm.
Restaurants- Many restaurants are closed (hungover staff?)... there are restaurants open in the Stureplan district as well as hotel restaurants. Rival Bistro is open.
Stores- Most are closed, including NK, Gallerian and Skrapan.

Sunday, January 2nd

Museums- all major museums, including the Vasa Museum, are open for business.
The changing of the guards at the Royal Palace in the Old Town: 1:15pm
Tours- Strömma offers the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour, Panorama bus tour as well as the Winter boat tour and Little Archipelago boat tour everyday all weekend.
Other activities- Ice skating at Kungsträdgården from 11am to 8pm. Hammarbybacken is open for skiing 9am to 6pm.
Restaurants- many more restaurants are open for business, but it is a Sunday... so restaurants that are generally closed on Sundays will be closed today!
Stores- Open for business again! NK Department store open 12pm to 5pm. Gallerian shopping center open 11am to 5pm. Skrapan shopping center open 11am to 6pm.

The weather this weekend? Temperatures around -5 Celsius and snowfall expected late on New Year's Eve and in the morning on New Year's Day.

Happy New Years!
.

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The Nobel Prizes!

Not only is it the season for Christmas and Lucia... it is Nobel Prize season as well! On December 10th the annual ceremony will be held here in Stockholm to award the prizes for Economy, Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Literature. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded seperately in Oslo on the same day.
This weekend and the days leading up to the 10th are busy here in Stockholm with lectures, concerts as well as arriving dignitaries and award recipients. On December 10th the awards will be presented by the Swedish Academy and the King at the Stockholm Concert Hall (Konserthuset)... followed by the famous banquet at City Hall (Stadshuset). To be honest, none of these events are open to the general public. However, there are many other ways to get into the Nobel spirit while you are visiting Stockholm.

Bird's eye view of the ceremony
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2012 Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

First of all is the Nobel Museum, which is located in Gamla Stan (15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel). Here you can learn about Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prizes, as well as the history of the prizes and past winners. They have temporary exhibitions as well... and the current exhibition (opened yesterday) fits right in with the season. Called "Fashion Innovation 3", it features creative interpretations of this year's awards by students from both Beckman's College of Design and the Royal College of Music. Sounds interesting! The exhibition will continue until April 13th, 2014.

Alfred Nobel- the man responsible for it all.

Another option is to visit the City Hall and take a tour of the inside and see the hall where the Nobel banquet is held every year. Tours in English are given (in December) at the top of every hour between 10am and 3pm and taking a tour is the only way to get inside. Be aware that there are no tours on the 9th and 10th of December due to the banquet and the preparations. Having dinner at Den Gyldene Freden is a great way to round off your Nobel visit. It is here that the Swedish Academy, who choose the winners for the Literature Prize, eat dinner every Thursday evening.

City Hall (Stadshuset) at twilight...

Finally... you can do like Swedes traditionally do: view the festivities on TV (mostly to see what the queen and princesses are wearing). Some hardy people do stand in front of the Concert and City Halls to see the royalty, dignitaries and prize winners arrive and depart.
Here you can read about my recent visits to the Nobel Museum, City Hall and Den Gyldene Freden.

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Winter Sport Activities in Stockholm

Are you feeling a bit sporty or adventurous? There is plenty to keep you occupied during the winter months and it all happens very close to the city, if not within.

    



Photo: Henrik Trygg- Stockholms Visitors Board

• Ice Skating: I've already reported on the outdoor ice skating rink in the middle of the city at Kungsträdgården. If you feel like doing some long distance skating on the frozen lakes and rivers around Stockholm, then it is better to do it in a group with a guide (it's still a little early in the season). Two good guide companies that offers such tours, including equipment rental, are the Stockholms Guidebyrå and Ice Guide. They can be contacted at info@stockholmsguidebyra.se and info@iceguide.se (they have a contact form on their website) for more information and booking. Click here for a list of cleared skating routes in the greater Stockholm area. 
• Cross Country Skiing: If you have your own equipment then there are many tracks around the city, including Djurgården. I'm having trouble finding a place that rents cross country skis, but if I find a place then I will report back!



Photo: Skistar.com/hammarbybacken

• Alpine Skiing & Snowboarding: There are several hills in and around Stockholm high enough to support some alpine skiing! I've already reported on the opening of Hammarbybacken this week. This is by far the closest slope, in fact you can see the slope from parts of Södermalm where the Rival Hotel is located and the there is a great view of the city from the top of the hill. There are lifts and a restaurant and they do rent skiing equipment! Click here for some short movies of the slope. There are a few other slopes on the outskirts of the city... including Ekholmsnäsbacken, Flottsbro and Väsjöbacken. 

 

I would be remiss in talking about winter sport activities without mentioning Hellasgården. This nature area is located in Nacka, just a 15 minute bus ride on #401 from Slussen (10 minute walk from the hotel). Here you can find plenty of walking paths, cross skiing tracks and outdoor ice skating (with rental). Another activity offered here, not for the faint of heart (literally), is ice swimming. A very nordic activity involving heating up in a sauna or bastu and then plunging into frigid waters. Brrrr...!



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St Lucia Celebrations!

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholm Visitors Board

Lucia, the festival/celebration of St Lucia, happens on December 13th and is, along with Midsummer, the most Swedish of holidays and many of you have seen a picture of a young girl wearing a wreath of candles (Lucia). Basically, the celebration consists of a procession led by a candle wreathed young woman and followed by other young women (& men called stjärngossar) holding candles. Click here for video ("Lucia for Dummies"). They sing Lucia songs as well as other Christmas carols. The traditional places where this procession takes place is in Swedish homes on the morning of the 13th, where the procession is made up of the family's children, and during the evening in various churches. These days, however, you will find Lucia processions also at different businesses, shopping malls and retirement centers throughout the country. Because of the popularity of Lucia, you need to purchase tickets to see the procession in most churches. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, stop by and I will help you with tickets.

Lucia at Skansen www.sverigeslucia.se 

These church services, while traditional and beautiful, might be a little problematic for foreign visitors as there is often a church sermon included in the celebration which is in Swedish. Another option, and a good one at that, is to visit Skansen, the open-air museum dedicated to Swedish culture and traditions. Here they will be celebrating Lucia for three days (Dec 13th to the 15th) with processions, historical reenactments and concerts. The main Lucia concert at Skansen will be on the Solliden stage at 6:30pm. Skansen also has a great Christmas market on Saturday and Sunday which you can combine with a Lucia concert during weekend. Skansen is located on the island of Djurgården and easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... with regular ferries (10 min trip) going from nearby Slussen.

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Warning- Winter Weather!

A little warning to travellers coming to Stockholm this week and next. They are predicting cold, bordering on record-breaking, temperatures for the next couple of days. Tomorrow and Thursday may see temperatures down towards -20 degrees Celsius in some parts of Stockholm. It should ease up by the weekend when a new system brings in warmer weather (-5 or so) and snow. The 10 day prognosis shows continuing temperatures below zero... and meterologists are saying that we may have another vargvinter ("Wolf's Winter"- local term for chillier than normal winter) on our hands like we did last year. The good news is that the snow makes it light, cheery & beautiful! On the other hand, meterology isn't an exact science: so it is a good idea to keep an eye on weather websites before your trip and pack accordingly!

Two good websites for Stockholm weather: www.smhi.se and www.yr.no
.

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Countdown to Christmas- Part 2!

The royal palace lit up under a wintery sky.

Last weekend I wrote about the first Christmassy happenings in Stockholm... but this weekend (Nov 29th to Dec 1st) is the official start of the holiday season in Sweden (and many other parts of the world). It is the beginning of Advent, which always starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It is this weekend when Swedes traditionally consider it permissible (in the name of good taste) to put up holiday decorations at home 

So, what kicks off this Advent Season? Well, to start off with, two more Christmas markets open for the season. The traditional & historic market at Skansen opens on Saturday and will be open each Advent weekend (Sat & Sun). The market in Kungsträdgården opened today (Friday) for business and will be open daily until December 22nd. Two specialty markets are open this weekend and only this weekend. The Royal Mews/Stables have their traditional Christmas fair this weekend (Fri-Sun) and the students at Konstfack (College of Art, Crafts & Design) have their market on Sat & Sun. Click for more information on various Christmas markets this season.

A contestant at last year's competition.

The Swedish Center for Architecture & Design's popular gingerbread house contest has started and the "houses" competing are now on display. You have until December 14th to stop by and cast your vote (they will, however, be on display until January 5th). The theme of the competition is "future forms" and the competitors are split into three groups...1. architects, designers and professional bakers. 2. children under the age of 12. 3. everyone else! The Center is located on the island of Skeppsholmen. 

Last minute preparations of the official tree.

Finally... the official Christmas tree is going to be lit at 3pm on Sunday! This giant tree is a bit of a symbol for Stockholm during the holiday season and is located in Gamla Stan on the Skeppsbron waterfront. Right next to the tree is the restaurant Mr French which I visited a few weeks ago. Not only will they be serving julbord, the traditional Christmas smörgåsbord, but they will be putting on their own Christmas market in their lounge where you can buy traditional market items as well as sandwiches and hot chocolate while sitting around an open fire. 

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Ice Skating Rink at Kungsträdgården is Open for the Season!

This weekend we are expecting subzero (Celsius) temperatures which means that it is cold enough for the popular outdoor ice skating rink in Kungsträdgården to open for business. A sure sign that winter is not far off! Stockholmers have been skating here since 1962, when the rink first opened for business. It's location in the center of the city makes it a popular activity for both locals and tourists... whether they actually take to the rink or just observe. The downtown shopping district is nearby with the NK department store located right across the street. Starting next Friday (Nov 29th) a Christmas market will open up just adjacent to the rink. This market will be open daily, 11am to 6pm, until December 22nd.

On a snowy evening last winter... no snow yet this year!

The ice skating rink is also open daily: weekdays from 10am to 9pm and weekends from 11am to 9pm. If you don't feel like packing your ice skates when you come to Stockholm... don't worry, they have skates for rent! The cost is 60 SEK for adults and 30 SEK for youth/children under 20 (prices are for one hour rental). Children are required to use a helmet and they have them to borrow- free of charge (even for adults). The rink is lit up in the winter darkness and they have fun music playing over the loudspeakers, so it is worth a visit even if it is just to have a cup of glögg and watch the skaters. It is easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... either a 30 minute walk through Gamla Stan, 3-4 stops on the subway or a 5 minute taxi ride.

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