Euro Trip : Winter colours of Stockholm

Hej Hej!

I'm so excited to share the first part of my Europe trip aka one of the loveliest cities, Stockholm! It was my first time to Europe and I'm so glad I finally made a trip there despite the really long flight duration. Image heavy, enjoy!

Gamla Stan!

It's really beautiful there. It's an old town of Stockholm which houses many great restaurants and cafes. It faces the serene slussen lake which would definitely be so pretty during summer!

Swedish meatballs for our first lunch in Stockholm!

Stockholm is such a picturesque city!

Super good hot chocolate at Chokladkoppen, a cafe very famous for their hot choc! Will definitely recommend if you're visiting Stockholm.

Chokladkoppen

Stortorget 18, 111 29 Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish fish soup which was damn yums too! Love it and I recall it was quite affordable.

Kajsas Fisk

Hotorgshallen 3, Stockholm 111 57, Sweden (Norrmalm)

It was actually really cold and I was underdressed but I didn't wanna wrap up like a dumpling hehe. Too vain for my own good. 

We bought one big slab of salmon and brought it to London for a salmon partayyyeee. Salmon is so cheap and soooooo fresh in Stockholm!!! If I'm not wrong it was $30 or $50 for the big piece we bought.

Took a ferry to Skansen Zoo + christmas market!

  

It was my first Christmas market and it was very nice! I expected more though but I think I raised my expectations too high. It was very nice to see traditional swedish ornaments, eat traditional swedish food and snacks. It was pretty fun joining in the dance too, totally soaked up the christmas atmosphere!

That was our short 3 days in Stockholm and I wish we spent more time there. It was definitely not enough at all! Stockholm doesn't have many touristy spots or attractions except for museums and palaces but what I really love about Stockholm is the super nice and friendly people, and how chill the whole city is. The buildings are very colourful as well. I think summer in Sweden would be way nicer and I'm planning to go this year again (: The only sian part about Stockholm is that it's really really pricey. One average meal costs about $50 - $70, each train ride is about $5, a cup of coffee/hot chocolate is about $7. Not to mention the cabs are really expensive as well so if you're planning on staying/visiting Sweden, you better prepare more $$$! 

My air ticket to Stockholm was about $1,100 and I got it during a sale on Qatar Airways (my transit time was 9 hours but I think it's cos I got a sale ticket). If you get it without sale, it's around $1.3k - $1.5k on airlines like airfrance, emirates, qatar etc. Stockholm hotels are pretty expensive too, averaging at $300 per room per night for a decent room in a good location. So a tip for you is to book your accommodation with Airbnb instead! I got an apartment for only $145 per night for 4 people in a good location so it's a lot more value for money! You can read the post below for more information on my Stockholm accomm. 

You get $33 travel credit when you sign up and book your first stay with Airbnb at my page here! Can't emphasise further how grateful I am for the existence of Airbnb, helps me save so much money that I used for shopping and food instead hehe!

And for those who have been asking where I got my above pink tweed coat from, it's from http://hervelvetvase.com ! I recently did a quick interview with them on what I personally skimp and splurge on and what my greatest passions are, so have a read if you're interested to know a lil more about me (:

I've also specially curated a HVV mood box (worth $100) for a giveaway! Simply comment what you skimp and splurge on on the page where I'm featured and I'll pick the lucky winner!

Read and comment here! Good luck!

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

Stockholm home living with Airbnb

 After a gruelling 15 hours flight + 9 hours transit from Singapore to Stockholm, all I really wanted after landing was just to cosy up in a nice home and get some rest. This time, I've chosen to stay with airbnb and my apartment in Stockholm was the perfect respite for my exhausted body, it was just perfect! This has got to be my favourite apartment out of all that we stayed in throughout our 3 weeks in Europe.
Click here to see more of my Stockholm airbnb apartment!

It's super cosy and homely, not to mention I feel like I stepped into an IKEA showroom when I entered. Ange told me that Stockholm homes are known for their Swedish homely interior decor, hence our apartment really screams SWEDEN to me (: It was an all sufficient apartment with a kitchenette, balcony, washrooms and even a music player and screen projector for our stay-in movie nights! WOOHOO! 

Was so delighted to see this sweet handwritten note from the owner, Else. You don't get such hospitality from hotels. Yeah yeah, full rights to the refrigerator! \m/

We couldn't pass on the offer so we cooked up a storm the next morning! 

Ingredients, checked!

Pots and pans, checked!

Wine and coffee, checked!

There was SO MUCH food in the fridge from pork sausages to truffle pasta to pulled beef to fruits and salads! 

TADAH! Our masterpiece after 1.5 hours of experimenting around in the kitchen!

I'd hit replay at these moments a thousand times. Nothing feels better than getting reunited with my girls and spending quality time together. Good food, coffee, laughters and boys talk. 

I've always been a fan of apartment living cos it gives a different experience that hotels don't provide. It feels homely (sorry if I've overused the word but I can't find a better word), laid-back and it allows you to bask into the country's culture and interior design which is one of a kind! I love visiting a new place and living through the eyes of a local. I don't think I'd be able to experience such a beautiful swedish decor in a hotel for the price I paid. This apartment cost me only approximately $145/night for 4 people and I think that's an absolute steal for such a lovely space in a prime hipster area lined up with bars and restaurants. Not to mention, it was only 3 mins walk to the metro station which was our main form of transportation in Stockholm. Hotels in Stockholm are at sky-rocket prices so I'm pretty damn sure I had made a better choice booking with Airbnb! Living in an apartment also means 4 of us could stay together in one space instead of separating into 2 rooms!

Besides I'm just the kind of girl who enjoys a cup of latte in the balcony with a good read and music, one who loves to experiment new recipes (though we are still not good at cooking hahaha) with my friends and have silly unpretentious conversations for hours over wine and home-cooked food. Well well, what's not to love about interior design too! Can always appreciate a well-designed home (:

Some postcards of my inseparable relationship with the attached balcony hahah

Just look at how beautiful winter is from our apartment surroundings!

The apartment's backyard!

Else is an interior designer so she had some really good magazines of home decor and on travel too! Could spend my forever in this home just lounging around.

I've fallen deeply in love with Stockholm and Swedish homes are one of the reasons aside from the wonderful people and slow-paced life. Before I flew to Stockholm, Else actually emailed me a few good local bars/restaurants around the area to check out so we went to Linje Tio which is just a stone's throw away from our home for dinner on our first night!

They serve fantastic meat and drinks, and have great vibes! The prices are a bit on the steeper side but restaurants in Stockholm are generally very expensive so I'm glad at least we paid for something good! This restaurant is pretty underground and is very popular with locals only so I wouldn't have known about it if not for our airbnb host!

We were all so pleased with our stay and I would love to share with you guys my Stockholm apartment wish list which I made on Airbnb if y'all are visiting that beautiful city anytime soon! This wish list feature is one of my favourite features on Airbnb. It allows me to save all the nice apartments and categorise them under different countries so it makes it super fast and easy when I want to search for an apartment in a particular country in future or to share it with my friends! Feel free to create your own too and get lost in the plethora of listings too!

Airbnb is available in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries so I'm sure you will find something you like! They even have castles and igloos for rent, how cool is that!!! 

If you've never airbnb-ed before, head to my Airbnb page to get $33 off your first Airbnb stay! Get lost in the listings and book, simple as that! Booking and making payment is really simple and secure. After that you can starting planning your cafe-hopping and sightseeing itinerary like a local by going through their neighbourhood guides. It's specially curated by locals so no tourist traps fo sho!

In my next post, I'll be sharing more on sightseeing in Stockholm so stay tuned (:

XX

Sophia

Instagram : @sophiachong