OT: ask me how pumped I am. go on ask me

[puckhead]

OK my Swedish friends, I need some suggestions.

we have a couple of non-hockey days, so what are the can't miss things to do or see?
I figure one day in Copenhagen, so we have the Tuborg Brewery tour as the headliner (apparently they are pretty generous with samples )
so... what else (Copenhagen or southern Sweden)? is the Malmo castle worth seeing?
is the market square interesting, or just another block of expensive coffee-shows?

Sabresfan, is that loop you suggested doable via train?
I don't think we are planning to get a car, as we are 10 min via metro to the arenas.
might be worthwhile for the one day though.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

OK my Swedish friends, I need some suggestions.

we have a couple of non-hockey days, so what are the can't miss things to do or see?
I figure one day in Copenhagen, so we have the Tuborg Brewery tour as the headliner (apparently they are pretty generous with samples )
so... what else (Copenhagen or southern Sweden)? is the Malmo castle worth seeing?
is the market square interesting, or just another block of expensive coffee-shows?

Sabresfan, is that loop you suggested doable via train?
I don't think we are planning to get a car, as we are 10 min via metro to the arenas.
might be worthwhile for the one day though.

Probably too late to be helpful (sorry, don't usually post on weekends), but yeah, totally doable by train.

 

[puckhead]

Probably too late to be helpful (sorry, don't usually post on weekends), but yeah, totally doable by train.

lol. don't worry about the timing. glad you saw the post.
trip isn't until late Dec. just compiling info right now.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

lol. don't worry about the timing. glad you saw the post.
trip isn't until late Dec. just compiling info right now.

Ahh yes, I forgot it was the juniors later in the year. Was thinking you were already there now for the regular world championships.

So it will still be doable by train in December, but a lot colder! When I went, we did it in the summer, so having to walk a mile or two from a train station to a destination wasn't a big deal. You may want to reconsider based on weather.

Alternatively, what you could do with a couple days off is fly up to either Kiruna in northern Sweden or Tromsø in northern Norway. Both cities have non-stop flights from Stockholm and being there in winter would present a VERY good chance (especially in Tromsø) of seeing the Aurora Borealis. They are both also very scenic cities, though you may not see a whole lot with the darkness that time of year.

Not far from Kiruna also is the famous ice hotel and in either city you'd be able to do dogsledding tours and that sort of thing.

Tromsø is also home to the world's northernmost brewery, where they give guided tours in English. The beer is also sold only in Norway, so you could try out a beer that never gets exported. Tromsø also has an aquarium, which would have benefits if you'd be taking any kids along.

One tip too: Stockholm has two main airports (not counting the two extremely distant "Stockholm" airports used primarily by Ryanair), so if you get in a taxi and say "airport" (don't worry, they'll speak English, but you could call it Flygplats if you really wanted to), you have to know if you're going to Arlanda (the biggest, definitely where you'll fly in coming from Canada) or Bromma (a very good chance if you decide to fly somewhere within Sweden). And for the record, I HIGHLY recommend you use only Taxi Stockholm (Startpage - Taxi Stockholm) to and from the airport. Their rates are a little higher but they have the nicest cars and the best drivers in the city, they all take credit cards no questions asked (really, the whole counry is very credit card friendly), and you will never get screwed by one of theirs. Be careful that it's actually Taxi Stockholm though and not something like Stockholm Taxi or similar.