Just the other day I took the boat to an island named Grinda, it’s situated outside of Vaxholm which is a spot I’ve been talking about before in these articles. There are two greats benefits to visiting Grinda. First of all you get to experience a genuine archipelago relatively close to Stockholm. Secondly it’s a nature preserve which makes the whole island accessible for all visitors. You can hang around and sunbathe wherever you ike!

The island has two ports and most of the activities are situated around “Södra Grinda”. There you’ll find the most departures from, a restaurant, a bar, hotel and more. The restaurant is established inside of an old, magnificent summerhouse. Go there, and enjoy their classic fish soup and a nice wine on a sunny day!

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Grinda | Relaxing, Restaurants (Classic Swedish) | Main meal +/- SEK 195
Södra Grinda | City/Norrmalm | +46854249491
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Have you ever thought about what Stockholmers might do on weekends when having a couple of days off? I´ll tell you…

We hang out along with our family and friends in the archipelago. Either we stay overnights or we head of on a daytrip.

If you’re interested in spending some time along with us locals I warmly recommend you to go visiting an island named Utö. Rent a bicycle, grab a map and head south to a tiny island named Ålö that´s connected to Utö with a small wooden bridge. On Ålö you will find a genuine restaurant in an old boathouse namned “Båtshaket”.

Båtshaket is genuine and authentic. All the locals sit together, eating classic Swedish seafood, having a snaps and a beer and simply just enjoying life. They do their own fishing and preparing. Try some Swedish Lax or their “Silltallrik” if your up for having traditional Swedish food!

To visit Carina at Ålö , take the train from Stockholm central station towards Västerhaninge, at “Handen” change to bus towards “Årsta havsbad” and take the boat from there to “Gruvbryggan” at a island named Utö.

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Ålö | Relaxing, Restaurants (Swedish seafood) | Main meal from SEK 60
Ålö (start trip from central station) | Outside South/East | +4685057463
Opens 23 of june!

Marie Laveau is both a restaurant, a bar and a club. Even though the restaurant is highly praised by the critics, it is because of the bar and the club that I usually go there.

Some time ago, the club stopped running during the weekdays as the neighbors complained about the noise. During working days there are always people here, but nothing compared with the crowded Fridays and Saturdays.

At the bar, where excellent drinks are made, the place is full of young alternative people with the typical laid-back and hip Södermalm style. The music played also has the same alternative vibe both at the bar as well as at the club in the basement.

The club typically has younger people but a similar atmosphere . It is dark, feels like a sauna in an urban environment, but it is well worth to go!

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Marie Laveau | Bars | Entrance weekend SEK 100
Hornsgatan 66 | Södermalm | +4686688500
Mon – Tue 17:00 – 01:00, Wed – Sat 17:00 – 03:00

Every time I go to Grandpa I get a homey feeling that is a bit unusual when entering design clothing stores. This mainly arises from the cozy home-like retro decoration as well as the extremely friendly personnel which I have consistently encountered here over the years.

Grandpa is mainly a fashion store that has a very good mix of Swedish and other International brands like April 77, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Whyred, Uniforms for the dedicated among others. But besides the clothes one can also find furniture, decoration (such as porcelain tigers), gadgets, and movies.

There’s often a DJ playing music and on the last Thursday of each month the Södermalm’s store is opened until 9pm (SoFo Night) and wine is offered to their customers. In the Fridhemsplan’s store there is both a café as well as a bigger furniture section, including new and second-hand products.

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Grandpa | Shopping | Jeans SEK 1000
Södermannagatan 21 | Södermalm | +4686436080
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 18:30, Sat 11:30 – 17:00, Sun 12:00 – 16:00

The Swedish landscape has extremely beautiful lakes, forests and mountains that are used by most Swedes all year round. Even inside Stockholm it is possible to find a green park or a peaceful lake where one can relax in contact with the nature.

Another thing that makes this city special is the archipelago which is just a short boat trip east out of town. Even though it is very popular among locals during summertime, as the temperature of the baltic sea allows summer baths, the archipelago can also be rather spectacular throughout all seasons.

Utö is a traditional destination, which allow for great walks and bathing (the water temperature in the baltic is around 20˚C in the Summer). Another advantage of being in one of the bigger islands (as Utö) is that if you want to socialize during the evening, just head up for the local pub where there will be some partying going on. For a more calm experience just pick any small island next to Utö like Ålö and Rånö.

Most of the boats leave from the centre of town or Nynäshamn and are one hour away from most islands. Take a newspaper, a book and your camera, head out for a day in an island of your choice and enjoy a delicious meal at one of the great archipelago restaurants before coming back. But if you have the time for it, why not staying an extra day at one of the beautiful inns opened all year round?

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Archipelago | Relaxing | Strömkajen – Grinda SEK 170.00
Strömkajen | City/Norrmalm | +4686795830
Daily

Stockholm is packed with cafés that mostly have a modern design or just a cozy one. Rival tries to fill this gap by being a sophisticated and smart but yet homey place to hang out. Its Parisian-like decoration with mirrors and photos of famous and not-so-famous Swedes as well as its big windows turned to the trees of Mariatorget make this spot a great place for meeting a friend, work, study or just reading the daily newspaper.

Café Rival has his own bakery and during lunch time serves great crossover food ranging from soups and pastas to quinoa salads. While it is typically full during lunch time it is possible to find a table without any waiting, most of the time. It is also very popular among locals for an afternoon coffee as it has delicious pastry.

Besides the main local just at the entrance, there is also a smaller one a level above and in case you get to pass by here on a sunny day, just take a sit on the tables outside overlooking the calm Mariatorget park.

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Café Rival | Coffee & tea | Quinoa salad SEK 80.00
Mariatorget 3 | Södermalm | +4654578900
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 19:00, Sun 09:00 – 19:00

What I love about cooking is the experimental part. Trying out new methods, mixing common ingredients in unusual ways and most importantly finding out about new ingredients. It is with no surprise that this is a spot I love going to! Mostly because they dare, thus making this an inspirational place for my home cooking.

Matkultur is a multicultural restaurant where food and ingredients from opposite parts of the world are combined in order to create a new experience. Things that I never thought would make sense together result in simply extraordinary dishes. The menu is very short, but it is modified regularly and even with these (positive) changes I find the food to be consistently excellent.

This is a small place that aims to have a slow tempo but it is always full and one must book a table for the weekend, although I’d also recommend doing the same during the week. Just go there, Matkultur has some of the coolest food in town.

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Matkultur | Restaurants (Multicultural) | Main meal SEK 200
Erstagatan 21 | Södermalm | +4686420353
Mon – Sat 17:00 – 00:00

Going to concerts isn’t usually cheap in Stockholm! In fact, most of the times one must even decide well in advance! Well, that was until I found the Royal College of Music in Stockholm a couple of years ago.

The students from this college are among the best music students in the country. They have been practicing for many years and holding a concert is nothing new for them. In short, they are good! Concerts are held frequently and even last year examination concerts are opened for public.

I typically enjoy going to the small jazzy ones on Tuesdays in lilla salen, but check out also for the folk and classical music concerts. I always have a great time there… and it’s free!

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Musikhögskolan | Music | Free
Valhallavägen 105 | Östermalm | +468161800
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East is a japanese restaurant/bar in the heart of Östermalm. Although this spot feels a bit like another I like going to in Stureplan (Riche – check out the Riche article), it as some important differences.

The first has to do with time. Lilla Baren at Riche has an earlier time span than East, complementing each other rather well if one wants to go to both places in the same night. But East used to be almost my second home for another very important reason: it has an extraordinarily large mix of people for a place lying in the heart of Stureplan. It results in a bar in which one can just start talking with the person nearby.

There is also some dancing going on, but everyone tends to gather outside even under the winter time as the heaters are turned on.

I’d recommend to go to East on Friday and Saturday, but this is one of the few places in town where there is actually something going on every day of the week.

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East | Bars | Beer SEK 62.00
Stureplan 13 | Östermalm | +4686114959
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 03:00, Sat – Sun 17:00 – 03:00

This place is like a sanctuary to me! I go there to buy great flour for baking bread (they have manitoba cream!), the best dark chocolates, presents for friends, fresh deli products and things you never thought about but that soon you can’t live without.

Even though I tend to use the term supermarket, my friends usually explain to me that Fine Food is actually a deli store. They are right. This deli store started in Hammarby Sjöstad by a couple of chefs that believe that the best food shouldn’t only be available to the best restaurants but also to individuals. It gained so many followers that come from all over town, that it has now expanded to another area of Hammarby Sjöstad as well as to Kungsholmen.

And if you are in the South of of Södermalm on a sunny day and feel like having a already made meal just take the free boat that runs continuously over to Sjöstaden and either take a sandwich or a warm meal and enjoy your lunch next to the water. But if it’s too cold for that just sit inside in the newly open Fine Kitchen that is now serving great food for fine prices.

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Fine Food | Shopping, Snacks | Lunch SEK 90.00
Hammarby allé 62 | Södermalm | +4686433420
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 18:00