Just back from a quick (and costly!) weekend in Stockholm. Two nights was just the right amount of time to get a feel for the city and because it is so pricey we were pleased to keep it short and sweet. Even though we’re used to things being expensive in London, still the prices made our eyes water. The theme song of our trip was Foxxy Cleopatra’s “Hey, Goldmember.” That’s because Brent is rocking the United Airlines Goldmember status and we enjoyed all the perks of his distinction…airport lounge, priority boarding, etc. Our gold status continued as Starwood preferred guests courtesy of  Dr. and Mrs. Lewis, so we felt very well-positioned for our Scandinavian adventure.

For some culture we visited the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a 17th-century ship that sank on its maiden voyage – before it even got out of the Stockholm harbor actually. It was too tall and too narrow, tipped over and fell to the bottom of the sea, where it remained for over 300 years. Over time the location was forgotten, but in the 1950s a private researcher began looking and in 1961 the ship was salvaged. The wooden ship had been preserved in the Baltic water (more salty water would have rapidly destroy the wood). Ahoy there!

There are more than 24,000 islands in the Stockholm archipelago and we covered three. With all that water it’s a very pretty place and as the weather was unusually warm for us we really got to see the city at its best. Mostly we walked around exploring the different neighborhoods. Gamla Stan (Old Town) was very charming and we were pleased there weren’t too many international chain stores there. Sodermalm was another favorite area, very hip and family-friendly and gave us more a glimpse as to how the locals live. Then there was Ostermalm, the most exclusive district of Stockholm where you’ll find all the designer stores. That’s where we ate dinner on Friday evening at a restaurant described as “where the posh set come to dine.” While we found the bar area a bit much, it was fun to sit outside and watch the beautiful Ken and Barbie doll Swedes go by.