Sweden Archives - LIVING THE DREAM

Choosing Where to Stay in Stockholm – Old Town or Not?

March 23, 2023

If you are planning a trip to Sweden, odds are good you'll spend some time in the country's capital city, Stockholm.

While it would be easy to say you should spend three or four days in this gorgeous city, the immediate question that should follow is “where do I stay?”. But picking where to stay in Stockholm is tricky because the city is sprawled out over not one, not two, but 14 islands.

In this instance, our first instinct was to stay in Old Town Stockholm on Stadsholmen Island. Historic buildings, a central location, and museums we wanted to visit made this island sound quite appealing. But when it comes to getting the most out of the city, especially when it comes to having accessibility to delicious coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, you may have reason to pause.

Other islands and neighborhoods in Stockholm may be worthy spots to consider instead!

The Vasa Museum is One of the World’s Coolest Museums

March 1, 2023

When we told friends we would be visiting Stockholm, one recommendation came up time and time again- go to the Vasa Museum.

In fact, many of those recommendations were followed up with the claim that “it is the coolest museum I've ever seen.” The claim seemed a bit surprising as these were coming from fellow travel bloggers who have seen their fair share of epic museums and attractions. A museum dedicated to a shipwreck is one of the best museums on the planet? We were interested.

After visiting, we can safely say they were right.

To put it bluntly, the museum dedicated to the Vasa shipwreck is not only one of the finest museums we have visited but also one of the most fascinating stories of naval history the world has ever seen.

You must visit this one when in Stockholm.

9 of the Best Stockholm Restaurants, Bakeries, and Cafes

February 24, 2023

If you're like us, you may not have given Swedish food much thought before. Sure, they have great ingredients like seafood and reindeer to work with, but we didn't go to Sweden expecting to try so many new flavors and dishes and have our minds blown. Perhaps this was on us, or maybe it is just poor coverage of Sweden's rich food scene globally, but either way, we left with our minds blown on all things Swedish cuisine!

We found interesting and delicious food everywhere we went from tiny eclectic bars in hipster neighborhoods to traditional-leaning spots in tourist-heavy Old Town. So in this one, we wanted to share some of our favorite coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants in Stockholm!

How to Read Aurora Forecasts When Chasing Northern Lights

February 9, 2023

When we decided to go on a trip to view the northern lights, we went down the science rabbit hole of how aurora forecasts work. We thought that if we had a good understanding of how all the measurements are made, we could increase our odds of seeing the northern lights.

As it turns out, reading aurora and solar activity charts is not easy (and I say this as Angie and I hold a small stack of engineering degrees between the two of us and I've taken an entire year's worth of astronomy for good measure). For those who are not as nerdy as we are, looking at these charts can be quite daunting and may cause you to simply stick to the analog of the KP Index and call it a day.

So in this one, we thought we'd share a few of our favorite things to watch out for on aurora tracking sites like Space Weather Live to help you better understand the charts that you may be looking at!