Standard Swedish breakfast fare

The most common Swedish breakfast is made at home and centers around a smörgås (open-faced sandwich) consisting of bread, margarine or butter and a slice of cheese. You can spice up your smörgås with a variety of traditional toppings, including gurka (cucumber), tomat (tomato), and cold cuts such as skinka and nötkött (ham and beef). Contrary to popular belief, Swedish pancakes are not typically served for breakfast. (Sorry folks, IHOP got it wrong!)

Muesli, a common breakfast item in Switzerland, is also very popular among the Swedes. The blend of flakes, grains and sometimes dried fruits is usually served with filmjölk, a soured yogurt similar to buttermilk.

Coffee (kaffee) is an absolute must with any Swedish breakfast. The Swedes love their coffee strong; don’t be surprised by the lingering caffeine buzz…

Common for Swedes, daring for foreigners

For a more authentic (and fishy) morning treat, try knäckebröd (crisp bread) with kalles caviar. This delightful combination of fish paste and bread is not for the faint of heart. But, if you want the full Swedish breakfast experience, by all means try it. It tastes great on eggs, too!

You can also opt for an interesting dish consisting of makrill fillet (mackerel fish in tomato sauce) on a piece of soft bread topped with cucumber. This may sound a bit strange, but it’s actually quite tasty.

For a DIY-breakfast, you can purchase the above items from any local COOP or ICA grocery store in Stockholm.

Best restaurants for a Swedish breakfast

If you’d like to have a nice sit-down meal, here are three good options:

Cafe String

Nytorgsgatan 38
Breakfast: Saturday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Website

Café String is situated in the heart of SOFO, the bohemian district of south of Stockholm’s city center. It has a relaxed, friendly vibe with a good selection of Swedish breakfast foods, including waffles, fresh fruit and a variety of juices. String is very popular with the locals, so come early!

Sirap

Surbrunnsgatan 31 A
Breakfast: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Website

Café Sirap is Stockholm’s best choice for an “American- style” breakfast, and it should be — the owners are American. The contemporary atmosphere is very inviting, and the large portions remind you that America is king when it comes to big breakfasts.

Clarion Hotel

Ringvägen 98
Breakfast: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 7:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m
Website

The Clarion offers more than your average hotel breakfast buffet. Expect a wide variety of warm and cold options along with Asian-style breakfast favorites (lactose- and gluten-free alternatives are available). If you stay at the hotel, the room rate does include breakfast.

Your favorite Swedish breakfast dishes

Have a favorite breakfast spot in Stockholm? A delicious recipe that can be made, even in a hotel kitchenette? Share your favorite Swedish breakfast tips below!

The post Stockholm: What’s a typical Swedish breakfast? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Luckily, Stockholm’s museums continue to draw crowds, even if those crowds now have to pay to get in. The Stockholm tourist board boasts that the city has over 70 museums, and for the Cheapos out there, some are still free to the public. Many museums offer free entry to children, which tends to be anyone under the age of 19. (Just be sure to ask before you waltz in.) Others offer discounts for students and retirees. Still, others open their doors free to the public for a few hours every week.

Related: 5 budget tips for keeping things cheap in Stockholm

Our top Stockholm free museums

Here’s a quick rundown of ten museums in Stockholm that are easily reachable by bus or subway. All ten are free to the public no matter your age or the day for that matter. So check-in at one of our favorite hotels and start exploring:

1. Dance Museum (Dansmuseet)

The Museum for the Performing and Visual Arts focuses on dance and theater from various cultures; they even offer live performances at times. Check the upcoming calendar for the latest events.

2. The Living History Museum (Forum för Levande Historia)

This living history museum provides a haunting look at crimes against humanity (the Holocaust for example) that aims to remind people of the past in order to avoid such events in the future.

3. Färgfabriken

This space is a gallery that works with contemporary art of various forms. Färgfabriken offers plenty of exhibitions as well as workshops for those interested in getting their hands dirty.

4. Haga parkmuseum

Quite a distance from the city center, the Haga parkmuseum describes the history and architecture of the surrounding park. The park itself is beautiful and includes the ruins of Gustav III’s unfinished castle.

5. Kulturhuset

The famous Kulturhuset offers temporary exhibitions throughout the year (we’ve written about it before), everything from photography, theater, and comic books. Not all exhibitions are free, but there is always something open to the public.

6. National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket)

This museum, also known as the National Library of Sweden, is home to the Codex Gigas, often referred to as the Devil’s Bible. Unfortunately, the Codex Gigas is not viewable by the public; however, the collection of historical documents is still impressive.

7. Magasin 3

You’ll have to take the bus to get out there, as it’s located near an industrial shipyard. However, the location of the Magasin III art museum only adds to the atmosphere and the various contemporary art exhibitions that are displayed.

8. Museum of Medieval Stockholm (Stockholms medeltidsmuseum)

The Museum of Medieval Stockholm offers a look at Middle Ages Stockholm set in an underground building just a stone’s throw away from the royal castle. The only visible remains of Stockholm’s medieval city wall are located, still intact, in the museum. There is even a medieval tunnel from the museum to the castle, which is very much closed to the public.

Stockholm City Museum is another freebie that shouldn’t be missed! Photo: arjanrichter

9. Stockholm City Museum (Stockholms Stadsmuseum)

Stockholm’s City Museum provides a quick look at the history of Stockholm from the past to the contemporary issues dominating the city today. If you’re new to the city, it’s a great place to get your bearings.

10. Tullmuseum

This Swedish Customs Museum offers plenty of exhibitions about the history of customs in Sweden. Of course, when it comes to customs, it tends to be the smuggling that is interesting, and the museum focuses much of its efforts on smuggling and anti-smuggling displays.

The post 10 free museums in Stockholm appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The tipping culture throughout Europe varies quite a bit from Paris to Amsterdam, and Sweden is no different. And a trip to Stockholm can add up fast if you don’t watch your budget. There are plenty of free museums in Stockholm and some great budget hotels, but everything else, from restaurants to taxis, will be higher than in most places in Europe.

However, knowing how the tipping culture works in Sweden can save you some money in Stockholm and beyond, while still keeping you in the good graces of your host nation.

Swedish tipping etiquette

In Sweden, service charges are almost always included in the bill — and keep in mind that the person waiting on your table at the restaurant is making a living wage without your tips. Of course, no one will be insulted if you leave a tip. Or if you don’t leave one, for that matter.

Understanding the bill

Despite the lack of social stigma towards not tipping, receipts tend to give you the choice. If you paid with a card, you’ll receive your bill with the total amount owed, as well as a couple of empty lines, one to fill in the tip, and one to fill in the final total.

Note: If you are in an upscale restaurant, there might be an extra line to fill in. Don’t. That line is for leaving a tip at the coat check, and unless you are visiting in winter, there tends not to be much coat checking going on.

Tipping in general

In the US, there are plenty of opportunities to tip. Those same opportunities can be found in Sweden, although, tips are not expected. Haircuts (no tip necessary in Sweden), hotels (no tip necessary in Sweden), bathroom attendants (never even seen one in Stockholm, so definitely no tip necessary), and of course, the two most common tipping opportunities – restaurants and taxis.

Tipping for restaurants and bars

Tipping when drinking and dining out has been changing recently. It is still completely acceptable to leave no tip or to only round up. A stor stark (strong beer) for 58 SEK will become 60 and everyone is happy.

However, ask around and you’ll hear that tipping is becoming more and more common in recent years. Not gratuitous tipping by any means, but a 5-10 percent tip is considered good form. Especially if you were pleased with the service.

Tipping for taxis

There are ways to avoid using taxis (public transportation in Stockholm and taking the train from Arlanda Airport, for example), but you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t avoid taking a taxi ride. If you’re traveling with luggage a tip of 10 percent is pretty standard. If you’re traveling without luggage, just round up a few SEK and thank your cab driver.

Stockholm is an expensive city to visit and by no means should you feel obligated to leave a tip. Whether it is for the taxi driver or the bartender, tips are not expected. Instead, save your money and grab another beer or check out just one more museum.

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We’ve written before about yummy cheap eats in Stockholm, including delicious “dagens lunches”, lunch specials offered around the city for about 100 SEK (about $14) or less, and cheapo-friendly fried herring sandwiches. Thus, I arrived in Stockholm anticipating a lot of fish for lunch and dinner. Imagine my surprise, then, to have meals take a meaty, and often “elk-y” turn!

Here’s a quick recap of three very memorable and delicious meals enjoyed last week in summery Stockholm:

1. Elk “burgers”

Pictured at top, this was no ordinary burger. This fine plate, served in the restaurant at the delightful Hotel Hellsten (a EuroCheapo pick!), was billed as an “elk burger.” But I think the “b” word undersells it.

This, um, “patty” is made of fresh elk (from northern Sweden), mixed with onions, garlic, coriander and other herbs. It’s served with a wild truffle sauce that was almost decadent, roasted root vegetables, and fresh lingonberries.

Cost: 119 SEK (about $17 — a bargain for dinner in Stockholm).

Go for the heart…

2. Reindeer heart!

I thought that might grab your attention. This incredible plate was actually only my first course at the Viking-themed Aifur Restaurang in Gamla Stan. This was the “Plate from Trögden,” a Swedish peninsula where, according to the restaurant, the residents “eat only the best sausages and cold cuts.”

Pictured, clockwise from top left: Cheddar cheese, flat-smoked pork, crusty bread, reindeer heart (under the knife), apple slices, lamb steak, reindeer sausage, smoked elk. In middle: assorted crackers and honey mustard.

The meats were quite tasty, and several chalices of mead (honey wine) made everything go down easily. This, naturally, is not an everyday kind of meal. It was, however, an experience that will go down in his-tory.

Cost: At 164 SEK (about $23), this isn’t really a cheap way to start a meal. However, I could have eaten only this for dinner, or happily split this as a starter.

The real deal. (Sorry IKEA!)

3. Swedish meatballs

I clearly wasn’t going to leave town without tackling a plate of Swedish meatballs. I’d been waiting years to sample the dish in Sweden so that I could compare it to versions back home at IKEA, family reunions, church potlucks, etc.

This plate was served in the restaurant at the Vasa Museum, an incredible museum devoted to the Vasa, a 17th-century warship whose career lasted about 20 minutes before sinking on her maiden voyage. Fitting, as this plate of meatballs disappeared even faster.

With just a touch of crunch and covered in a cream-sauce gravy, the savory meatballs were probably the best I’ve ever tasted, and were accompanied by boiled potatoes, lingonberries, cucumber salad and a bit of fresh greens.

Cost: 100 SEK for adults (about $14), 58 SEK for a children’s plate (about $8). A good deal in Stockholm!

Your favorite meals in Stockholm?

Have you experienced a meal to remember in Stockholm? Share every mouth-watering moment with us in our comments section!

Note: This post is part of a series sponsored by airberlin, which is promoting its flights from New York to Stockholm. For more information, including schedules and special rates, visit airberlin.com.

The post Stockholm: Three meals to remember, with photos! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

However, as discussed is our Stockholm budget tips article, it is possible to visit Stockholm without blowing your budget. Having just spent several beautiful days in the capital, we’ve come across a few tips to keep it cheap:

The Rex Hotel offers rooms from $137 a night.

1. Find a central, cheap hotel or hostel.

First things first, aside from getting to Stockholm, your biggest expense will probably be your hotel. Surprisingly, the city offers plenty of budget hotel options, most of them situated in the center city and all clean as a whistle. While “affordable” hotels can still easily set you back $150-200, there are cheaper options. Regardless of where you stay, you can expect superior service, clean rooms and an included breakfast.

We’ve visited and reviewed dozens of budget hotels in Stockholm, from three-star charmers like the Rex Hotel in Vasastaden to the Archipelago Hostel Old Town, located in Gamla Stan (which offers both dorms and affordable private rooms). Here’s a list of recommended budget hotels in Stockholm that we’ve visited and reviewed.

2. Fill up at breakfast.

Happily, breakfast is included in the room rate at most hotels in Stockholm. And the Swedes know how to lay out a breakfast buffet. At most hotels in town, you’ll be able to stock up on several varieties of yogurt, cheeses, sliced meats (salami, ham and sausages), musli and other cereals, several kinds of jams, rolls and breads, and (of course) strong, black coffee.

Breakfast is a great opportunity to fill up for the day. It’s worth going lighter (and cheaper) at night—you can make up for it in the morning!

The Vasa Museum is included in the Stockholm Card.

3. Buy a Stockholm Card.

Planning to visit the Vasa Museum (110 SEK / $15)? Skansen Open Air Museum (140 SEK / $20)? Drottningholm Palace (145 SEK, with Chinese Pavilion / $20)? The Stockholm card has you covered at these and 75 other attractions.

The Stockholm Card not only simplifies and speeds up the sightseeing experience by allowing cardholders to skip ticket lines, it can also present some real savings, depending upon your itinerary and cultural appetite.

A three-day pass will set you back 750 SEK (about $105), while a five-day pass runs 950 SEK ($133). Admission to most of the city’s sights are included in the pass, as is public transportation around the city and city sightseeing bike rides and tours. The pass also grants special discounts on other tourist activities, such as a boat ride to Drottningholm Palace.

Read more about the card’s benefits and prices on the Stockholm Card’s Web site.

4. Reach for beer, not wine.

For a country so Absolut-ly identified with liquor, alcohol is surprisingly expensive in Stockholm and throughout Sweden. However, not all booze is priced equally, and beer is always quite a bit cheaper than wine or a mixed drink.

At many bars in central Stockholm, for example, a beer might run about 50-60 SEK ($7-9), while a glass of wine goes for about 85-100 SEK ($12-14). Fancy a mixed drink? Get ready to pour out about 110 SEK ($15)… or more.

5. Get thee early to the club.

Many clubs and trendy bars in central Stockholm charge a cover to enter once things get bumping (usually around midnight), especially on weekends and Wednesday nights (the “hot” night for going out during the week). If you don’t mind showing up when most of the locals are still at home (having much cheaper drinks before heading to the club), you can skip this charge simply by showing up early.

Your tips?

Do you have a tip to add to our list of ways to keep it cheap in Stockholm? Share with us in our comments section below!

Note: This post is part of a series sponsored by airberlin, which is promoting its flights from New York to Stockholm. For more information, including schedules and special rates, visit airberlin.com.

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Szeged in Hungary, Bergamo in Italy, and Lund in Sweden all ooze that distinct welcoming feeling. They are spots where you roll up expecting to stay just one night and three days later you are still in town.

A Finnish revelation

Tampere in Finland is another such town. We arrived in Tampere on a summer evening, the dipping sun reflecting from the windows of the city’s striking red brick mills. It is an instantly appealing place, with the city center gathered around the fast-flowing Tammerkoski waterway. River walks, some strikingly well-preserved industrial landscapes and spacious parks and boulevards all contribute to Tampere’s magic.

Industrial heritage

Where other cities have ripped out abandoned industrial buildings, Tampere’s city fathers had better ideas. They left them in place, redeploying them to new uses, creating stylish space for cafés and bars, museums and a galaxy of workshops and studios that now underpin Tampere’s buoyant arts scene.

The town exudes some of that same slightly Bohemian urban buzz that makes Manchester so appealing. No surprise perhaps that in its industrial heyday, Tampere was often dubbed “the Manchester of the North.”

The Tampere Theater in the city center.

The city’s status as Finland’s industrial powerhouse was due to one man, a Scottish Quaker industrialist named James Finlayson, who had established mills in St. Petersburg. In 1820 Finlayson was encouraged by Tsar Alexander I to expand his business to the Grand Duchy of Finland — which was then part of Imperial Russia, as indeed it remained until the Bolsheviks granted Finland its independence shortly after the October Revolution in 1917.

Socialist credentials

Tampere happens to have played a star role in Europe’s socialist history. Lenin decamped to the town after the 1905 Revolution and Tampere hosted a number of early meetings of the Bolsheviks, including the late 1905 meeting when Lenin met Stalin for the first time.

The town’s Lenin museum recalls those heady days and provides a very fine account of the importance of Lenin’s thought in advancing the political development of Europe.

The post Tampere, Finland: A town with a buzz appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Now here’s a thought. Europeans heading north to cross the Arctic Circle, anxious to catch the mid-summer midnight sun, have to make longer journeys than their parents did.

For the Arctic Circle is slipping north, each year getting a shade closer to the North Pole. Folk in Polcirkeln have a fine appreciation of this point, for the prime asset of this small Swedish village (which takes its very name from the Arctic Circle) is in fact a diminishing asset.

Astronomical wobbles

The name Milutin Milankovic is probably not on the tip of your tongue. But the Serbian geophysicist, who died in 1958, holds the key to Polcirkeln’s problem.

Evidently, it was Milankovic who calculated how variations in the tilt of the earth’s axis – a sort of astronomical wobble – cause the Arctic Circle to move around. And it is the Milankovic effect that explains why Polcirkeln’s only claim to fame is sliding off to the north and leaving Polcirkeln stranded. Just now, the Arctic Circle is moving north at a rate of about one meter every month.

Lessons from Polcirkeln

Were we civic leaders in remote Polcirkeln (population about 40 humans and 400 reindeer), we would just have kept quiet about the community’s prime asset having an inconvenient habit of trying to leave town.

But there is a touching honesty about Scandinavians. The good folk in Polcirkeln recognize that visitors are not satisfied with being told that the Arctic Circle is somewhere nearby, but want to see the exact line.

So Polcirkeln has obliged by erecting signs that show where the Arctic Circle was in 2005, where it is now, exactly where it will be in 2015, and other useful indicators.

Happy reindeer

You’ll pass through Polcirkeln if you take the train along the main route from Boden to Gällivare in Sweden. The train staff very obligingly make an announcement as the train crosses the Arctic Circle.

In truth, it is not a very exciting experience. The forests look much the same on both sides of the Arctic Circle, though we did think that the reindeer looked a little bit perkier north of the line. Curiously, all the reindeer we saw on our most recent journey were walking north – evidently keen to keep up with the Arctic Circle.

Grimsey’s inexorable fate

For a more scenic crossing of the Arctic Circle head to Grimsey, a little island about 40 kilometers north of Iceland (easily reached with a short flight from the mainland with Air Iceland). The entire Icelandic mainland lies south of the Arctic Circle, and the northern part of offshore Grimsey is the only fragment of Icelandic territory which can claim to be in the Arctic.

But go soon. If the Arctic Circle continues to move north the way it is, then in another century or two all of Grimsey will lie south of the Circle. And the number of countries on earth where you can cross the Arctic Circle on foot will have diminished from eight to seven.

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1. St. Peter Line to Russia

The news last week that over 60 ships were trapped in thick ice in the Baltic for some days is probably no great incentive to go and book some ferry trips. But Baltic spring ice does melt–eventually–and this year sees some interesting new options for Baltic travel by ship.

Cypriot-owned St. Peter Line last year launched a thrice-weekly service from Helsinki to St. Petersburg and back. And next month the company expands its offering with twice-weekly sailings from Stockholm to St. Petersburg (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) and a weekly departure from Tallinn to St. Petersburg (on Sundays).

2. Brittany Ferries to Bilbao

French operator Brittany Ferries has long been one of the most adventurous operators in the Western Channel with a raft of routes linking England and Ireland with northwest France. Later this month, the company opens a new service from Portsmouth to Bilbao in Spain, so reviving a long established ferry connection that abruptly disappeared when P&O pulled off the route last September.

Last Saturday, Brittany Ferries also reinstated its Poole to Cherbourg service. This is a very useful short link from England’s south coast to Normandy’s Cotentin peninsula. At the moment, Brittany advertise sailings just to October, so the long-term future of the route is still in doubt.

3. Maltese Connections

Virtu Ferries are one of several operators serving the Maltese market. The company had a welcome dose of free publicity in late February as Virtu’s smart white catamarans were featured on many news reports as the vessels evacuating foreign workers from Libyan ports. Virtu operates a year-round fast-ferry link between Pozzallo in Sicily and Malta. This year the company will also offer a Saturday catamaran service from Catania to Malta, starting on May 7, 2011.

Virtu’s latest Australian-built catamaran hit the headlines in September 2010 when it encountered Somali pirates on its delivery voyage to Malta. Virtu prides itself on speed, and reports say that the pirates were easily outpaced.

4. Scotland-Northern Ireland: Kintyre Express

Not for many years has there been any direct ferry link across the North Channel between the Mull of Kintyre (in western Scotland) and Northern Ireland. The last operator to offer a service was the splendidly named Argyll & Antrim Steam Packet Company which turned out to have rather flaky finances, and the service stopped in 2000.

Now Kintyre Express will fill the gap with a new fast passenger ferry from Campbeltown to Ballycastle. Services start on May 27, 2011. The route will be operated by fast RIBs with a heated cabin, so the 90-minute crossing is surely going to be a whole lot more fun than the average ferry journey. We reserve judgment on whether this is an inspired idea by Colin Craig, the man behind Kintyre Express, or whether perhaps it might be the balmiest idea in the history of European ferry transport.

We hope it is a great success, but Kintyre Express really needs to get its act together in terms of publicity and having a functioning online booking system on its website. This new ferry link creates a raft of new travel opportunities allowing visitors to Kintyre and Islay to make an easy hop over to the most beautiful part of the coast of Northern Ireland. The Antrim Glens and the Giant’s Causeway are both within easy reach of the Ballycastle ferry terminal.

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Restaurants throughout Sweden offer a dagens lunch, the lunch of the day. The idea of a dagens lunch is simple: it’s an inexpensive lunch option for workers throughout the country. If you find yourself in Sweden around lunchtime, skip the fast-food, find yourself a restaurant and ask for a “dagens lunch.” You’ll have a great meal at a great price.

What it is

Traditionally, a dagens lunch includes a salad, the choice of a main dish from a few different options, a drink and coffee. Every restaurant is a bit different, but the main dishes available tend to be set for the week. A reasonable dagens lunch usually costs around 75 to 90 SEK (or about $10 to $12).

Depending on where you are, the main dish can be a bit fancier and a bit more expensive (in Östermalm, for example). In fact, some of the fancier restaurants don’t always offer dagens lunches, and instead stick to their normal menus. In Sweden, that is usually an indicator that a place isn’t Cheapo-friendly.

Where to eat it

For an inexpensive lunch, head away from the city center. Södermalm, Vasastaden and even little places like Nacka offer a wide array of dagens lunch menus to choose from.

One of my favorites is Cliff Barnes, which has two different locations, one in Vasastaden and one in Nacka. Along with an amazing dagens lunch, the Cliff Barnes in Vasastaden offers a great bar scene at night. It’s a can’t-miss if you’re looking to meet people.

For a wide variety of choices, head over to Medborgarplatsen, a large square in Södermalm. There you’ll find traditional Swedish restaurants, a crêperie, Thai food and just about everything in between. Wander around and check out the menus: You’re bound to find something worth sitting down for. I like Snaps, a great place with plenty of good food to choose from and outdoor seating. By chance, Snaps also turns into a great bar in the evenings.

Pea soup and pancakes on Thursday

As I said, each dagens lunch menu is a little bit different. You might find pork chops on a Tuesday, chicken on Wednesday and so on. However, one thing that doesn’t differ all that much is the Thursday menu.

In Sweden, Thursday is pea soup and pancake day. Few restaurants offering a dagens lunch will fail to offer this meal. Admittedly a strange combination, peace soup and pancakes is nonetheless a traditional—and surprisingly delicious—one. (It’s also incredibly filling.)

Explanations for the tradition are wide-ranging. Some argue that it started with the military, where pea soup and pancakes are served every Thursday. Others say that it was a way for restaurants to stretch their meat supplies through the end of the week. Still others believe that it harks back to Sweden’s religious days, when meat was meant to be abstained from on Fridays. Whatever the reason, the tradition continues, and pea soup and pancakes can be found throughout Sweden—Stockholm included—on Thursdays.

You can read more info on places to go, sights to see and other Stockholm tips here.

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Despite all of the stereotypes, from an historical perspective, Sweden was not a hotbed for Viking activity. During the Viking Age, the majority of the Swedish population stayed home and farmed. Of course, there were still excursions, many heading east towards Russia instead of west towards what are now Ireland and the United Kingdom.

However, remains of the Viking past can still be found throughout certain areas of Sweden, and a few places just outside of Stockholm make for great day trips.

Birka

One of these is the island town of Birka. A two-hour boat trip leaving from Stockholm’s City Hall (Stadshuset) leaves daily during the summer. The boat trip itself is worth taking, as you wind through Lake Mälaren. Along the way, guides—usually dressed in traditional Viking garments—give a historical look at the Viking Age, the areas surrounding Stockholm, and of course Birka.

The island’s history

Birka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, tends to be described as the first town to be founded in Sweden, around the mid-800’s. It was short-lived, however, being inhabited for only about 15 to 20 years before the Vikings moved on. That means that no one has been living there for well over a millennium, and that very few visible archeological markers (including houses) exist. This is mostly because Birka’s buildings were made of wood, and wood has a hard time withstanding the harsh Swedish winters for 1,200 years.

Though no historical buildings exist, there is now a small museum as well as several models of Viking-style buildings which are fun to wander though. But it is the Viking burial ground that really stands out. The Vikings created large burial mounds for their dead. On Birka, these mounds can still be seen protruding from the ground throughout the island.

Free tours

Free guided tours are offered, usually given by an off-duty archeologist, and are a great way to learn more about the Viking history, as well as the community on Birka. The tour ends on top of the highest hill. The strategic importance of the island becomes obvious as you look out at Lake Mälaren and its islands.

Because of Sweden’s Right to Public Access law, visitors are allowed to wander all around the island. This provides a wonderful opportunity to picnic. If you do decide to wander, be sure to close all gates behind you. There are sheep on the island, and while some wander free, others are kept in large fields.

Admission and transportation

Adults will pay about 295 SEK for the boat ride to and from Birka. That includes admission to the museum and archeological site. Boats leave twice a day from Stockholm and return twice a day from Birka. Make sure to catch that last boat or you might end up stuck on the island. For more information on the activities on the island during the summer check out the Swedish National Heritage Board Web site.

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