A beautiful race in the heart of Stockholm.

Flight: Venice to Stockholm Arlanda via Vienna and return via Frankfurt (so you can stop and buy a big pretzel from the airport kiosk both ways!)

Why go? Stockholm is a beautiful city made up many islands stretched out over the water which are connected by bridges. The city overlooks the Baltic Sea and the air is fresh and Nordic.

There are plenty of green areas; it’s bike friendly; it’s clean, and you have more than enough shops, snug cafés and cool dining places to keep you busy.

Sleep: Af CHAPMAN & SKEPPSHOLMEN

I booked this place because it was the most economical I could find- and I’m really glad I did because it turned out to be in a quiet and leafy area and the whole vibe of the place was friendly and chilled.

You can choose to sleep in the hostel which is a former navy barracks or in a late 1800’s ship called Chapman which is moored in front.

Don’t be put off by the word hostel because in the Nordic countries this implies shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, but a clean and decent place. We had a room for four adults with single beds and a washbasin and shared bathroom. It had a peaceful view overlooking the trees and water outside.

There are many little reading corners, books, cosy chairs and plants like Swiss Cheese (Monstera deliciosa) which has become such a worldwide design element in its own right.

Eat: LEBANON MEZA LOUNGE

at Hamngatan 6 in the centre and only 15 minutes walk from the hostel.

Authentic and beautiful dishes. Nice atmosphere. We loved this place so much that we broke our golden rule of not going to the same place twice and we returned to try something else.

Visit 1: this was truly a particular weekend because we visited a local primary school, MONTESSORI VITTRA LIDDINGÖ, and used the local, efficient public transport to get there.

Once inside, this school is a dream for the pupils, the parents and the teachers; from the building with large windows letting in the natural light, wooden floors to the classrooms with areas dedicated to reading, making things and painting.
No more PE lessons in a smelly gym either, the school lies next to the forest- that is the playground.

Visit 2: GAMLA STAN the old town with its cobbled streets and colourful houses, inviting shops to browse in and coffee places to chill in. Snack on: oversize and spicy cinnamon buns with coffee at CLEMENTINA in the old town.

THE RACE: Hand on heart, the whole event was one of the best days ever! As a family, we were all there together to support Mr CA on his very first marathon. It was a beautiful sunny day and the support and enthusiasm from the crowd was the best.
The race was super well-organised with an efficient and reliable app for tracking. We used it to follow Mr CA’s progress and managed to clock up 20km ourselves running around the city to cheer him on!

There were showers of water for the athletes to run through to energise them and keep them going…

And during all this time, in true Swedish style with care for the environment, the used paper cups at the water stations were brushed up from the ground the minute they were thrown away and put in bags and taken away- all day long.

Celebrate: at ULLA WINDBLAH if you want Swedish fine dining. Top of the list was a dish of Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes. (Like a high-end version of your IKEA lunch. Do you shop there just so you can go to the restaurant too?) I chose the salmon carpaccio which came presented as a big curl of meaty fish. All excellent but a tiny bit formal if you were thinking of celebrating with a few beers and some noise.

Final thoughts: can we all relive this great day? Absolutely! There is plenty more to see and do here that we’d be happy to go back again to Stockholm.