Many cycle to work
A work trip gave me a few days in Stockholm in early October. I stayed in the Vasastan district and was impressed by the integration of homes and businesses. Small stores, restaurants, and cafes were at street level with offices and apartments in the floors above. Buildings were in stone or brick, just four or five floors high; each unique and designed to be attractive. In the streets, there were equal numbers of pedestrians, cyclists, and cars. This integration allowed me to stay in a boutique hotel next to the offices of the Statens Beredning for Medicinsk och Social Utvärdering, and to walk to a different restaurant for each meal. In the evenings, parents, with small children in hand or on bicycles, entered apartments, while other pedestrians stopped for a few groceries, or joined colleagues at cafes and bars.
Many cycle to work
Stockholm is a city built upon several islands, where Lake Mälaren meets Saltsjön, a branch of the Baltic Sea. The 'old town' balances on three small islands, connected by elegant bridges, and is filled with well-preserved buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries. Many central streets are car-free and pedestrians are rewarded with creative window displays, street art, and green sojourns of parks and playgrounds. Interestingly, all men carved in stone on the buildings, or park statues have beards.
In Stockholm, I greatly enjoyed the fish, the berries, wild mushrooms, and discovered that cardamom buns are even better than cinnamon buns.
An appliance store on Drottninggatan
An open market with seasonal produce