Kat Zantow's Blog, page 3

Nine Ways to Love Paris

Don't miss this obscure monument!How not to fall in love with Paris: Get a really cheap hostel with ratings as high as 50% on Hostelworld. (Unless, of course, you are looking for a mouse to chew through your baguettes. Then please do go for it.)

How to fall in love with Paris: Stay somewhere that does not involve mice chewing through your baguettes. Head out into the city, grab a beret, and blitzkrieg culturehop through the city!

And fair warning: you will see at least three cheesy crowd-setting marriage proposals as you wander around the city. Try not to let it get you down.
1. Photograph Fontaine St. Michel! 
Is it just me, or is his arm about to go?This is not only a beautiful area to walk around, the crossroads of the Latin quarter, but also the meeting point for some free walking tours! And when I say free, I mean, you really should tip, or the tour guides are legally permitted to judge you.
The walking tours tend to be very good. But even if you're not into walking or tours, stop by this fountain to check out the really sweet lionbirdfish.

You don't want to meet that in a dark alley.
2. Lock your lover to a bridge!

Locke bridge: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding of Boltcutters.
Er, lock your love, rather. Because if you've got a love you are clinging to desperately, there's no better place to put it than on a bridge over troubled water.

Locking lover-padlocks to bridges is a common hobby in Europe, but the popularity of this particular bridge only boomed post some plot-point in Sex in the City. You can write your names and a date on a lock, and lock it to the bridge, and it will stay there forever, or at least until the six-month cleaning crew comes through with boltcutters and releases all those metallic commitments.


3. Look at the Louvre! 
People in glass pyramids shouldn't throw stones.
Unless you want to get arrested.
Day time, night time, the building is one impressive monument to rich people filling space with expensive things. The museum is a must-see, if only to take pictures of forty people taking pictures of the tiny Mona Lisa, which is behind excessively reflective glass. The collection is huge and varied, but if you like art, you will prefer L'Orangerie and d'Orsay.

4. Gaze upon Centre Georges Pompidou!

When you feel Art is a pipe dream....Merely looking at the exterior of this ultracontemporary beauty will irrevocably alter the way you view the world. The building stands in bold defiance to the traditional "aesthetically pleasing" or "attractive" or even "remotely acceptable" buildings that exist all around it. The Pompidou writhes in dialogue with the cultural normativity of the way we, as a culture, feel compelled to hide every aspect of ourselves. It is a vigorous NO to the established norms judging physical beauty. It does not permit you to park your privilege at the door, but rather encourages you to let your preconceptions flow down one of the many available drains.  It is a building without skin, and without skin, are we not all pipes and rectangles? The elegant simplicity...[etc. etc. no pomo]...


5. Saunter up to Sacre Coeur!

We're domed!Climb that mountain, up from the dodgy neighbourhoods, and march up to the very posh area that makes up Amelie's stomping grounds. But before you explore Montmartre, take a moment to check out Sacre Coeur, which is pretty cool if you like domes.


6. Mosey by Moulin Rouge!

Can-Pan a Performance?Sure, it's all lit up and pretty. But once you see the ticket prices, you'll realize that you can have much more fun anywhere else in Paris. Of course, you have to drop by for an obligatory photo so you can realize exactly how strongly the cool factor was exaggerated for the movie.


7. Tour the Arc de Triomphe!

Traffic Circle of Triumph!First built so Napoleon could feel like everyone in his army was tiny when they rode through, the arch is now a very fine centerpoint to a thriving traffic circle. Head to the Arc around sunset to see some really spectacular sunsets that don't photograph well!


8. Catch the Catacombs.

Seriously? Graffiti? Seriously?Come to terms with the fact that you are going to have to wait in line for an hour or more to see piles of femurs and a few skulls. You are also going to see a lot of plaques of mortality-meditative French poetry, and you will really wish you could read French poetry.

Pro tip: load up a translation onto your smart phone first, because ain't no one got the time to stand around and translate it for you.

9. But seriously, DO go to Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie if you like art at all.
In France, Impressionism impresses you!By all means, go to the Louvre. But if you want to enjoy art, go to these two museums. There is a lot of Impressionist stuff. (You may have thought you've seen Impressionism before, in other museums. You are wrong. This is so Impressionist it's the Impressive-ist.) They also have some other art styles. Doesn't matter. It's all going to rock your socks.

Calais on a Monday: Not Quite Hopping.

Town hall: like walking by a postcard.In Bruges? Tired of Bruges? You might decide to take a roadtrip to Paris. 

It happens. And if you are heading to Paris, you might think it's a good idea to stop in Calais. A grand plan!Just, you know, stop for a hot minute and remember that the days of the week do have an impact on what you can do. Are you stopping in Calais on a Monday? Yes? Oh, good! You didn't want anything to be open, right? 
Of course not! Because it won't be. 
Possibly open. But they wouldn't tell me in English.
Hotwheels and I went all over the town, looking for anything fun to do. All we found were closed doors, closed restaurants, and open flowers. 
Ok, they were pretty flowers.So we decided to look at everything the city had to offer. And we found some super cheap amazing wine. And so we bought lots of super cheap amazing wine and planned to picnic on the beach. (This sort of activity is a good idea any day of the week!)
There were statues.
Suspiciously tilted...
For another prominent building, you can also go see Eglise Notre-Dame. On the scale of Notre-Dames, this is not the most impressive Notre-Dame in France. If you have to pick one, I'd probably recommend the one in Paris. It's, you know, a little fancier.

Not so much flying buttresses.

And for an unexpected find in Calais: a plaque dedicated to my neighbor and close personal friend, Thomas Jefferson.

Hey homeboy.
The beach is quite nice, and proved an excellent picnic location. None of that pebbly nonsense you find in Nice. It's real sand. The kind your toes dream of burying into.

Beach: contains sunsets. 
We did eventually find the one restaurant that was open in the town. It did not disappoint. Raw oysters. Fish. Wine. Perfect. 

In Bruges: It's like a Dream

It's like a dream. Good luck cutting the tourists out of your pictures.
The film, In Bruges, featured two primary characters with differing opinions of the city. 
Colin Ferrell just wanted to be back in Dublin while Ralph Fiennes reminisced about how magical the city was. Like a dream! 
I read somewhere these characters were based on the writer's first and second days in the city. And I knew exactly what he was talking about. 
How can it not be charming? There is a dog that has spent most of its life in this window.
Window dog is Windog.
The first day you spend in Bruges, you can walk around and see all the tourist stuff. Everything is charming. You can probably find a nice charming tour to take you around the city, and give you a rosy view. I enjoyed the Can You Handle It!? tour, which points out film locatoins and has a roster of snarky cynical sailor-cursing guides that will show you around the nice charming city.
The city is undeniably beautiful, and features unnecessary quantities of decoration everywhere all the time.

IT'S LIKE A DREAM.
And everywhere you look you can see quaint old stonework. And canals, of course, that make the place reminiscent of Amsterdam, minus the heavy drug use.

A FEUDAL DREAM!
There is a central square which you should not, and, in fact, cannot miss, because it is the center of everything ever. Between the cute buildings and carriages, there is nothing to remind you that you are in the modern era.

Except for photobombing tour buses.
There is a very tall, very impressive bell-tower in the square. It's very hard to miss, and you may remember from the film, In Bruges. If you haven't seen the movie, I said nothing. Nothing!

Yeah. THAT belltower.
It's worth a climb, you can see a top view of the quaint city. There are cathedrals and stuff.

Cathedrals. And stuff.
The city makes a beautiful place to walk around for a day. The risk is strong, for any city that size, that if you stay much longer than a day you are going to get restless fast. If you're there on a Sunday, you will find stores closed at unexpected times, and a choice of maybe two restaurants.

There is a lot to like about a day in Bruges. And if you are coming from Amsterdam, especially, the city will feel like a dream. Hopefully with better dream sequences than that movie within a movie.

Amsterdam: Things to do include Anything.

Covering up the typo sign that reads Hamsterdam.
If you talk to people who have visited Amsterdam, they'll all tell you the same thing: AMSTERDAM WAS THE BEST I LOVED IT YOU SHOULD GO THERE! I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER WHY OR ANYTHING THAT I DID BUT IT WAS THE BESSSSTTTT. 
And that is the secret of Amsterdam: it's got the reputation as the Vice City capital of Europe for a reason, and your options are limitless! Everything is legal! Except violence/murder/other-things-that-are-not-legal, so don't get it confused with GTA: Vice City, and stay cool. Remember, the locals have to deal with at least one spacecaked-shroomed-out-drunk tourist screaming and running naked through the red light district every day, so don't be that guy.
Anyway, within the parameters of anything, you can probably find something to like in Amsterdam.
Like Art? Do yourself a favor and go see the Van Gogh museum. You'll see lots of pretty colors, and looking at his take on scale and perspective, you may even feel better about yourself as an artist!
Like History? See the highly minimalist Anne Frank House! It's guaranteed to cheer you up about as much as a concentration camp!
Like old buildings? Walk around! Pro tip: watch out for bikes. They don't break for tourists.
You , too, can go Tourist watching!
Like really skinny buildings? Well, someone does.

One of the many thinnest buildings in Europe. Rationale? Tax loophole.
Like making fun of monuments that are compensating for something?

Meeting place for the walking tour.
Speaking of compensating, you can visit a condomerie, and buy your friends a bewildering array of bad-idea protection!
Insert joke here.
Like cheese? Go to the Cheese museum, or better yet, just eat a lot of free samples upstairs and skip the museum!
This museum isn't cutting it.
Like pimped out rides? This one shouldn't be hard to find.

You wish your car had rims like that.
Like sitting around and relaxing? Amsterdam has many very chill parks. Sitting and taking in the nature on nice sunny days comes highly recommended. 
I hear ducks can be really interesting.
Like boats? Take a canal tour.

Canals: less confusing to navigate around than Venice.
Like Red Light Districts? You can walk around and see the ladies displaying their wares in windows, but while it is legal and regulated except for problematic problematic human trafficking problematic.

Berlin: Historically Interesting.

People go to Berlin for two reasons: 
1. History. Between the World War II history and the Berlin wall, the city is swimming in history.
2. For that all-night/all-day techno club that doesn't close between Thursday and Sunday.

Because I like to do things like sleep occasionally, I went for the first reason.  Japanese Art Inspired BERLYN wall.There this thing about big cities where when they get all gentrified and ritzy, the creative art scene utterly tanks. Fortunately for Berlin's artistic integrity, rent is still super cheap! You can find vibrant art things and some communist buildings crumbling into bleak ruin bars. And of course you have to visit the very nice East Side Gallery to see the most complete and bemuraled section of Berlin wall sitting around.

Amsterdam Substances Inspired Berlin Wall.
Unfortunately for tourists, Berlin is a confusing city to visit. It has many disjointed sections and an initially confusing public transit network, so if you go in unprepared, you lose a lot of time figuring out what you should be doing and where.

Museums: not quite the center of night life.
If you want to skip any sense of being in a vibrant, living city, stay in the museum district! It has all kinds of mostly reconstructed buildings to look at. Note: any really dark statues are old enough to be dirty. That's how you know they're original!

Not quite hopping.
However, it is highly recommended to walk through this district at least once: you can find a really great flea market of old stuff.. Especially if you are collecting steampunk: there was one guy who exclusively sold old binoculars. Or, if you're feeling cheap, you can settle for some communist pins.

Museum District! Vibrant! Young! Calcified!
WWII: Plenty of stuff to see.

In Hamburg, I had first encountered WWII history as told by Germans, which tended to be very carefully neutral and factual. Unfortunately, the free walking tour I took in Berlin was guided by an Englishman. Sure, it was factual and interesting, but it was more of the same history written by the winners.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews: will not cheer you up.
Actually, the walking tour in Berlin is totally worth the three hour tromp. You can, without any research, see where the museums are, and get a sense of which ones you want to visit. You'll pass the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, and even get to stand on top of the parking lot that covers the bunker where Hitler did his famous double suicide thing!

Bleak BlocksIn school, I know at some point or another, you studied WWII history, and whether you fell asleep during lectures or not, every corner you turn in Berlin becomes an "oh right, that happened" moment.

Decorative elements around the city sometimes give you pause.

Eagles, huh? What exactly are you locking your love to?
Well, those Eagles: they have old roots in Germany, and have been a part of their coat of arms as long ago as Charlemagne. But in a city that has such strong WWII history, it can't quite avoid reminding visitors of that period of national socialist repurposing.

Note: Not a swastika.There are also tons of museums that talk about the run-up to the war. If you want WWII content, they've got lots.

 Berlin Wall: Also some History
There is a Checkpoint Charlie museum, which some locals warned me away from. The East Side Gallery (see above) is highly recommended if you like art. But really, you can't go anywhere in the city without seeing the marks of the wall on the ground, or sections flung up as a reminder of the way things were. 
Wall Remnants: often less pretty than East Side Gallery.
The wall went up overnight, and changed everything. It came down almost 25 years ago, and is still being milked for tourist dollars!
Big Brother's Rosetta Stone
Potsdam: land of palaces. 

If you get tired of the Berlin post-communist aesthetic, take the train out to Potsdam, and see all the fabulous palaces that rich people built a long time ago!

Pots-dayum!Pro Tip: Take the time to actually check to be sure that these places are open! You can also see the Other Brandenburg Gate.
More like a Brandenburg Cake.
Most importantly, there is a building in Berlin that was clearly designed by a crazy cat-lady.
Crazy Cat Lady

Hamburg: City of Ham & Burgers

In Hamburg, it is illegal to insult swans, thus making it cool.So let's say you've been traveling around Scandinavia for a couple weeks. You have listened to the Fox song on repeat, taken in the pines and mountains and decided that the natural beauty of the area is beautifully natural. But even in August, it is starkly obvious that winter is coming. And after buying a beer or ten, you realize you are quite in danger of going broke. You find yourself staring at your empty wallet, and you begin to daydream about the Dollar to Euro exchange rate.

Well, it's high time you get out of Scandinavia. Don't want to get snowed into the region if you want to keep your toes. Heading south, you'll hit Germany. And Hamburg is a convenient stop. Lucky for you it has some pretty statues and a rich history.

Pictured: Justice triumphs over the Hamburglar.How should you get to Hamburg? Glad you asked. For a surprising journey that I am totally going to spoil for you, take a train from Copenhagen to Hamburg, Germany. You'll look at a map and scratch your head. There's some water in the way between those cities. You'll shrug and board the train. You assume there are some bridges.

Nope.

Your train gets on a boat. It's...a train...on a boat.

At least for a minute or so, you are on a train. On a boat. Savor the moment, check it off your bucket list, and then they make you go above deck and enjoy the sunshine. Eventually you have to get back on the train (it's on a boat, did I mention?) and the train drives off the boat into the ocean, if you're unlucky. Or maybe back onto the track. And you eventually get to Hamburg!

In the city, you will find some iconic buildings, like the Chilihaus. It's supposed to look like a boat.
The pessimist's corner office. There are also some statues that showcase German engineering. This one was all about hydraulics. Water bubbles, those cylinders turn, and it treads that fine line between art, fountain, and wasted public funds.

Art in motion!Kidding about the statue. I don't know who owns it. When it comes to wasted public funds, you need look only as far as the Opera House. Originally slated to be completed 2009, the city's contract with the architects was $180 million. Now, with a projected opening in 2017, the estimated cost is a mere $785 million. Whoops.

At least it can serve as a daycare; children of the city will be able to see opera for free!
But I feel sure this modern aesthetic will go flawlessly with the rest of the buildings along the river.
Or not. But, if you are in Hamburg, and you can tear your eyes away from the modernist financial black hole, you should stop by the Rathaus (translation: house of rats.) Or maybe City Hall. It has a beautiful courtyard.

Pretty?But it's really the workmanship and small details that make it pretty.

Pretty face?And much arm waving.

Almost looks like liberty.And, as long as you're in Hamburg, you will have no choice but to go to Reeperbahn. If you talk to locals, some of them will tell you the area isn't cool anymore. But if you are looking for signs advertising table dancing, or very normal dance clubs filled with music you will recognize from America, or for stag parties of 20 dressed as batman, you can find all of the above! 

Top Five Things To Do Differently Next Trip

Hello dear blog-readers and facebook-stalkers!

You may have heard a rumor that I am back in the U.S. of A. This may be true. But wait--my blog last said I was in Hamburg--was that the end of the trip?

God no. There were a lot of cities. Like, a lot. Fifteen? Twenty? Something like that. Some of them were pretty sweet. You're going to have to hear about them, too, as I get caught up on life and blogging. I promise at least a couple more awesome photos. I apologize for the poor form on getting so far behind. I assure you, it won't happen again.

That aside, I gotta pause for a few moments and recognize the pure unadulterated awesomeness that was the last four and a half months of my life. I am super grateful to the confluence of events in having a job I could sort of take with me and the driving angst of the postgrad-poor-economy-fugue that allowed me to drop everything and live the dream. And to everyone I've met, that's hosted me or bought me a drink or spent an afternoon getting lost and making fun of street signs--I want to say thank you. You are awesome and you made this trip amazing x 1000. 

But I learned a thing or two with this trip. And I think next time I will do a couple things differently.

1. Stay Longer in Each Place
I wanted, during this trip, to see as much of Europe as possible. So I hit at least one city in the following places: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, and Spain. Sure, it was four and a half months, but if you hit that many countries, it gets to be a lot of moving around.
2. Stay with More Local Hosts
I won't say I don't love hostels, because I do. But if you spend a lot of time meeting and hanging out with other international travelers, you can miss quite a lot about the place you are actually visiting. Some of the best experiences I had were staying with cool people that lived in places I wanted to visit and/or had never heard of. 
3. Bring Camping GearI love European cities. I love walking around city centers and looking at architecture. But after the 500th example of neoclassical, Gothic, or Tudor architecture, you realize you just want to go camping near a goddamn waterfall.
4. Keep it Open EndedIf you have an end date picked out way in advance, new travel invitations and ideas will come up immediately before you are set to leave, and you will regret getting on the plane. Besides, you might not even be out of money yet! What business do you have going home?!
5. Pack Solo Cups (Red Cups)"Oh, you're American? With yellow school buses? AND Red Cups!?"While Europeans love American-style drinking games, the color choices are often limited to translucent. And that's a problem. You have to party it up in style. Forget the clothes, pack your suitcase full of red solo cups. Then you are guaranteed to make friends. 

How to Cope in Copenhagen

The dome doesn't really have a hat. It's a street light.
Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. Like the rest of Scandinavia, it is very clean, very orderly, and ridiculously expensive. If you are traveling in Scandinavia, be warned that each country has a different currency called a Crown. This one is in Danish, so it's a Krone. And just like a fairytale, the old krones can turn into a beautiful swan! Or whatever else you decide to buy.

There really is something a touch magical and child-like about the city. Everything is a little bit whimsical under the long shadow of this guy: Hans Christian Anderson.

Hello, Mr. Anderson...
Speaking of whimsy, Copenhagen is the site of Tivoli, which is an amusement park that served as an inspiration to Walt Disney. I hear it's a lot of fun, so I didn't go.
Tivoli is also a place in Italy. Try to find the Italian architectural influences.
Amusement aside,
Especially at night, the whole place looks like a toy model of some kind.

It also contains laser fences.Adding to the magic, this place has the best integrated bike paths and bike culture of any city I've ever seen. There are bike lanes with proper lights right by the roads, and unlike Amsterdam, bikers actually obey the traffic laws. Do they wear helmets, you ask? Of course not! This isn't Australia. 
You will see bikes parked in the middle of nowhere, and think, wow, these Danes are trustworthy! Spoiler: they're not. Though bikes are not locked to objects, they have wheel locks, so they are still pretty hard to steal, according to my free tour guide.
City then: vikings.
City now: biking.But it's not just an urban bike park. Copenhagen has other cool things too. Like The Marble Church, a building so beautiful they stuck a fountain in front of it!

If the photo was centered properly, you could only see the fountain.
This is poorly framed. You're welcome.
The city is just full of statues and fountains! While walking from the above from the most heavily touristed point, you can see the Gefion fountain.
Cow-Plow!
But of course you DO have to make the trek to the most touristed point. What is it? Why, none other than Hans's & Disney's heroine--The Little Mermaid!
Many tourists are disappointed with the Little Mermaid statue. I had heard some people complaining that she was too little. While she is a bit smaller than lifesize, I disagree. Being little is in her job description. But she doesn't even have red hair, so I have no idea what the sculptor thought he was doing.
Though she has fins, she is not a Fin.
Probably no relation to Huck Finn. And if you get tired of the nice, cute orderly side of Denmark and find yourself in search of another kind of magical city, make your way to Freetown Christiania. It's sort of a commune, with roughly a thousand people, who claimed it and made it their own. It's got handmade goods and a Green Zone, in which you can't take pictures, which is a place to escape the general laws of Copenhagen and feel yourself transported back to the sixties.

They have murals. But that's not why they call it a green zone.They  have a common law of nine rules: no weapons, no hard drugs, no violence, no private cars, no biker colors, no bulletproof clothing, no sale of fireworks, no use of thundersticks, and no stolen goods.

Seems reasonable for laws, but what about boomsticks?

No way like Norway

When you think Norway, there is only one thing that comes to mind. Or, if you are into linguistics, maybe this too.

What you may not know about Norway: it's a Scandinavia country, way up North in Europe. It's expensive country, too. They found oil, and the cost of living went waaaaaaaaay up. If you are considering a visit--and you should, the natural beauty is beautiful--be aware that a beer anywhere will set you back at least ten dollars American.

If you are rich enough, or wise enough to make Norwegian friends to stay with, you will have a great time.

Check out Kristiansand, which is a small city on the south tip of Norway. It is a pretty nice place for some light hiking.

There are some old WWII bunkers. As my guide told me, "the Nazis used to like occupying us."
Hexagons are strategic, apparently. And some very pretty Nature.

Rocks and water!
 But wait! There's more. Don't feel like being around unscripted nature? Try the zoo!

Kristiansand has one of the largest zoos in Norway, which is the Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park, called Dyreparken. It offers a huge range of animals for your viewing pleasure, both local and international. PLUS a huge amusement park section of children's stories from Norway.

You can take a ride on Captain Sabertooth's boat.

Heave o hoy!
Oh yeah. They sing pirate songs in Norweigian. Pirate Town.
Not pictured: the huge Ikea sign a little to the right that breaks the mood.
 Have a child (either young or on E ?) that can't seem to kick a pacifier habit? Take them to the pirate's treasure trove, and chuck the pacifier into the vault. It's a coming of age ritual. All Norwegian children go through this ceremony, unless they live far away or their parents don't feel like it.

If Pirates hoard pacifiers, do they become pacifists? There are also wild animals in this zoo, of course.

Lynx! And domestic. This is a traditional Norwegian house shape. Usually it is bigger and does not contain a goat. May have grass on the roof, though. For the goat.

Serious Goat is not kidding around. I stayed in another Norwegian place (city? town? drivethru?), called Bø. It's a college town. Like many Norwegian college towns, in is located in the mathematical middle of nowhere. This means the town is great for college parties and hiking/any nature activities. And for getting to know everyone. I was there for less than a week, and by the time I left I could recognize approximately 50% of the population by sight.

Now, did I mention that there is hiking?


Norway: contains nature.
With views.
And rocks.The small cities were fantastic. Make Norwegian friends. They are pretty much the best.

Oslo, the largest city in Norway, I only passed through to train in and train out. It seemed much like a city. And it had a tiger statue.

Not a native Norwegian animal.My only regret is missing the harsh winter. Kidding.

7 Symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm. Home of the stocks.
Stockholm, Sweden, is known for technological fortitude, pirates, and that thing where you start to feel like your kidnappers are actually pretty nice people--Stockholm Syndrome. The origin of the term is, shockingly, from Stockholm. There was a bank robbery forever ago, in which there was this stalemate between the robbers and the police, and the hostages were in there for quite some time. While at first they freaked out, the robbers didn't hurt them, and they didn't want the police to hurt the robbers either. The situation resolved itself, and the robbers went to jail, but the hostages testified to their character and pleaded with the jury to let them off the hook. Later, some of the hostages were invited to a robber's wedding.  
If you visit Stockholm, you will realize the city has a similar effect on you. While initially you stay only because you have been kidnapped, you will start to love the city, and before you know it, you're invited to its wedding.
1. The Royal Palace
The story of Swedish royalty is rich with drama. The Princess married her personal trainer. It's pretty much the Cinderella story, but without the glass slippers. 
Third or fourth palace of the city.This palace was designed by a guy that probably burned down the previous palace. That's how they roll in Sweden. Also with Lions.

Give him a ring.And more lions.
This Lion's got poise.
2. Free Walking Tours

In every city I can, I do a free walking tour. This one wasn't great. But it does give you an excuse to walk around and check out some of the awesome scenery of this nice clean city.

From a bridge.And as we were walking, the tour guide was rendered speechless for a moment, then segued to a different topic.
An unexpected segway.3. Old Town
Ever get all the way to Europe only to realize you forgot to pack your confederate flags? Never you worry, there is a place in old town you can by the rebel X in hat form, flag form, belt buckle, etc. 
Otherwise, old town is a great place enjoy the old buildings.
Old town, new bike.
Not a kebab sign in sight!
4. Photografiska Museum
Haven't had enough larger than life naked women on your vacation? Check out the Photography museum. While I was there, I saw an abstract series of an artist's reactions to the Japanese Tsunami. And a huge display of Helmut, which was less abstract and more full of naked women. 
I didn't take a picture of the museum because I was afraid of drowning in the rain, so here's a building I saw on the walk back to the hostel.
Archways. Most rough-hewn thing in all of Sweden. 5. Churches

The Stockhom Cathedral, also called Storkyrkan, has a massive statue of St. George Slaying the Dragon. This statue is totally beautiful and unique.

Look at that lens flare! Added drama.Well, maybe not totally unique.

In case you don't want to pay to go into the church. 6. Make a wish!

This is a fountain. If you blow the seed pods off, you get your wish. Good luck.

I hear rumors there is an identical one in Oslo.
7. Go to a Pirate Party!

Maybe you are a fan of the Pirate Bay, or the Pirate Political Party. Or Pirates of the Carribean. Any way you slice it, if you get to Sweden during the right time of year, there is going to be a Pirate party for your drinking pleasure.

Why wouldn't the Pirate Bay party have a Wikipedia Wild West Theme?There are pirates. Just sayin.
This band of pirates was awesome.
Ye Banished Privateers.