My last full day in Stockholm! I got an early start and grabbed breakfast in the lobby of my boat hostel. The space is filled with vintage ship memorabilia and nautical artwork, and with the view of the water just outside the window, it made for a pretty peaceful morning.

After eating, I headed back into the old town to explore a bit more and ended up getting a ticket to tour the Royal Palace. I started wandering through the royal apartments… but about halfway through, the staff made an announcement that the royal family would be using those rooms shortly for an event, so everyone had to leave. A little disappointing, but also kind of cool to be booted by actual royalty? (Also proof the palace is still very much in use!)

I spent some extra time exploring the rest of the palace’s buildings, including one of Europe’s oldest public art galleries, and caught the changing of the guards out front, which felt very official.

After that, I made a quick stop at Stockholm’s City Hall to peek inside, then hopped on a train for a 45-minute ride out to the royal family’s summer palace. It was definitely chilly out there, but absolutely beautiful; the palace sits right on the water and is surrounded by gardens. Every room inside was painted a different color, and I honestly felt like I had walked straight onto the set of Bridgerton! 🤣

When I finished up at the palace, I grabbed a sandwich and then took a tram across town to meet up with a few people from my hostel. We were heading to something totally different: a Swedish Premier League football match! We had a quick beer at a restaurant beforehand, then walked over to the stadium…

And somehow ended up in front row seats, almost dead center! None of us knew that when we booked, so it felt like a very lucky accident. The energy in the stadium was amazing and the fans were completely into it with all their different chants and flags. And as far as first-time matches go… I definitely got a show! The final score was 8-2, which apparently never happens, so we saw more goals in one night than most people see in a whole season lol.

After the game, we met up with a few more hostel friends at a nearby pub to hang out before calling it a night. My time in Stockholm is officially wrapping up (for Round 1; I’ll be back in December), and I have an early flight to Edinburgh in the morning!

UK (and Katy Perry), here I comeeeee! 🇬🇧🎶🧳