STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Upon visiting Stockholm five things become blatantly obvious:

1) It’s expensive as hell.
2) It’s one of the cleanest places you’re probably ever likely to see.
3) The city has the highest concentration of hot people ever! (Straight or gay, this is a sexy paradise and will give you lots of material for your wankadex).
4) Everyone is stylish — perhaps too stylish. It’s like a fashion experiment gone awry. Even 3-year-old children have hipster haircuts and are wearing Cheap Mondays. It’s ridiculous, but utterly cool.
5) Everyone is extremely friendly and the natives are more than happy to speak English — a language the Swedes have come to master thanks to sub-titling their American movies rather than dubbing.

For all of the reasons above (except the expensive part), Stockholm is one of my favorite cities. The city is not nearly as large as I envisioned, but that makes it quite cool as well. It’s an international city with a sort of small-town feel. If you’re into fashion, then Stockholm’s endless shopping options will have you frothing at the mouth. Sweden is, after all, the home of H&M and Cheap Mondays.
It’s also a fantastic city for music and there seems to be a music shop on every corner. Music and fashion; what a paradise!
I visited the city at the beginning of June and the night always seemed as if it would fall, but never quite did. The horizon was always visible and seemed disturbing in a way. Some say New York is the city that never sleeps, but in spring/summer I can only imagine that Stockholm borrows that moniker.
The best time of year to visit, as anyone will tell you, is between June and September. The waterways, flowing in from the Baltic Sea, surrounding and running through the city must be explored. If you get the chance, take a ferry to one of the surrounding islands for lunch or dinner. If you get the chance, visit Debaser for a pint or two. Remember that there are two Debasers in Stockholm, so be sure to visit the one at the Slussen metro station. Nestled underneath a bridge, and beside one of Stockholm’s many lochs it is definitely an interesting take on pub culture. Another must-see is Stockholm’s Old Town. It’s narrow streets and wonderfully maintained buildings are quite romantic, even for someone completely unromantic (like me).