Ocean Bus Stockholm

15 July 2026

Finally, I get to experience the amphibian bus! I have always wanted to do this. I see it and I always thought that I have to try it. I booked this the day before because my colleague commented that it was boring for me to be at home after work on a sunny day. So, I checked out activities to do in Stockholm and came across this activity. And I thought, yes, I should do this tomorrow because it is going to be sunny. Not only was it sunny today, it was really hot. I could feel the intense heat from the road. 30 degrees today. I longed for this temperature during winter when it is -5 degrees wondering when summer will arrive. Now that it is here, it is really hot but I appreciate that I can wear shorts and be in sleeves. However, I applied sunblock and had a thin windjacket on to cover my arms. Also, had an umbrella with me. I walked from my workplace to Tres Taco Joint before the activity and I was the only one with an umbrella. 

The amphibian bus has a propeller and a rudder underneath it so it could move in the waters. The tyres do not fold upwards and are still under the bus. A ticket costs SEK329 for the time 6.30 - 7.30pm. Earlier hours cost SEK399. Another slot for 7-8pm costs SEK329. The experience took about 55 minutes. We were driven around some parts of Östermalm for the first 20 minutes and then went into the waters for 30 minutes. There was a guide to explain on some landmarks and historical sites along the way. It was in English as this is obviously, an activity for tourists. 

This is the area where the bus drove into the waters - in Djurgården, right after the diplomatic area where some embassies are located. The captain accelerated and we went in with a loud splash. Quite fun! 

The captain gave a check before we went inside the waters.

The other amphibian bus that we met along the way.

It was nice to see some of the buildings from waters. Here is the Nordic Museum. My favourite museum.

Then, passed by Vasa museum.

The bus/boat made a turn at Gröna Lund amusement park and we headed back to shore.

It was a lovely ride on the bus/boat. Fun experience to get as a tourist!

Ghost walk with dinner

6 December 2024

Just came back from an activity that I have been wanting to do for a long time - ghost walk! I bought an experience coupon that came with dinner too from Upplevelse website. I got it during Black Week so it was 50% discounted to SEK397. I compared with the price in the company's website and it was cheaper than SEK780. My walk was guided by Historiska Vikingslag. There was another group by Stockholm Ghost Walk and I saw some of their photos in Upplevelse website. For Stockholm Ghost Walk, their ghost walk activity with dinner costs SEK620. However, for Stockholm Ghost Walk, there are no acting scenes as Historiska Vikingslag has. 

Our ghost walk was in the Old Town (Gamla Stan). Our guides were funny when they acted out some scenes. The first guide died from pest disease while he was narrating about the pest outbreak. Then, the second guide took over and he played the executor. Then, the first guide came back into the scene acting as the architect who designed the Royal Place. Our walk took about an hour and ended with dinner at Sten Sture restaurant. If given another chance, I will just buy the ghost walk only. 

For dinner, it was a package of Deer Rydberg and chocolate cake. The price in the menu showed SEK365 and SEK85 respectively so I was very surprised about the small food portion. When I checked the reviews by other guests for the restaurant, the food portion was bigger and look very different. There were definitely more meat pieces if you are not part of the ghost walk. My potatoes were pre-cut and cold and meat was at room temperature. When I mentioned to the waitress that my potatoes were cold, she apologised and said I will get a bigger portion of chocolate cake which I did not receive. Drinks are not included in the meal package and I had an alcohol-free drink for SEK55. Even tap water costs SEK10! Ridiculous.

Archaelogical Site Visit

20 October 2018

Today's 1.5 hour archaeological site visit is brought to you by Kompis Sverige. I have never been to an archaeological site in my life, hence, I am very excited when I saw this activity and I enrolled myself immediately. I was apprehensive for the cold weather because it is autumn. I am aware that this is an outdoor activity but it will be alright when one has the right set of clothes.

So, on a cold drizzling autumn morning, the group walked to the archaeological site because the bus was delayed. We walked from Västerhaninge train station. As we were approaching the site, I realised that I was in a new housing area and there were houses still under construction, and I began to wonder on what sort of archaeological site is this.

It turns out that, in Sweden (at least), before a housing project begins, an archaeological team is called in to see if there are any artifacts in the area. The preservation law in Sweden is very strict. That is probably one of the reason why there are so many museums in Stockholm! The team is based for 4 months from July to October, and they found a few areas where they discovered house structures from the Iron Age and Bronze Age! How cool is that!

These holes, once upon a time, had poles above them and they were poles for a house structure from the Iron Age. They dug a layer of earth which revealed a heavier colour of earth on some areas where the house's poles once stood or even found some poles. 

Here is a grave that has bears' claws and it was believed to be a sacrificial site. 

Takvandring = Rooftop Tour

27 August 2018

Today, I did a rooftop tour! And this is thanks to Kompis Sverige again. Earlier, I had joined their activities for theatre plays and concerts. They have super awesome activities and I check their website pretty often. 

There were 8 of us and we gathered at Gamla Stan to meet up with 2 guides from Takvandring. These ladies are really knowledgeable about Stockholm. We stood at the rooftop and the lady with the blond hair explained to us about the history of Stockholm.   

Our rooftop tour was at the top of Gamla Riksdag Huset which means The Old Parliament House. The rooftop was located on the 7th floor. There were harnesses and helmets provided, as well as a plastic pouch to hang around your neck to store your mobile phone in case you don't have a neck holder for your phone.  

Free Tour Stockholm - City

28 July 2017

I joined the last guided tour provided by Free Tour Stockholm. My first was their guided tour in Sodermalm and the second was in Gamla Stan. I got the same guide for the first two. The third and last tour was a different guide. He is not a local Swede but he does know a lot about the city. Yes, the last guided tour is in the heart of Stockholm - the city itself. 

We met in front of T-Centralen train station. The walk ended in Kungstradgarden and you can see our group in the last photo. It was a large group!

Here, I found out that there are 4 H&M stores in the same location which are sort of opposite to one another but they sell different stuff in each store. I remembered one is for clothes and the other is for home stuff. Plus, the Headquarters is located here too. If you are not aware yet, H&M is a Swedish brand. I did not know till I came to Sweden. I always thought it was a Hong Kong brand. 

Free Tour Stockholm : Gamla Stan (Old Town)

26 July 2017

My next guided tour is to Gamla Stan (Old Town). Gamla Stan is one of the must-see in Stockholm. It is a definite tourist destination. This place is always crowded with tourists and everything is over-priced here. I back with the guided tour from Free Tour Stockholm again! My first experience with them was a guided tour to Sodermalm. I got the same guide again the second time - Peter. Of course, he did not remember me. The amount of tourists that join the group is so overwhelming but it is so cool that he could hold the group together with his jokes and stories. We met in front of the exit of T-Central station. 

Free Tour Stockholm : Sodermalm Tour

12 July 2017

I went for my first walking tour with Free Tour Stockholm. It is free and since it is free, we tip the guide depending on our financial capability. My guide for today was Peter and he is hilarious. It is so important to have a funny guide. He described on how some of his tips included a teabag and a special egg. Haha! These kind of tours usually cost SEK200 per person for a private tour so some of the tourists tipped around that range. Well, I am not loaded, so I tipped lesser than that. There are actually a number of free walking tours but for some reason, my fingers clicked to this provider and I did not regret it. I would recommend any tourists to go for these walking tours. One really learn a lot and at your price too. 

Today's walking tour is in Sodermalm. We met at Slussen train station It was about a 2 hour walk and we walked around for 2 km with attractive points of interest for photo shoots and for Peter to share the history on the place. It used to be a poor area and was frowned upon in those days, but now, it is an area for the artsy people, the hipsters and the rich too. 

Guided Art Walk in Metro Stations

11 July 2017

Another cool thing to do during the summer in Stockholm is to go for the guided art walk in the train stations. Stockholm has a fine piece of train system which is so easy to decipher, and you have to trust me on this because I have the worst sense of direction. There are 110 stations and 95 of them are painted or decorated with art motifs to give some life to the cold underground train stations. It is a one-hour guided art walk organised by SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik) train. SL is the train service provider. Of course, there are guided art walks by other tour groups but this is free and no tipping is required. 

We gathered at SL ticket office in T-Centralen Station. The art walk was carried out in English. All we have to do is ensure that we have a valid train ticket. I had the 30-day train ticket. You can also carry the single journey train ticket as the single train ticket lasts for 75 minutes as soon as it is tapped. As the guided art walk is for an hour only, we have to chase the trains and the tour guide needs to give a fast explanation. We did not go to all the train stations but those with significant art that is worth explaining about.

The walk was on the blue line. Of course, there are motifs in some of the stations on the red and green line too. I think they chose the blue line because there were less human traffic. 

I am posting photos of significant art that I fancy. There are a few which we went but I do not remember the meaning behind the motif. This is what happens when you blog about it 11 months later. Haha!

This is Sundbybergs Centrum train station (pronounced as sund-bee-beh-rees cent-trum). The artistic design here will go unnoticed if one is not attentive enough. Can you see the human senses - ear, nose and mouth.