On a brilliant Saturday in Stockholm, a group of us who were on a biking tour of the city stared in confused silence as a man embraced and kissed a red brick building.
As our guide explained to us, this nondescript structure on the isle of Skeppsholmen is the recording studio of ABBA, hence the act of obeisance we'd witnessed.
This year's 10th anniversary of ABBA the Museum has unleashed a citywide celebration as fans of the Swedish pop music sensation flock to Stockholm. Concerts at the museum by the ABBA Choir are accompanied by various ABBA celebrities who share tales about the incredible odyssey that commenced with ABBA's 1974 Eurovision song contest victory.
Since the emergence of ABBA, Stockholm has become a nexus of global musical innovation. It is home to Spotify as well as the Avicii Experience, a tribute museum to Stockholm's electronic dance music pioneer Tim "Avicii" Bergling, whose songs have been streamed more than 34 billion times. Perhaps it's no wonder that Beyonce opened her recent Renaissance World Tour at Stockholm's Friends Arena.
In Stockholm, celebration is second nature to locals, equally important as a fika. The concept of fika means far more than merely a coffee break, for a fika is a social institution inherent to Swedish daily life. For most Swedes, the thrice-daily fika is an opportunity to embrace camaraderie and quality time, whether in a cafe or at home, with co-workers or with friends.
One of the more fascinating permanent exhibitions at Stockholm's Nordiska Museet focuses on the importance of seasonal celebrations throughout a typical Swedish year.
The hills of Stockholm's hip Sodermalm district. Photo Credit: Ola Ericson
During springtime in Stockholm, cherry blossoms blanket Kungstradgarden, and what was once a private royal garden becomes an open-air celebration for thousands of locals.
Equally alluring is Rosendals Tradgard (or Rosendals Garden), a kind of agricultural paradise on the bucolic isle of Djurgarden. The gardens are run as a nonprofit foundation with a focus on biodynamic farming, and the results of that labor are served in a greenhouse cafe and in a bakery that rivals the best of Paris and New York.
In high summer, the gardens are transformed into a picnic playground, with families gathering together beneath the fruit trees in the orchard.
What's to eat?
As the current European Capital of Gastronomy, Stockholm is home to a broad array of brilliant chefs whose restaurants reflect the city's focus on sustainable cuisine and innovative design.
At the new penthouse restaurant Freyja in the hip Sodermalm district, guests are greeted with a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding islands. Named for a Norse goddess, Freyja is helmed by head chef Emma Shields, whose culinary philosophy is based on seasonal produce and traditional Swedish flavors. With a rotating roster of DJs and local artists and a roof terrace capacity of 400 guests, Freyja serves some of the best of Sodermalm's cool vibe.
Sebastian Schildt's new restaurant Oxenstiernan (aka Rox) is a brilliant example of sustainable Swedish cuisine. Located in the tony quarter of Ostermalm in an 18th-century manor house, the restaurant is situated directly across the courtyard from Schildt's jewelry studio.
Nearly everything in the sleek dining room has been designed by local artists, including the menus, table linens, cutlery and vases. Natural wines and nonalcoholic beverages are offered from small-scale organic producers, and award-winning guest chefs are frequently in house. The restaurant has been awarded top honors by the Sustainable Gastronomy Guide.
The Hotel Reisen, in butter yellow, as seen from the Baltic Sea. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Hotel Reisen
A room at the Reisen
At the five-star Hotel Reisen, guests have been celebrating Swedish hospitality since 1760, when the property was an unlicensed coffeehouse. Situated in Gamla Stan (Old Town) along the oldest dock on the isle of Stadsholmen, the 144-room luxury property completed a massive renovation in 2021 and reopened as Scandinavia's first member of Hyatt's Unbound Collection, which features "exceptional hotels in unforgettable destinations."
With a nod to its maritime heritage, the Hotel Reisen offers rooms that are exemplars of shipshape design, complete with binoculars on waterfront windowsills that face onto the Baltic Sea.
The hotel's sauna and cold plunge pool are housed in a 17th-century subterranean brick vault, a veritable soundproof sanctuary for hotel guests in need of hydrotherapy. For a late-night jam, patrons and locals swarm into Bar Brahe, the hotel's jazz club where live music amplifies the bespoke coffee cocktails.
From the Hotel Reisen, various ferries along the harbor cruise into the Stockholm archipelago. The hourlong journey to the maritime village of Vaxholm rewards visitors with breathtaking vistas of some of the archipelago's 24,000 islands.