CAPITAL STOCKHOLM - POPULATION 10 MILLION - AREA 449,964 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SWEDISH
Sweden is heading to new heights: as well as being voted best destination in one UK survey, its Arctic Esrange Space Station will be Virgin Galactic's second launch pad, with flights into northern lights mooted from 2012. Back at ground level, Stockholm is welcoming two firsts: December 2008 welcomes the Jumbo Hostel, where travelers can bed down in a grounded Boeing; while dancing queens rejoice in June 2009 at the opening of ABBA the Museum. West Sweden is less kitsch, more kitchen, its cuisine tempting gourmets worldwide – here you'll find Michelin star-grabbing Goteburg, lobster safaris off the Bohuslan coast and more farm shops than you can shake a pickled herring at.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
The Millennium Bug
Not so long ago, the world thought it had Stockholm figured out. It was, we thought, a Nordic paradise - a place where happy, healthy people roller - skated through tidy streets, where Nobel prizes were awarded, and where princes and princesses lived happily ever after.
Then something happened - perhaps somebody put something in the water - because all of a sudden Stockholm lost its halo. The worldwide success of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy turned Stockholm from a peaceful utopia to a sinister underworld of murderers, fraudsters and miscreants. Even the prince started dating a glamour model.
The film release of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, starring Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, might have prompted a new wave of Stieg fans to look for the grimy side of Stockholm. Unfortunately they'll have to look quite hard, because Stockholm looks as perfect as it's ever been. From the winding cobbled alleyways of Gamla Stan to the pristine parks of Djurgarden, this is as seductive a capital city as can be imagined - cozy yet cosmopolitan, willfully alternative and effortlessly picturesque. Admittedly Stockholm has never been a cheap date; prices for accommodation and food can be shockingly high. But even if Stockholm leaves you with a lighter wallet, you'll inevitably still leave it with a heavy heart.
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