Stockholm, an 'eco' paradise in the Baltic

2021-01-23T18:55:29.113Z

Hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes, restaurants with their own gardens and second-hand fashion temples. The Swedish capital boasts sustainability without giving up pleasure and good taste

On an unusual sunny morning in October, the fire ignites the pieces of wood, stoking the bonfire.

The steaming coffeepot on the logs warns that the coffee is ready,

impregnating the forest with a smell of home.

It seems that we are hundreds of kilometers from

Stockholm

, but we are barely 20 minutes away from the center of a city where lush nature is on our doorstep.

Make coffee from

Niklas Ekstedt

, one of

Sweden's most famous chefs

, a benchmark for cutting-edge Nordic gastronomy, a regular on television sets and a

pioneer of molecular cuisine.

After a retreat with his son in a cabin in the woods, without electricity or gas, Ekstedt saw the light (literally) in the fire that during those months was his only ally for cooking.

From that experience, he immersed himself in a search for

ancestral cooking techniques in ancient

books that ended up turning fire into the axis of his gastronomic universe.

In the center of Stockholm, in the Östermalm neighborhood, he opened his

restaurant Ekstedt

, which, with a Michelin star and after several years in operation, continues to be one of the most groundbreaking gastronomic proposals in the city.

There is no electricity or gas here and everything is cooked over a

fire in a birch wood oven, grilled over an open fire

Analog technology to create haute cuisine dishes in a place that connects us with our origins.

Our breakfast in

Rinkebyskogen

, a forest in the Danderyd neighborhood (north of Stockholm), ends with collecting

mushrooms, blueberries and aromatic herbs

that will serve to season some of the dishes on your menu.

"Our relationship with nature is very close," says Niklas Ekstedt, "it is something that we Swedes learn from childhood."

Judging by the activities in the Swedish children's school curriculum, which include safely making fires in nature and learning to use a compass in the woods, Ekstedt is right.

In school canteens,

students consume local and organic products

and are encouraged to

recycle and reduce the amount of waste

It is no coincidence that one of the world leaders in the defense of the environment is the Swedish teenager

Greta Thunberg

Concepts as fashionable now as

ecological awareness

and

sustainability

have been practiced in Sweden for more than a decade, and in

2010 Stockholm was already chosen as the first green capital of Europe.

T-Centralen subway station.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

The

14 islands connected by 57 bridges

on which the city sits are a lung where you can lose yourself in wild landscapes, incorporating nature into daily life.

A nature understood as a common good for the enjoyment of all, something that the inhabitants of Stockholm, when spring appears and the light breaks, turn into religion by launching themselves to places like this, where to go hiking, collect mushrooms and enjoy a lunch cooked over the hot coals (Swedish law allows fires in public parks and forests).

Back in the city, I establish my base of operations at the

Downtown Camper by Scandic hotel

, right in the center, around a corner from Sergels Torg.

This accommodation is, since it opened its doors in 2017, a reference for a modern urban hotel.

The concept of the

co-living room

is present in the common spaces, which practically become an extension of the rooms.

Ping-pong tables on the landings

next to the elevators, a games area next to the reception and dozens of spaces with tables and lamps to work, read or share conversation.

In the room,

hipster

interior design
and rustic materials such

as wood, wool and leather that, together with the subtle fragrance of the fireplace, transfer to a wooden cabin in the middle of the forest (a real merit in the case of a building of brutalist architecture from the sixties) .

On the terrace,

the outdoor hot water pool

allows you to swim while viewing the rooftops of Stockholm, and the

nest-shaped sauna,

with the sounds of birds and forest, makes one travel back to that nature that Swedes dream of. .

It's time to head into the city, and in the hotel lobby a

fleet of bicycles, kayaks, electric scooters and

longboards

are the green alternatives to explore by land or water.

enlarge photo A street in the historic center of Stockholm (Gamla Stan).

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

It is precisely in urban transport that Stockholm has thrown the rest in its promise of becoming a zero-emission city by 2040. Most of the

taxis and buses run on biogas

generated with waste and the entry to private vehicles is increasingly restricted. to the center.

Through its more than

760 kilometers of bike lanes,

about 150,000 people circulate daily, also on electric scooters, considered here a real alternative for urban mobility.

In many neighborhood communities there are

community bicycles

available to residents and the City Council

periodically

opens

pop-up

workshops

to repair citizens' bikes for free.

For longer journeys, the

tourist card (25 euros)

gives access to all public transport, including ferries and boats, as well as entry to 80 museums and tourist attractions.

A recommended option to be able to navigate through the archipelago without hiring tourist boats and also to go down to the bowels of Stockholm and visit metro stations such as

T-Centralen, Kungsträdgården and Stadion

, authentic psychedelic fantasies worthy of

Alice's

rabbit

holes in wonderland

To travel the urban center, the legs are the most ecological and effective means.

I walk south through the grandest baroque Stockholm, leaving the

Royal Opera House

on the left

and through the archway into the courtyard of

the Swedish Parliament

Bordering the Royal Palace, I enter

Gamla Stan

, the historic heart of the city and

one of the best-preserved medieval neighborhoods in Europe

Its cobbled streets lined with yellow and ocher houses lead to the charming

Kindstugatan Square.

The Stadsmission Thrift and Recycling Shop.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

A postcard square

Here, in the shade of an immense chestnut tree, is the

Under Kastanjen café,

an excellent place for a first stop in the open air amidst an autumnal silence only broken by the sound of chestnuts bouncing off the cobblestones.

It will not be the last, because that blessed Swedish custom of

fika

stopping

during the day to enjoy a coffee and a cinnamon roll

- is something that is very easy to get used to.

His fondness for that sweet is such that he even has a day reserved on the calendar:

Cinnamon Roll Day

(October 4), the sweetest date of the year that permeates the city with the aroma of cinnamon coming out of all the bakeries.

Fabrique Stenugnsbageri

, perhaps the best are baked.

Nearby, in Stortorget Square, a group of university students listen to their professor's explanation about the

Nobel Museum,

where the famous prizes promoted by

Alfred Nobel are awarded

and that every year highlights the great discoveries for the benefit of humanity ( who knows if they are a form of expiation of Alfred Nobel himself, inventor of dynamite).

Tourists, mostly from other parts of Sweden, pose for selfies with the orange and yellow facades of this postcard square.

For a moment it is possible to forget that we are in the middle of a pandemic.

People walk without masks and shops, bars and restaurants are open with full capacity.

Appealing to such Swedish civic responsibility, the Government opted to

face the pandemic without restricting individual rights and the country's borders remained open

and unrestricted.

In the volatile COVID scenario, this herd immunity strategy went from being considered insane in April to an example in September, and again a big mistake in December, which

forced the same Swedish king to apologize publicly

enlarge photo Pause to enjoy 'fika' at the Skroten Café.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

I continue around the

Köpmantorget (Merchant Square)

and right there, very close to the statue of St. George about to slice the dragon's neck, is one of the most evocative shops in Stockholm.

To enter

Fartygsmagasinet

is to enter the maritime history of a city anchored to an archipelago of more than 24,000 islands.

Freddy,

its owner, is an

old sea dog

who as a young man embarked on a freighter and later traveled the seven seas in his own boat.

His passion for collecting led him to become one of Scandinavia's greatest nautical experts.

His company is dedicated to tracking down

old ships and salvaging their interiors

before scrapping takes them away.

"If these historic interiors were houses, they would be protected by law, but boats don't matter to anyone," he says.

Figureheads, sextants, portholes, rudders and even a piece of the sail of the famous

British sailboat

Cutty Sark

await in this beautiful museum shop.

Later, strolling along the

pier at Östra Brobänken

on the north shore of

Museum Island

, Stockholm's maritime credentials come true on vintage wooden sailboats, pleasure boats and hull-to-hull moored ships.

A sailor cleans the cabin of his sailboat with care, preparing it for the next excursion between the islands of the archipelago.

In a small artisanal shipyard another man repairs the hull of his wooden boat.

Presiding over it is the spectacular medieval wooden crane that is reminiscent of a chapel in this place where religion is the sea.

enlarge photo A wooden house in the bohemian neighborhood of Södermalm.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

Just opposite, on the

island of Djurgården

, the

Vasa Museum

houses

the largest warship in the Swedish Navy,

built in the 18th century and accidentally sunk on its maiden voyage.

Conceived specifically to accommodate the impressive 69 meters in length and 52 meters in height almost intact of this ship that slept 333 years at the bottom of the Baltic, the Vasa is the most visited museum in all of Scandinavia.

In addition to this and a handful of other exhibition centers,

Djurgården

is known for being the

first European national park within a city

Among

pine and birch forests, reindeer, bears and wolves

share space (within a confined area) with the inhabitants of the island.

Here is also

Rosendal Gardens

, one of the organic centers of the city.

Five white greenhouses where you can buy vegetables, fruits, plants and flowers collected from the gardens and orchards of

biodynamic agriculture

at the foot of the Rosendal Palace, the holiday residence of the kings of Sweden.

Cafe Rosendal

, organic soups and sandwiches are made with produce from the orchards, while bread and pastries come out of the immense stone oven of this charming local that seems to have been born for Instagram.

In this self-managed place, the sale of plants and vegetables from the garden and the profits obtained from the coffee are used to pay for the maintenance and salary of the workers.

SoFo, 'hipster' territory

enlarge photo A shop in Renstiernas Gata, in the SoFo of Södermalm.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

Touch change registration.

The following days I spend on the

island of Södermalm

the most bohemian part of Stockholm

Before entering the neighborhood proper, I walk along the sea until I reach the

art nouveau

brick building

of the old customs house where

Fotografiska

is now located

a true feast of contemporary photography with temporary exhibitions.

Worth framing is the gallery's restaurant - chosen in 2017 as the best among those located in a museum - with gigantic windows looking out over the Baltic Sea.

Södermalm is a territory of steep slopes, of streets with old houses of three and four floors that are staggered, adapting to the terrain, and that take you to the best viewpoints in the city from where you can see Gamla Stan in all its glory.

This is a

neighborhood of artists' galleries and cafes on every corner

, as well as a literary setting where characters

from Stieg Larsson's
Millennium

trilogy

live and die

I stay at the

NOFO
boutique

hotel

, in the bohemian heart of Södermalm.

Modern and quiet, separated from the main street by a neighboring courtyard with a terrace where you can enjoy a glass of wine from its Wine bar, and at the same time a stone's throw from the

coolest

area

of the neighborhood:

the nicknamed SoFo

(a nod to the original SoHo of Manhattan), with streets lined with organic cafes, vegetarian restaurants and

vintage

clothing stores

This is the territory of

oversized

coats

beanies and scarves / shawls over the shoulders.

enlarge photo A large format chess set in the gardens of Kungsträdgården.

RAFAEL ESTEFANÍA

In the cafes it is assumed that scrambled eggs come from free-range chickens and fair trade coffee, but even in more touristy places in the neighborhood, sustainability is the letter of introduction.

In the middle of Medborgarplatsen, inside a nondescript shopping center, is the

Sébastien På Söder

restaurant, café, bakery and organic shop

Sébastien is a Frenchman living in Stockholm who takes the catechism of sustainable gastronomy to the letter.

Author of several books on the subject, he believes that

commitment to the planet begins at the table

On the roof of the shopping center, he has an urban garden where he grows most of the vegetables used in his restaurant and beehives where he collects the honey that sweetens his pastries.

In the basement, the millstone grinds different varieties of wheat with which it makes sourdough loaves and

baguettes

, and with milk from free-range cows from the north of the country it makes the cream that crowns one of the best pancakes in Stockholm.

Among the regulars, her neighbor Greta Thunberg

, along with her family.

In this place devoid of any

hipster

wrapping

the message sounds even more real.

Fair trade, sustainability and respect for the environment

are concepts fully internalized by the new generations.

In the country of meatballs

, one in ten Swedes declares themselves to be vegetarian or vegan, and

meat consumption has dropped dramatically in recent years

due to awareness of climate change and greenhouse gases produced by livestock.

Feeling that the Swedish national might be on the way to extinction, I go to

Meatballs for the People

, a small meatball institution where I can look face to face at this traditional dish of beef - there are also vegan, fish and reindeer - accompanied of mashed potato and delicious cranberry sauce.

The waiter, a twenty-something Valencian who has lived in the city for two years combining work with his nursing studies, and who receives, in addition to the enrollment costs, a subsidy of 1,000 euros per month on behalf of the State for pursuing the degree in Sweden (things of the welfare state), he is very clear that his future is here.

In the surroundings

of Nytorge

park

, the spiritual center of Södermalm, there are restaurants and bars with terraces, with the

Bar Agrikultur

at the forefront of hedonism followed by the

Urban Deli a

few steps below.

The number of parents with very blond children lining up in the swing areas makes me doubt the official statistics that present

Sweden as a country with almost zero birth rates

They are more than what they tell us or they are all here this afternoon.

To the right of the park, a row of perfectly preserved old wooden houses in reddish and ocher tones look like something out of a story.

The uncurtained windows invite you to peek into their interiors, bathed in that same warm and indirect light found in all cafes in Stockholm, inviting you to take refuge inside with a steaming mug, a cinnamon roll and a fireplace.

In its gardens there are

compost

baskets

family ecological gardens and bags of clothes ready to be taken to second-hand stores where fashion and recycling come together.

In one of the most modern cities in Europe,

cool

and

eco

are two sides of the same coin.

Practical Guide

Sleep

Downtown Camper by Scandic:

Co-Living Hotel

with
Rooftop

Spa
NOFO Hotel:

chic
family-run
,

in the heart of the Södermalm district
Miss Clara: modern, cozy and with a built-in pizzeria
Hotel Rival:
Stockholm's
first

boutique
hotel