In December 1998 we flew to Stockholm, Sweden for a long and fun filled 5-day weekend. This was an unexpected trip we took only because the airfare was so low. On Monday I booked the airline tickets and hotel, and by Thursday we were on our way. Luckily, we had time to pack for a carry-on bag.
When we arrived at the airport in Stockholm I was a bit worried about the language. I know some French and German, but the only Swedish I knew was some common phrases I had printed out from the Internet the day before. Fortunately, this was not a problem since many people speak English and the rest we could figure out.
We were able to catch a shuttle bus from the airport to our hotel. Our hotel was about 20 miles from Stockholm near the airport in Arlandastad, Sweden. Because our hotel was attached to the Arlandastad Outlet Village and Eurostop Shopping Mall, we spent the first day and evening there. We did some Christmas shopping and sent out our Christmas cards. This hotel had the greatest breakfast buffet we had ever seen. To top it off, it was included in the room price too.
Because we were located near the airport, we had to take a bus back and forth to Stockholm the rest of the days. This was actually very nice, since we were able to see some of the countryside on the way into town. The bus dropped us at the Cityterminalen in the city center next to the Central Station.
We had an extremely good time walking around in Stockholm. Incredibly, it was not that cold. Many stores had their doors open and the street markets were in full swing.