The best way to make fast friends—or enemies—is to travel together. Luckily for the six of us that trekked to Stockholm for a five-day trip in April, it was the former. All of us chronic over-packers met at JFK on a Wednesday evening with extra Away bags in hand to be sure that we had space for everyone’s belongings, and continued on through the airport toward our gate. Our arrival the next morning was met with a car that took us through the Swedish countryside en route to the capital city, as well as the sixth member of our group who flew in from London.
We did our research before boarding our respective planes, asking friends for advice about where to stay, what to see, and where to eat. But, once we settled into our new digs at Hotel Nobis, we also had the benefit of meeting up with Stockholm native Susanne Holmsater—press and events manager at Tictail—who became our pseudo tour guide for the rest of the trip, getting us into the back doors of clubs, and seated at the best restaurants in the city.
The food we encountered while traipsing around the cobblestones trying to pass as locals was of course a major highlight, and an opportunity to experience the under-appreciated Scandinavian dining scene. Instagrammable brunches abound in Stockholm, which is particularly important if photographing your food is something that interests you the way it interests us. A few favorites of ours were Cafe Pom & Flora (where we noshed on healthy toasts and bowls), the über-photogenic cardamom buns, and fine-dining institution Hantverket Restaurant (Restaurang Hantverket).
Along with Susanne, our Stockholm trip was an opportunity to meet with local designers Cornelia Webb and Diana Orving and the women behind Swedish fashion brand House of Dagmar, who graciously welcomed us to their city, making us instantly feel at home. From the near-perfect weather to the celebratory nights that lasted well past our bedtimes, Stockholm served as the perfect backdrop for a trip dedicated to relationship-building—and yes, our group text is still going strong.
