Every day life
You will have to buy as soon as possible the “SL card” that allows you to use the public transports (subways= Tunnelbana, some boats, suburb trains=Pendeltog…). The SL card is expensive but is far less expensive once you have said and proved that you are a student.
My advice is that you reload it every 3 months (3 month is about 1600 SEK for a student). Be careful not to throw away your receipt, keep it safe in your room, it can be useful if you lose your SL card. You can also write your SL card number (written on the back of the card) somewhere it can avoid you to repay 200€ if you lose your card. Buses are always on time or even 1 to 3 minutes in advance: Be careful!
Some department stores: COOP (very expansive) (one next to PAX residence), ICA, Lidl, Pricextra, O and B and so on. Most of the time they are open until 9pm
Contrary to France, selling alcohol is not allowed in department stores. You’ll find some special shops dedicated to alcohol named: “System Bolaget” (logo green and yellow). They are everywhere in Sweden. Open hours are restricted: From Monday to Friday: From 9am to 6 pm, Saturday from 9am to 3pm!! And CLOSED on Sunday.You can buy beer in department stores but the alcohol contain will never be more than 3,2%...
The first word you need to learn in Sweden is “FIKA” that mean’s a brake. It’s a very popular word every Swed loves that. The most popular cake during a “FIKA” is Kannelbulle cake (with cinnamon). At the hospital coffee, chocolate or tea is FREE for medical and non-medical staff! :)
The touristic center of Stockholm is named Gamla Stan (= old town). Sightseeing of this area is amazing (at least the first time, sometimes it can be too much touristic), it’s got a special atmosphere :)
For shopping I suggest the big streets close to T-Centralen (Drottninggatan for example) or close to Slussen. You can find the most popular shops like H&M, Alhens, Raw, Björn borg, Stadium, Ginatricot and more.If you prefer a short walk in nature I suggest you to go on one of the 14 islands named Djugarden. It’s very closed to the center. You can achieve it by boat from Slussen (free with your SL card). There are a lot of museums there and some paths to go for a walk just by the water or in parks. It looks like countryside but in fact you are in the city center.
As other capital cities Stockholm provides trendy bars, nightclubs, concert halls, opera, theater, cinemas, museums, shopping and so on.Should you like carousels and Attraction Park, you will love the one on Djugarden-island (open in summer only). Its name: GRÜNA LUND (Tivoli). Very expensive (40€ a whole day unlimited) but super to spend time with friends. Located not far from the middle of Stockholm, you can’t miss it!
Don’t hesitate to visit ARCHIPELAGO. It is a group of 80 islands North-east of Stockholm. You can reach them by boat or by bus or …by both!Also visit SIGTUNA (first settlement in old Sweden), GÖTEBORG (large industrial South-West of Sweden), MALMÖ, LUND and the south of Sweden that you can reach by train (look at he SJ railways company’s web site)Have a look to UPPSALA, a student town 40 km north of Stockholm: don’t miss the spring party, named “Valborg”, when the students celebrate their “graduation”.
Take the ferry for a tour to visit other Scandinavian countries (Finland with Helsinki, Norway with Oslo, Estonia with Tallinn, Latvia with Riga, Lithuania with Vilnius, Russia with St Petersburg)Viking line, Tallinn line, St Petersburg line are the main ferry lines.Stay up to date with the students’ parties week-end that take place on board: a must !If you book in advance the price for a round trip with cabin (beds) might be as cheap as 10€. Good, isn’t it?