This summer, I found myself on a boat deep in the Stockholm Archipelago, dancing (rather, lurching) to ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” when the playlist faltered. A collective groan emanated from those in my Stockholm Pride group who were on deck. The music from the Swedish pop star playlist dropped back in, and we let out a “Weeee,” threw our arms in the air, and kept dancing as we hurtled toward the island of Finnhamn.
There, we dined alfresco in a quaint spot overlooking the sea before a stroll through the woods to an inlet where I kayaked in the Baltic. Bobbing there, a world away from my home in Los Angeles, I experienced true calm as a queer person for the first time since the inauguration last January. Each outing curated by our hosts, LGBT Stockholm in collaboration with Visit Stockholm, was tailor-made for LGBTQ+ people.
Lunch on the island of FinnhamnCourtesy
Five days earlier, I arrived at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden and boarded the Arlanda Express for a 20-minute journey to Stockholm Central Station. Just lolling on the train watching the Swedish countryside roll by kick-started my sense of calm. From there, I taxied to my boutique hotel, Villa Dahlia, on the outskirts of the Tegnérlunden park.
Following a needed afternoon slumber, our group gathered at Rosendals Trädgard on the island of Djurgården for a multicourse meal paired with wine. Formerly the royal family’s hunting grounds, the garden boasts a farm-totable experience. There, our group of queer journalists, influencers, and travel industry folks initiated a bond that would carry us through our trip and over WhatsApp messages for months to come.
Pride view from the Hotel Kung Carl in central Stockholm.Courtesy
What better way is there to begin a day than at ABBA the Museum? Our first full day began on Djurgården with a tour of the space dedicated to all things ABBA. A faux recording booth allowed me to test my vocals on “The Winner Takes It All.” For musical theater lovers, the museum even has a section dedicated to ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’s Chess, a favorite musical of mine. From there, it was a short walk to the Vasa Museum to view the 17th-century warship that sank in Stockholm Harbor, an artifact I didn’t realize I needed to see until I took in its ornate beauty.
A short ferry ride from nearby Gröna took us to the LGBTQ-owned and -run Hotel Skeppsholmen on Skeppsholmen Island, where we once again dined alfresco. Sated from lunch, we boarded a shuttle to Drottningholm Palace. Our guide tailored the tour to queer interests, regaling us with tales of Sweden’s queer rulers, like Queen Christina and King Gustav V. The following day, we toured the Royal Palace, where we admired Christina’s throne.
Later, we posed under the rainbow mural at Stadion T-bana in Stockholm’s subway for a group photo. It was Pride, after all. A cocktail-making class at Hellstens Glashus was a primer for the evening. The hotel bar boasts exposed bedrock that is thousands of years old. Dinner at The Hills combined French food with Scandinavian favors and a global list of organic wines. The evening closed out with a cocktail at the rooftop Pelago, offering a 360-degree view of Stockholm. Apparently, there was an underwear party that night that some of the fellas attended. I failed to bring my going-out skivvies and opted for a solid night of sleep.
Nils Sjögren’s Systrarna statue depicts a pair of lesbian lovers from 1911 who died when they could not be together. Courtesy
Our Friday began at the Royal Palace, followed by fika (the Swedish tradition of taking a coffee and pastry break to socialize) at Chokladkoppen, the first business in Stockholm to fly the Pride fag, beginning in 1997. Our server, in short shorts despite the rainy, chilly summer day, served us coffee and cinnamon buns, though I discovered my real affinity is for cardamom buns.
A wet stroll through the Old Town (Gamla Stan), where our guide added queerish details like places where The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was shot, led us to Benny Andersson’s Hotel Rival in the Södermalm District. Soon we were of on a golf cart tour through the area, where we viewed Nils Sjögren’s Systrarna statue, commissioned by the city of Stockholm, that depicts a pair of lesbian lovers from 1911 who died when they could not be together. Nearby, a plaque commemorates the life of queer Swedish actress Greta Garbo, who portrayed Queen Christina in the 1933 film. A crosswalk signal I’d run across that afternoon depicted two women holding hands. At a time when queer lives are being erased in the United States, Stockholm felt like home.
Afternoon cocktails at the gay bar Replik flowed into dinner in a rotunda over the water at the queer-welcoming Mälarpaviljongen. After days of travel and revelry, I could have turned in at Villa Dahlia satisfied. But LGBT Stockholm cofounder Christina Guggenberger insisted I attend that evening’s sapphic Pride Party, Moxy, at Nalen. It’s a cavernous venue that housed more sapphics than I’ve ever seen in my long lesbian life. Jaw-dropped by the sheer number of queer women and nonbinary folks, I danced to Robyn, ABBA, and Icona Pop. I even made a special friend for the weekend while dancing to “I Love It.”
Tracy E. GilchristCourtesy Stockholm Pride
From a bird’s-eye view at Hotel Kung Carl in central Stockholm, we watched the Pride parade. I hooted and hollered and painted my arms with rainbow crayons as trans and rainbow fags rippled in the wind below me. As is common at Stockholm Pride, the parade is immersive, and the crowd often jumps in and marches along. Before long, the street was wall-to-wall with people celebrating queer lives. Our ofcial Pride culminated that evening at Pride Park dancing at the silent disco.
Following a dip in the Baltic, on our way back to the city through the archipelago, we were treated to a Swedish sauna and a traditional crayfish party, replete with rousing drinking songs accompanied by powerful shots of akvavit at Hotel J in Nacka. We cheered, sang, and raised a glass to Stockholm.
Skäl to Stockholm, the open city, where I let my guard down for the first time in months.
This press trip was funded by LGBT Stockholm and Visit Stockholm.
