Stockholm - Little City Slickers
Kids love it in the countryside. That's just the way it is. Close to cows, cute little cottages and lakes full of fish. Where there's always a friend at the neighbours' and the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns. In the countryside, there's always a grown-up who has the time. And mom and dad are at home no later than 5.30.
But hey, wait a minute. Is that really so? On the countryside it's hard to get a job and to get everything going. And maybe there are no kids around at all, since nativity often is really low. Imagine there's only one kid around, one that your kid doesn't want to play with.
Thank God for the city. Here's everything a kid could need: lots of different friends, movies, stands with magazines from all over the world, museums, kid theatre. And even if citymom and citydad stay a little longer at work, they have no commuting time - there's no one hour ride to and from work.
And honestly - do the kids really need that wood full of berries and mushrooms every day? Isn't it enough with a nice big park? With a playground and toys. And lots of other kids that live close by. Maybe there's a little pond to splash around. And when that is done, you could walk home in two minutes. And watch cows on TV or play some GameBoy.
Obviously I don't have a clue what I'm writing about. Because Stockholm is no real big city. With its one million inhabitants quite spread out, all of its water, its parks and its clean air, the feel of the countryside is never far away.
I always thought citykids are a little cooler. Streetsmart. Not all that blue eyed. They understand that they can't just obey any order. They think for themselves, analyse. A good ground for growing up to a thinking person.
And isn't the countryside full of invisible dangers? To grow up where everybody drive the same cars and live in stereotype houses with stereotype gardens and the same fear for anything that breaks the pattern - that can't be very much of a start, can it? Or maybe it can, maybe it can create tons of imagination.
Anyway, in the city there's a lot of different people and different family constructions, without anyone being pointed out as strange. Every hobby is near, even if it's fending or collecting sibirian stamps. Just go a couple of subway stations, and you are there.
The city is a good start for a free mind. Is there any greater gift for your child?
Anders Lidzell
Stockholm for Kids
Tekniska Museet
Tekniska Museet. Airplane cockpits, robots, games, and two enormous playrooms built on the laws of physics. Cool! Website: www.tekniskamuseet.se. Address: Museivägen 7. Phone: 450 56 06. Open: wed-su 11-17.
Moderna Museet.
Modern art of course, but also a playing room, and a painting room with great teachers. Be there early if you want to paint ! Website: www.modernamuseet.se. Address: Skeppsholmen. Phone: 519 552 00. Open: tue-we 10-12, thur-su 10-18.
Cosmonova
Exciting films Sweden's biggest planetarium and only IMAX-cinema. Website: www.cosmonova.se. Address: Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Frescativägen 40. Phone: 519 540 00. Open: tue, wed,fri 10-19, thu 10-20, sat,su 11-19.
Go fishing in the city
The water of Stockholm is so clean you can cath salmon in the middle of the city. Try one of the bridges by the Riksdag, or the bridge that leads to Skeppsholmen and Moderna Museet. Open: 24 h.
4 H-farm at Stora Skuggan
Just outside the city kids can meet horses, pigs, hens, rabbits and a lot more. Have a coffee in the garden café close by. Website: www.4h.se. Address: Stora Skuggans väg 40. Phone: 16 62 06.
Junibacken
This is a story- and adventurehouse built on swedish childrens books. Take the story train and feel the tears when you pass the Lionheart brothers. Website: www.junibacken.se. Address: Galärsvarvsvägen. Phone: 587 230 20. Open: tue-su 10-17.
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