Thursday, February 12, 2015

Unique Attractions of Stockholm // Basement Pubs from the 1300s

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Living only about an hour from Stockholm, I have had tons of opportunities to make it into the city. Each visit, one of my favorite things to do while exploring the city, and especially in the Gamla Stan (old city) is to find new basement pubs to enjoy. You might be wondering, what exactly is a basement pub? Well, many of the buildings in the Gamla Stan were originally constructed in the 1200s and 1300s. While the exterior structures have been reconstructed, the basements have remained for hundreds of years. Many of these basements have now been converted into unique restaurants and pubs, allowing guests the opportunity to enjoy a beverage in the same place that others have for hundreds of years. Often, these basement pubs are not really advertised; rather, you must search them out and look for restaurants that have them. Today, I am going to share just a couple of my favorite basement pubs in Stockholm!

"Medieval Tavern"
 The first basement pub I will share is Medeltidsrestaurangen Sjätte Tunnan. While my family visited in October, we spent the day in Stockholm checking out basement pubs. Despite arriving before they opened, we were graciously accepted in for a couple of cold beers. Sjätte Tunnan definitely has one of the coolest basements around Stockholm to explore!

medeltidskrog Stockholm
Nick and I
basement pubs of Stockholm
my Aunt, Mom, and brother at Medeltidskrog
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My absolute favorite basement pub (and the first I discovered!) is Kaffegillet. Kaffegillet is located right in the heart of the Gamla Stan, across from the Rikstelefon phone booth. Kaffegillet has been a restaurant for over 200 years, and the basement was constructed in the 1300s. On my last visit to Kaffegillet with my second cousin, we spoke to one of the workers who informed us that Kaffegillet was once connected through tunnels to the Stockholm Cathedral across the street.

Stockholm basement pubs
my family in a basement pub at The Liffey Irish Pub in January 2014
Two other great basement pubs I have discovered are the Liffey and Wirströms. Similar to the other basements shown above, each of these have been around for hundreds of years! Often, the doorways and ceilings are low enough that you cannot fully stand up (as soon below!)

way too tall for this doorway!
So, there you have it with just one more reason why you should visit Stockholm, because of the awesome pub culture! It is definitely a unique thing to do while in Stockholm. Personally, I love checking out places like these and thinking about all of the history. If those walls could talk, I bet they would have terrific stories!

6 comments:

  1. The basement pubs were awesome - I can't wait to come back and do another tour!🍻🍻

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    1. Well, go ahead and book a flight- almost playoff time and we'd love a visitor! ;)

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  2. Wish I could have seen these when we visited this past summer. We were only there for 2 nights, but I absolutely fell in love with Stockholm. Now I definitely have to go back just so I can check these out! Loved your post!

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    1. Thanks Kirsten! Hopefully you are able to head back and check out some of these pubs. They are all over the Gamla Stan, and so fun to visit!

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  3. These are SO COOL! That's awesome how old some of them go back and how they're like hidden gems. I'll hafta add some to my list next time I get back to Sweden (which I really hope happens!).

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    1. They are definitely cool to visit! I really love sitting and thinking about the history of the places- it is so cool how long they have been around! Especially when you compare them to our hangouts in the U.S.- none of which can even slightly compare!

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