Stockholm syndrome

The once quiet cafeteria is quiet no longer and all of a sudden there is commotion as children drop everything and race to the escalator.

Some may not have understood the entire announcement in Swedish. But in the Children’s Museum or Junibacken, the word “Pippi” means one thing — a performance upstairs.
Soon they are staring at a reproduction of Pippi Longstocking’s Villekulla Cottage as an actress prances about in a colourful apron and orange wig. Large parts of her show revolve around confounding two “pirates” both of whom frequently burst into tears.
But parents travelling to Stockholm with children need not wail as the city offers plenty of activities for young and old, to your relief, and not all of them revolve around Pippi.
Many of the best attractions are in the Djurgarden Game Park. Djurgarden is one of the 14 islands over which Stockholm spans. In the mid 1990s, it was declared the world’s first national city park and has attracted many visitors since.
Nearby is the naval vessel Vasa. The galleon sailed on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628  a clear summer day. But due to a design error, the ship did not even make it out of the harbour, capsizing, sinking and drowning up to 50 crew. The ship was salvaged 333 years later and slowly dried out.
Today the Vasa has a place in the Vasamuseet. The ship’s measurements alone fascinate many visitors. It is 69 metres long and its hull has space for 64 cannons. The stern is 19 metres high. Four levels have been set up so that visitors can inspect the ship and its precision ornamentation from only a few metres away.
Such a story might kill most children’s urge to embark on a harbour tour. If not, there is a steamer that takes short trips from Djurgarden.
To learn about the everyday life of ancient Swedes, head to the Skansen Open Air Museum on Djurgarden. The park was opened atop a small hill at the end of the 19th century.
Children might be exhausted after their big day and fall asleep, but that doesn’t mean their parents can’t have fun. For something different, head to the Icebar, beside the train station. The bar is kept at a chilly minus 5 degrees Celsius. Chairs and drinking glasses are both made of ice. To keep queues under control, visitors are in theory asked to leave the Icebar after 45 minutes.

· Florian Oertel