Wednesday 4 March 2009

Spårvägsmuseet - Stockholm Transport Museum

Kieran's birthday falls in the Winter Sports Holidays (which is always week 9 or the last week of Feb) so we headed off this year to the Transport Museum - being the lover of all things on wheels or tracks that he is.

I have heard both good and bad about this place and you definitely get the impression that is was formerly a storage house for a bunch of old state-owned vehicles. It is however without doubt a fabulous place for kids and train enthusiasts.

For a measly 30kr (free for kids) you could spend hours there letting the kids explore the old trains, trams and buses. Many of them can be boarded, some have simulators so you can see what it is like to drive the train through the subway stations of Stockholm. There is also a beautiful range of antique trains, trams and buses set in the scenes of their heyday.

A relatively well equipped cafe means you can have a light lunch or coffee/tea/hot choc/juice with something sweet. It is self-service and you pay at the desk on your way out (only in Sweden!!). Swedes are very honest people.

They have tried to make it as interactive a possible with, for example, conductor/driver clothes to dress up in.

Tickets please!
Free admission into the adjoining Toy Museum is also included (not sure you would want to pay for this one) which is someone's, or several people's, collection of old toys. Undoubtedly it brings back memories for many visitors and the kids enjoy the electric train sets and making up a wish list as they go along looking at the collections.

The highlight was, without doubt, the little train ride that went through the museum which cost an extra 10kr each.
After all the activities and exploring we went into the workshop and participated in the school holiday program. For 10kr each child they could use wooden blocks to build their own engine and there was plenty of material to then paint and decorate the masterpieces.

We finished just in time as they were closing and headed home taking the ferry across to Hammarby Sjöstad and then on to Tvärbanan. I think we went on almost every mode of transport possible getting there and back - almost. But then the day was about trains, trams and buses so what else could you expect?

Going across on the ferry was the last thing Kieran remembered before falling asleep. The day wore him out so much he slept through dinner and we had to save his birthday cake for the next day - but at least we know he enjoyed himself!

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