It was the Old Town’s intriguing skyline of black-roofed, yellow, red and green buildings that got me started on this unhurried, soaking-in-history, 3 hour walk around tiny Gamla Stan on a sunny, summer afternoon.
I knew where to start from. Stepped out of the metro station, turned left, gave the postal museum a miss (today is not museum day) and walked straight ahead to find this circular courtyard. I couldn’t quite decide if the housing was old or new.
But when I walked into the narrow alley on the opposite side, I knew I was walking into history. 
It was Stenbastugränd, the oldest street in Stockholm. The street itself, extremely narrow, is paved with stone slabs in the centre and cobble stones on the sides.
I found one of the iron doors in the street open. A smart landlord had rented the basement of this old building to a tattoo parlour. Down the staircase, I went, into a dimly lit cavernous room. The floors and ceilings were uneven and the room didn’t really have any particular shape. Just some random divisions. The owner took one look and guessed I wasn’t potential business and went right back to his customer sitting in front of him after an effusive greeting.After a quick unauthorised tour in that basement, I walk out of ___ and into Vastalagatan, easily the most busiest of shopping areas for tourists. While the upper half of the buildings, on either side of the road, have all maintained their ancient facades, the lower half is all converted into shops. What struck me were the doors, all of them in its ancient glory.
The entire street has souvenir shops selling some interesting things. The ones that I found most appealing were a reindeer bookmark made from leather, a little doll dressed up in the Swedish national costume of yellow and blue, sitting on a Dala horse (perfect gift! Can't get any Swedish than this!) and a Batik printed (yes, yes!) reindeer wall hanging. (Perfect Indian-Swedish mix, huh?). There was one particular shop, that looked less cluttered and had a lot more things that I'd want to buy (you'll have to leave your email on the comment section for the name of the shop. We don't want free advertisement, you see!). And if you are a collector, there are 2 shops that might interest you. There was one shop which was selling handmade greeting cards with embossed dolls wearing the different regional costumes of Sweden. (Reminded me of how we wear the Sari in different parts of India). Real cloth had been used to make these dolls. The 2nd shop sells photos of Old cities, mostly Stockhoolm. The prices are affordable and will cost you a lot less than what you'd have to shell out for a tiny Dala horse.
There was a shop selling Trolls which totally brought a smile to my face! There was even a life-sized witch doll sitting at an antique sewing machine, complete with a crooked nose and pointed hat! Hey, aren't Trolls associated with Iceland?
You can even get your caricature or portrait made for a couple of hundred kroners while you are shopping.
Btw, I discovered a 2nd hand, comic book shop in one of the many narrow alleys, off Vastagatan. What would have otherwise turned into a messy storehouse, now, has entire wall shelves of old Comic books. All of them Swedish and all of them quite old. You can buy a copy for 10kr.
Btw, what really was interesting about Gamla Stan were the alleys themselves. They seemed a piece of art. Some of them like the Kåkbrinken were a steep climb, some had rows of steps that led to a higher street, some led you down street level, into spaces that have been converted to restaurants and some with low roofs leading to the waterfront. On a wintery day, this place could be the perfect setting for a Harry Potter movie.
After the amazing maze of narrow alleys, I take a quick peek into Den Gyldene Freden, apparently one the oldest restaurants in the area dating back to 1722. This is when I turned into Österlånggatan that leads to the Royal Palace.
I’m gonna skip the royal palace for another day. Time to head home.
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