ABBA museum in Sweden

_{October 11th, 2020}

I recently got to spend a day in Stockholm, Sweden – a city that’s never been at the top of my list of places to visit, but should have been! Stockholm is definitely one of those underrated destinations that most tourists tend to overlook.

The city, gothic yet charming, encompasses 14 islands that are connected by ferries and sightseeing boats. One of the islands, Djurgården, is home to a variety of museums, the most famous one being the ABBA Museum.

Thanks to my parents, I’ve developed a taste for 70’s and 80’s rock and pop music at quite a young age. A few favourites are The Cranberries, U2 and The Carpenters, but my all time favourite is ABBA.

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  If you didn’t take a billboard pic, did you even go…?

One of my fondest childhood memories was singing along to ABBA on family road trips. Mom, dad, brother and sister stuffed into a sedan with three week’s luggage, groceries, beach equipment and sometimes even a few slaughtered chickens.

“Friday night and the lights are low…“

The 600km drive took up to 10 hours due to traffic and pitstops – oh, those glorious pitstops in the middle of nowhere with home made South African style snacks…

“My, my, how can I resist ya?”

We did this almost every year, and as much as these memories warm my heart, I recall the journey being quite tedious at the time. My brother suffered a couple nosebleeds after we’d fight over legroom, my mom would always be shouting at my dad for going too fast because she’s scared of car drives and my dad, well, he’s just impatient in general.

“Chiquitita tell me what’s wrong…“

The only thing that didn’t cause an argument, was ABBA.

“The winner takes it a-a-a-a-all!“

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  These wax figures look insanely real. Their eyes even look alive!

Not only did I listen, sing and dance to ABBA growing up, I also own the MAMMA MIA DVD which I’ve probably seen about 20 times, and I went to see the theatre production in 2015.

“Lay all your love on me… “

I don’t want to share too much about the museum tour, as I’m sure my fellow ABBA fans would love to go and discover it for themselves. A few things I really appreciated were elements of the MAMMA MIA movie set, the interactive dancing/recording stations, the clothes (of course) and the old red telephone which number is only known to the members ABBA – so if it rings, ABBA is calling!

“Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me!“

I spent about two hours there, but I’m sure it can turn into a whole afternoon activity if you’re with a group of friends who all know a questionable amount of ABBA lyrics (like me).

“Super trouper lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun, smiling, having fun, feeling like a number one!”

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  Donna’s Diary and actual script – MAMMA MIA

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  The old red telephone with a secret number only known to ABBA

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The ABBA museum is by far my favourite museum of all time. Partly because of how much fun I had there, and also because it brings back so many memories of time spent with the people that’s been in my life the longest, and who will always be there no matter what.

This post is dedicated to my mom, dad and brother: thank you for my childhood, I love and miss you guys so much! PS: My brother and I don’t have nosebleed fights anymore – he’s much bigger than me now!

“I can still recall our last summer, I still see it all. Walks along the Seine, laughing in the rain. Our last summer, memories that remain.”

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