25,000 Steps with a Canoe

With former pro skier Lisa Hörnblad as our local guide, we asked around. The answers were firm.
“No no. Only if you’re within 100 metres of water.”

“You need to see the sea.”

“Stureplan? Absolutely not.”

The rule was pretty simple: if you could see the water, you were in the clear. Any further inland, and it got… questionable.

So we walked. And walked. Dragging our canoe through the capital’s cobbled veins, down side streets, past startled locals and the comforting drift of lunch specials. Over 7 hours and 25,000 steps, the boat never touched water. Not yet. But just before sunset, it did. We launched it. Finally. The feeling was good. Not because we needed to paddle anywhere—but because we’d strived to.

The takeaway? Stockholm’s rules are strict, but strangely reasonable: proximity to water grants permission—to wear shorts and carry a canoe.