Stockholm

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<map lat='59.325' lng='18.07' zoom='11' view='0' country='Sweden' float='right'/> Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, as well as the largest city, situated along the south-central east coast of the country. The city itself spreads out quite far into several districts and suburbs, with a large and complex public transportation system. There is also an active harbour located within the city-center (near the old city, Gamla Stan, and the Slussen T-bana (subway)) from which cruise ships enter and leave to other major cities in the region. It was once thought possible to hitchhike the large commercial carrier trucks entering these cruise ships but many drivers will tell you that it is illegal and will advise you to buy a passenger ticket instead. Unlike some other ferries in Europe where tickets are purchased per car, passengers on these ferries are required to pay individually.

Hitchhiking out

North

  • An excellent spot for northbound traffic is the Shell gas station close to Upplands Väsby. You can get to Upplands Väsby by commuter train (takes around 20-30 min), then find a bus 568 to the end station Löwenströmska Sjukhuset. When at the end bus stop, cross over the parking lot and follow the path along E4 motorway, then you will see the gas station (there is also a McDonalds there). Many go to Arlanda or Uppsala, but there is enough traffic going up north too.
  • Another option is to take a commuter train (Pendeltåg) to Märsta. Then get out of the station through the little swing door that you see on your left side when walking towards the station house. Turn left and walk South along the railroad until there is a bridge which crosses rails on your left side. You can start hitchhiking on the other side of the bridge. Most drivers who will pick you up will most likely go to Arlanda airport. In this case, get out of their car at the roundabout by the E4. (You can also walk this roundabout while hitching, it's 1-2 km.) Walk up to the Uppsala entrance and stand right behind the pedestrian crossing. According to some folks, this is a truly magical spot where waiting times hardly ever exceed 10 minutes. Do not accept a ride shorter than to Uppsala. In July 2008 guaka found out though that it is not such a great spot after all, almost no traffic and it took an hour or so to get a ride. Liftarkungen have several times started hitchhiking from Märsta, but is hitchhiking from the stoplights before the bridge in order to get a ride to the roundabout mentioned earlier, which surely is a great hitchhiking spot, especially during daylight.
  • You can also begin at Vener Gren Center in the North of Stockholm. On Sveavägen, just before the bend that leads to the E4, there's a traffic light, above the bridge for pedestrians. Just before this traffic light, there is a bus stop, where you can start hitchhiking, the cars are not fast because of the traffic light, and have a lot of space to stop.

South-west towards Malmö/Denmark

Take the T-bana (metro) towards Norsborg and get out at Hallunda (last but one), then walk down the Tre Kallors väg and you will find a good spot with a petrol station. A lot of cars are going South all the way to Denmark.

Take the commuter train to "Södertälje Hamn". After coming out of the station house, turn to the right and walk South along the E4/E22 until you come to a tunnel that goes under the motorway. Walk through this tunnel and then take to the right; walk North along the motorways until you come to the place where E20 from the west merges into E4 South. On this stretch of road you have perhaps the best chance of getting South from Stockholm. You are technically not allowed to stand there so the police might ask you to leave, but it is a safe place, so don't feel bad about it. You should wait for a car that goes at least all the way to Norrköping, but if you are very impatient, Nyköping might also do.

Loads of trucks leaving from Västberga industrial area, where many trucking companies are located. DHL has a huge terminal there. Trucks leave from 15.00 and on, all evening, to destinations such as Gothenburg, Malmö, Helsingborg but also northbound and westbound. Also south to continental Europe. "Transportledet" is a big operator for DHL. Take metro to "Midsommarkransen" or "Telefonplan" and get south of the motorway E4 and you will find Västberga.

Many trucks also depart (afternoons and evenings) from the slaughterhouse district ("Slakthusområdet") which is close to the "Globen" or "Ericsson Globe"). South of metro-station "Gullmarsplan".

In Bromma, just south of the Airport of Bromma, there is the "G P LAST" trucking company. They have 15-25 trucks departing for Malmö in the very south of Sweden daily, and are reputed to be friendly.

Further out in Spånga, there is a huge SCHENKER terminal, with many trucks going daily to all major cities in Sweden. E.g. Hägerstens åkeri traffic Göteborg.

You can also take the free of charge Ikea bus to Kungens Kurva (it even has free wi-fi!). You find the bus schedule from the Ikea website. The web page is only in Swedish, but it says the buses go once an hour, first 10:00 and the last 19:00. The bus leaves from Vasagatan 18, wich is near to the main train station. When the bus gets to Ikea Kungens Kurva, there's a petrol station on the other side of the motorway. Walk behind Ikea and you find a pedestrian tunnel going across the motorway. The petrol station is a pretty good spot to hitchhike. We noticed a little problem there, though. The motorway splits up in Södertälje to E4 southward and E20 westward, 30km from Kungens Kurva. Depending on which way you want to go, it's a good idea to catch a ride straight to the direction where you need to. It's impossible and dangerous to hitchhike where the two motorways split, people drive too fast.

Towards Gothenburg

If you're going to Gothenburg you can go on either the E20 (which is the same road you'd take to Oslo) or the E4 and then road 40 after Jönköping. Even though the E20 is slightly shorter there's a lot of people who take the E4 + 40 to Gothenburg. If you hitchhike before the E20 and E4 splits (about 30 km from Stockholm) you're covering both options! One good spot is Kungens kurva just next to Ikea. It's marked in the hitchwiki map and described in the Malmö/Denmark section above.

West towards Karlstad/Oslo

Take the commuter-train to Bålsta (Or: take the train to Kungsängen, and hitchhike on Enköpingsvägen to Bålsta) and walk 1,5 km to the place where Enköpingsvägen crosses the motorway. On this spot you should be able to go at least to Enköping, where state road 70 goes north east to Dalarna, and E18 continues towards Karlstad and Oslo.

Long Distance

When coming from Finland by ferry Dante realized that hitchhiking at the exit of the ferry terminal is a great way of getting a ride with cars doing long distance travel directly towards Denmark, Germany, and further. Dante got a ride straight to Belgium from there.

Cars come out of the boat slowly, and you have time to approach a car with a non-Swedish number plate.

The Viking Line ferries are the cheapest. If you only buy a ticket to Åland and then don't get off, it's cheaper, and you can continue all the way to Finland. The tickets are never checked once on board. Once on board no one ever asks for your ticket, considering that you don't draw attention to yourself. On deck 2(anchor deck) there are freely accessible showers. Also, there is a quiet place on the floor to sleep down there, away from all the drunks. .

Viking Line Timetable and prices: http://www.vikingline.fi/timetables/timetables/timetables/

Useful Things

Free lockers can be found at the modern museum. The University provides you with rather cheap coffee, maybe also with free lockers, and at least at the Kungliga tekniska högskolan you can get free Internet access. Ask for the library, and at the desk ask for a guest account. You can also find Internet access at the city libraries and at the other Universities.


trash:Stockholm