Time Out ruins a date with Pippi Longstocking

There we were in Stockholm‘s Hedengrens bookstore, the 2 ½ year old boy at my side demanding that we leave “Right now!” But I really wanted to obtain a guidebook, and I had a few to choose from -- Rough Guide, Fodor‘s, Lonely Planet and Time Out. Which would it be? “We not moving, we not moving!” the little guy began to whine. The pressure was on. How to decide?

I used a Rough Guide once, in Japan, I think, but vaguely recalled it as being second-rate. Maybe they’re better now, who knows. Fodor’s has always struck me as mainly a souvenir; lots of pretty pictures, but not sufficiently full of information.

Using a Lonely Planet guide is like going to McDonald’s, even if just to use the restroom: It deserves a certain grudging respect, and everyone has to do it at some time or another, but it’s embarrassing to be seen in the act, and should be avoided when possible.

That left the Time Out. I’d had such good luck with London guide in my year in that city that when I moved to Paris, I more or less learned the Parisian guide by heart. So I felt pretty safe in choosing their Stockholm book, especially since, with a publishing date of 2005, it was the newest of the lot.

Bad choice. I was buying the guide for two reasons: one, to learn about the city for the sake of learning; the other, reason, though, was to immediately find something memorable to do with my son that very day, as we were leaving in the morning and wouldn‘t have another chance at the glories of the city. That’s where Time Out Stockholm let me down.

I had heard that the Junibacken, or Pippi Longstocking, museum was Sweden’s best museum for children (they say so themselves), and that was backed up by Time Out. In a country with the kind of weather Sweden has, there has to be something special for kids to do indoors, and the Junibacken has a train, a theatre, a kid-friendly restaurant and everything you ever wanted to know about Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren, who wrote the Pippi books, helped to set up the museum). But, as in most European cities, many Stockholm museums are closed on Monday, and I wanted to check before basing our very limited schedule on the Junibacken. It was Monday. Sitting in the café after having purchased my Time Out, I quickly consulted the chapter on kids. I emphasize “quickly.” My son has an attention span that lasts approximately the time it takes him to put away a little croissant. Voila! Right there on page 189: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, September - May. Decision made, no time to waste, off we go.

With a little help from the friendly locals, we were soon on our way, timing our arrival for about 11 a.m., time to wander around a bit before having a leisurely lunch, I figured, then time for a little more wandering before heading back in time for the dreaded 2 p.m. nap deadline. Any later and my offspring would turn into a little monster.

Of course, the museum was closed. The website shows that it’s closed Monday all year around, except June, July and August (the good weather months? go figure). Fortunately, the Vasa Museum, just down the road, was open. I have no complaints about this place, where a fully intact 17th century ship is on display indoor. It’s truly fascinating -- for adults. The little guy enjoyed it for a few minutes, but then he lost it. Maybe it was a little too spooky inside that dark and cavernous building.

Moral of this sad story: While the Web has made it possible to get by without a guidebook, they are still nice to have, and they don’t require electricity. But when you have a kid in tow, or only one day in town, doublecheck on the phone or the Web.