My my, I don't mind saying that more than anything else, I wanted to visit the ABBA museum while I was in Sweden.
It turned out to be everything I'd hoped for and so much more. Today, months later, I think back often about this visit and feel so lucky I was able to experience it.
This is the ultimate mecca for anyone who grew up with the music of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and even those who didn't.
I guarantee you'll "Walk in, Dance out," just like the museum promises you will.
Here are 10 things to know about the ABBA museum or, as it's properly known, ABBA The Museum. Oh, and thank you for the music!
1. ABBA The Museum is an incredible interactive exhibition that opened in Stockholm in 2013. It's located on Djurgården, an island in Stockholm that is also home to a number of other attractions. To get here from the mainland, you'll take the Djurgården commuter ferry from the central quay at Slussen. The ferry is part of Stockholm’s public transport, meaning that all types of SL tickets are valid on board. The journey takes around 10 minutes.
5. Benny's Piano is a self-playing piano that is said to be linked to Benny's own piano in his home, and therefore plays when he does. I'm not sure if this is true or not, and it certainly didn't play when I was there. But it's still a fun story.
6. You can purchase an audio-guided tour, written by Catherine Johnson, the writer of the screenplay for Mamma Mia! But if you choose not to (I didn't), I think there's still so much to love here, including a section of the museum dedicated to the Mamma Mia! movies. For fans of Chess, there is also a section devoted to Chess the musical, with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Fans can enter this area and actually conduct music.
7. Get set to do ABBA karaoke! There are a few sound booths where your group can squeeze in to sing along to the ABBA song of your choice. There is a little ledge in the booth so you can perch your phone to capture it all on video. It's very humbling to try to sing along and realize how difficult it is to sing in tune with Agnetha and Anni-Frid's fabulous vocals.
8. In the ultimate in interactivity, visitors can even become the fifth member of ABBA by performing on a large stage together with gigantic holograms of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida. You can pick your song, and then sing and dance with them. It makes for great video! Pro tip: I didn't realize until near the end that I needed to look on the floor in front of me to see which dance steps to take to follow along with the band. Until I discovered this, I was just dancing randomly, because of course you can't see the holograms when you're up on the stage. Also: I'm five feet tall and I think the holograms must have been at least seven feet in height.
9. There is a beautiful restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating that is part of the museum. But if you find it pricey, as I did, head right next door to the cute little cafe that has much more reasonable prices.
10. There is a huge gift shop, and I'm here to tell you to bring your money, money, money! if you want to buy anything. I personally feel that if items were priced a bit lower at museum gift shops, more people would buy souvenirs. I would love to have come home with a replica of Agnetha's blue crochet hat, but I didn't want to pay 375 SEK, or $57 CAD.
0 comments