Travel: Are you a Super Trouper fan of ABBA? Check out this tour of ABBA The Museum

It's barely 10 on a warm spring morning in Stockholm and already the crowds are lined outside a square ochre building in Royal Djurgarden, or King’s Island, a pleasant walk from downtown.  

The queue is a diverse bunch, from early twentysomethings to well-established baby boomers, but despite the age differences, they share an eagerness that engenders a happy ambiance, just like the foursome who drove them here.

The pilgrims have come from far and wide to worship at the shrine of a musical group that split up in 1983 but refuses to quit brainworming anyone who listens to the band's collection of feel-good hits.

We’re talking about ABBA and the ABBA The Museum. After more than 30 years, Stockholm still remains ABBA Central, and the museum is a must-do for anyone who can’t help but boogie to the “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” Super Trouper” and the many other ABBA hits.

“We’re a destination in Stockholm,” said Miia Lee, chief commercial officer at the museum.  

The museum offers an interactive and in-depth look at the foursome, from their childhoods to their individual achievements to the perfect click that happened when Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida ran off with the Eurovision Song Contest prize in 1974.

Their glittery and now delightfully vintage costumes are there, as are spot-on life-sized figures of the fantastic four. The highly interactive museum will allow you, if you either have an untouchable sense of self-dignity or none whatsoever, to sing along with ABBA avatars to see how you measure up.

You can also record with ABBA. Both experiences are fun, yet humbling, for most folks, and serve to better explain the talent of the group that keeps on going. Spoiler alert: The boys and girls have decided to join forces again to release a couple of new songs and they will go on tour, in avatar version, to several cities around the world.

If a red phone at the museum rings, better pick it up, for one of the group members is actually on the other line and wants to chat with you. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s enough to make an Abba fan’s heart palpitate.

Those who met ABBA through “Mamma Mia” movies will zero in on the temporary exhibition about the two hit films, where they will find the costumes worn by the original legacy stars and by the talented newcomers such as Lily James.

Voulez-vous ABBA memorabilia and paraphernalia? The well-stocked gift shop carries pretty much anything ABBA-inspired, including Agnetha’s legendary clochette, which sells for under $20 U.S. dollars (a bargain, given prices in Sweden).

Diehard Abbardians can extend the experience into several days by checking into the adjoining Pop House Hotel, owned by Bjorn himself. Several of the 49 rooms are decorated in Abba-related themes, such as the much sought-after Abba Gold room and the Mamma Mia suite, complete with grapevines and rustic Greek taverna table. The rates are reasonable, considering prices in Scandinavia and the uniqueness of accommodations. Show your ABBA The Museum ticket at the Pop House restaurant and receive 15 percent off the lunch menu.

If you’re still Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! for more ABBA, book a table at “Mamma Mia! The Party,” an interactive dining experience that places guests right in the midst of Niko’s Taverna for a boisterous evening of Mediterranean dishes and libations, plus singing and dancing, of course.

When you finally do need a break, andante, andante to the rest of King’s Island, where you are within walking distance of the charming open-air museum known as Skansen, a microcosm of Sweden with 150 farms and dwellings transported from all around the country.

Also within walking distance in the Royal National City Park is the awe-inspiring Vasa Museum, home to the 226-foot, ill-fated Swedish warship that was to be King Gustav Adolphus’ maritime expression of power, until the handsome but bottom-heavy Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Intact, it rested in Stockholm’s harbor for 333 years, when it was brought back to the surface. The harbor’s waters preserved 98 percent of the ship, now an unforgettable reminder that it is best to plan, plan, plan before getting caught up in the excitement of building.

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Additional attractions in King’s Island include the compact but thrill-packing Grona Lund amusement area, the humongous Nordic Museum, plus a host of green spaces and people-watching options by the harbor. When it is time to venture further, the rest of Stockholm is just a bridge away.

As a base for exploring the pleasures of Stockholm, you can’t go wrong with ABBA The Museum and the Pop House Hotel, where there is definitely something in the air that will make you feel the beat of the tambourine.

For more details, see abbathemuseum.com and visitstockholm.com.     

Sonnenberg is a Melbourne-based freelance writer