Day 18-20: Scandinavian Adventure

Day 1 - Stockholm

It was another early morning flight to somewhere quite mysterious for me – Stockholm! Who would have thought 2 months ago I’d be venturing to the Nordic Scandinavian lands? To the land of Ikea, ABBA, Volvo & Vikings – that was the extent of my knowledge of anything Swedish. Yes, it’s rather pathetic, but when you live down-under there is only so much of Sweden you are exposed to!

The plane landing into Stockholm airport was just a beautiful sight! Not quite the mountainous Switzerland but you could see endless green fields. It was simple and charming at the same time. Loved the Swedish design and their airport! Caught the Airport express (Arlanda Express) to Central Station in 20 minutes! There was the option to bus it for half the price and twice the travel time…but I just had to test out their rail system. We were staying at the Sheraton Stockholm, and on the map it looked quite close to Central Station…but, my gosh when you are carrying approx 30kg’s of luggage that 5-10 minute walk felt like 20!!

After settling into the hotel and watching some TV (hey at least in Sweden they don’t dub any English-speaking programs!) I spent the afternoon strolling around Gamla Stan (Old Town)…I didn’t actually realize where I was as I walked out of the hotel without a map. I intended to just get out of the hotel to get my bearings and directions right. Soon I realized I had walked into tourist territory as evidenced by numerous antique and souvenir shops and people walking around in groups carrying cameras! There’s something positively fun about just aimlessly wondering in a foreign city…I guess its clear that you are removed from reality, the comfort zone you have always known and that becomes exciting! I just loved being in the presence of travelers, to be amongst a sea of people from all corners of the earth, yet to be walking alone at the same time.

Gamla Stan is the oldest part of Stockholm…and where Stockholm basically originated. It houses buildings from the 16^th-19^th Century, so as you might imagine, just by walking on the cobbled paths and small alleyways, you feel like you have been transported to a different period…and for me, I try to imagine all those Grimm Brothers fairytales and what it might have been like! (Even though I know the Grimm brothers were German! And basically none of their stories were set in Scandinavia!)

Gamla Stan is one of the best preserved medieval cities!

Once the weather started looking a bit…unpromising, I decided to head back to the hotel, quite satisfied with my little exploration! By then my Dad had arrived in Stockholm, and it was almost time for dinner. We had the most un-Swedish cuisine of all – Mongolian! That was upon my father’s recommendation as he was again craving some Asian food and figured it was good value for money! It was! The Mongolian place was packed! It was buffet style menu so you could go create your own dish as many times as you wanted. Unfortunately I can no longer eat quite as much as the good ol’ teenage years (am I getting that old already?) so 2 rounds of food and I was full! Unfortunately for us the weather was rather miserable so I settled back into the hotel for more TV and sleeping!

Day 2 – Stockholm by Boat

As we were waiting for our boat tour - we saw what looked like a Swedish army/band heading towards the royal palace. Certainly made our Saturday morning more eventful!

In case you didn’t know, Stockholm is also called “Venice of the North”. So the best way to see Stockholm in all its beauty is actually to go on a boat tour. We took a 1 hour cruise - The Royal Canal Tour - during midday to discover the Stockholm archipelago. Luckily the boat ride was fully covered as the weather still wasn’t looking too promising! The tour was conducted via an audio guide headset…but I guess even if you were not listening to it…it was good to just look out the window and admire the scenery. The boat went past many sites including the Vasa Museum (which I so wanted to visit but ran out of time in the end! I have to leave something for another visit right? That's how I am justifying missing the museum to myself!) – the Vasa Museum houses one of the Vasa warships that was lying in mud for centuries before they pulled it out of Stockholm harbour and restored it and made a museum of it! It also passed through many of the beautiful parklands.

Stockholm Sightseeing Boat tour - the grand building in the pic is the Royal Palace

Parkland views from the boat tour

And here in lies the beauty of Stockholm – it is a modern city with beautiful lakes and parklands, yet is surrounded by so much history and influences of modern culture! It’s hard to grasp this concept. I found a quote by Inger Berman about Sweden which are the sentiments I felt:

“It is ridiculous to think of itself as a city. It is simply a rather large village, set in the middle of some forest and some lakes. You wonder what it thinks it is doing there, looking so important”

Day 2 afternoon was spent in the National Museum (what better way to spend a rainy day but in a Museum?) and is apparently Sweden’s largest art museum. Whilst it may not be as grand or impressive as those in New York or Paris…it certainly did not lack any of the big name European artists including Renoir, Degas, Goya, Rubens, Rembrandt etc. One of my favourite exhibitions was on Swedish 20^th Century design! Loved it so much! It was simple…had an IKEA feel to it but was just so much better. It’s funny how my dad managed to walk through that exhibition in 5 minutes and I was there looking at items one by one for a good 30 mins! It featured all sorts of Swedish furniture and industrial design pieces. Even the original concept of SAS airlines inflight food utensils! And lots of beautiful glassware as well.

Swedish by Design

Another highlight was one of the temporary exhibitions – A Mirror of Nature. Nordic Landscapes. 1840-1910.

With so much written about Italian, French and Spanish art, it was refreshing to see these remarkable Nordic Landscapes – and just how calming and soothing it is to look at dramatic landscape paintings to those that are subdued and peaceful. The exhibit was cleverly grouped thematically by Nordic Sublime, Close to Nature, In the Open Air, Evocative Landscape and Landscapes of the Mind, to reflect the historical development of landscape paintings from the heroic, romantic wildernesses of the 1840s to the dreamy, inward-looking mental landscapes of the turn of the century. Unforunately, I was told off for taking photos half way through going through the museum (I was never told off anywhere else!) So I don’t have photos of the remarkable paintings I saw from this exhibition.

In the late arvo, I took another stroll around Gamla Stan and particularly to the surrounding Royal Palace. The weather was rather chilly, and still rather unpredictable, but I took a chance anyway, just cuz my time was limited! This time my walk to Gamla Stan was more 'researched'...I bothered to figure out where the important buildings were - like the Parliament Building (Riksdagshuset), Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) & Cathedral (Storkyrkan). By the time I got to the Palace the tours were already over...but I managed to see the guards outside the palace! I must say for such a large Palace, it doesn't look as impressive as other European palaces with all the grandeur and excess...I guess Sweden being part of Scandinavia still has the 'simpleton' charm about it!

The Royal Palace

One minute I was in Medieval Stockholm...the next minute I stumbled upon Modern Stockholm without even realising it. I had walked way past where I originally began my journey and was getting rather confused! With all the water and bridges everywhere, I had forgot which bridge I crossed.Only later I realised I was back at Norrmalam...the commercial centre of the city...back to my familiar civiliation. The huge H&M store and a square full of people hanging out on a Saturday arvo with modern cafes and shops everywhere served as a friendly reminder :)

Again, we didn't venture very far at night due to the rain! So, we dined in the hotel restaurant just cuz it was convenient :P At least I had my Swedish meatballs...even if I had to order it from the kids menu!

Day 3 - Stockholm by Coach
After missing the morning coach tour organised by "Stockholm Sightseeing" the previous day, we made sure we got there early to not miss our tour! The 1.5 hour tour gave a good overview of the history of Stockholm and some of its famous buildings/sights. I guess the best way to show it is through some photos! The memorable part was stopping at Fjallgatan - where you could see Stockholm's scenery at its best! Buildings, waters, land and trees all in one view!

Images from the coach tour...as you may be able to tell - the weather cleared up!!




Once the tour ended, we made another stop to the Moderna Museet (Modern Museum)...it was within easy walking distance from where we were...and the walk to the museum was also a beautiful and peaceful walk. I thoroghly enjoyed the museum...I may not fully appreciate or understand Modern Art but I did enjoy the collection. I loved the Pop Art section - more Andy Warhol & Roy Lichtenstein works! I also tok the opportunity to read up on Pop Art whilst I was there - there's this part of the museum where you can just sit and read the various art books available!

The Modern Art version of the Vasa Ship that sank previously

The Arkitekturmuseet (Architecture Museum) is located just next door too...actually, from memory they are connected/interlinked...so again I spent quite a bit of time there looking at the various architectural models and writings. The great thing about Swedish museums is that almost everything is explained in English too! Read about Swedish architectural history and how the whole apartment complex living originated in Sweden too...plus heaps more! Fascinating stuff!

Next thing was getting to the airport and catching our flight to another beautifully scenic country - Switzerland!