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Stadsholmen

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    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 5

      Out and about in Stockholm

      June 29, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

      With the sun rising at 3.30am it is difficult to sleep in, although the teenager amongst us seems to be having no trouble. This morning we will collect our Stockholm pass and start seeing the sites further afield. Picking up our passes was a simple process, met a couple of Aussies from Vermont - Jeff and Peta - as we waited in line. First stop was The Royal Palace where we visited Tres Kronor Museum which gave us the history of the building of the palace, which suffered damage on multiple occasions due to fire. We then toured the Royal Apartments which were quite opulent but well preserved. We then toured the Livrustkammaren - where the Royal carriages are kept and we learnt of the love affair between Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Swedish Count Hans Axel von Fersen. They met at a masked ball in Paris and then he made frequent trips to Versailles. They both suffered tragic
      deaths during troubled times - she was beheaded and he was killed by a lynch mob during Crown Prince Carl August’s funeral in Stockholm. A fascinating exhibition aptly titled I Love You Madly.

      Next we visited the Nobel Museum - quite small but some interesting exhibits - saw the Physics Prize 2017 that was awarded to Weiss, Barish and Thorne - for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves, which researchers at CSIRO contributed to. We then wandered around the old town before stopping for lunch at a lovely restaurant called Cultur, where we had schnitzel and a glass of red. Finally we went on an Historical Canal Cruise around Stockholm. So far today we have walked over 11kms, well below the last few days where we clocked up over 20kms each day!

      The weather has been a bit cooler today which suits us. Our apartment is right in the centre of the old town with restaurants and bars at every turn. We still haven’t had meatballs or rollmops but I am determined to before we leave next week.      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 5

      The Royal Armoury

      June 29, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

      We stumbled across the royal armoury where we discovered the story of the love affair between Marie-Antionette and Swedish Aristocrat Count Hans Axel von Ferson. The exhibition “I Love You Madly” takes a close look at their relationship and the letters they sent one another. They met at a masked ball in Paris, he made frequent visits to her at Versailles and they also spent time together at the chateau of Trianon. Axel tried to help Marie-Antionette, her children and the King escape France during the French Revolution but they were captured just before they crossed the border.

      The armoury also exhibits a range of ornate carriages and sleds used by royalty.      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 5

      The Nobel Museum

      June 29, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      I was surprised at how small this museum is. The current exhibition features recipients of the Literature prize. It was interesting to discover a little bit more about Nobel himself who made his money from discovering/developing dynamite and left his fortune to establish and run the Nobel foundation.Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 5

      Historical Canal Cruise

      June 29, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      We took a cruise around the canals of Stockholm. The cruise took us around the greener parts of Stockholm, we departed from Stromkajen in the centre of Stockholm going through the canal of Djurgarden. We went around the islands of Langholmen, Kungsholmen and Lilla Essingen. The tour talked about the development of Stockholm which is made up of 14 islands and about the Swedish people owning more boats per capita than anywhere else in Europe. We went past the site of Alfred Nobel’s dynamite factory which, unsurprisingly, was in parts blown up during the development of dynamite. During the winter months, much of the waterways are frozen over and boat owners can only access their vessels between late Spring and early Autumn. More than 2 million people reside in Stockholm (of the 9 million total population), and so accommodation is in high demand with many old factories and warehouses being converted into apartments, and many new developments springing up on the islands.Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 6

      Kungstradgarden

      June 30, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      After securing our tickets for the cruise to Gustavsberg we had about 90 minutes to kill, so we wandered around the Kungstragarden area in the Osternalm district. Before we had gone very far, I tripped, landing on my left knee that I had scrapped and bruised by tripping when in London. I blamed my shoes and an uneven pavement in London, but today I was wearing my Skechers - so no idea what happened, except one minute I was walking along and the next I was flying through the air, and then I was on the ground - this one hurt more physically but my pride also took a hit.Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 6

      Gustavsberg

      June 30, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      After docking, we headed into Gustavsberg for a bit of a wander and to get some lunch. We decided on Bistro Gustavsberg for lunch, where we had a traditional Swedish meal. Ian had Köttballar (meatballs), Angus had Strömming (fish) and I had Räksmörgås (open shrimp sandwich), and we were all very happy with our selections, which were delicious. The staff were also very friendly and interested in whether we enjoyed their food.

      After lunch we went to an Art Gallery, a Delicatessen, a supermarket to buy some fruit, and finally to the Porcelain store where I bought a cup and saucer that was made in the kiln on site. We then headed back to the boat for our return journey. The only negative of the tour was the guide, who was really hard to understand. She mixed up her right and left constantly, gave us incorrect facts, and she just droned on and on and on, on both the outward and return journeys.      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 6

      Tapas for dinner

      June 30, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      Staying on Gamla Stan, we are spoilt for choice for dinner. There are many Italian restaurants, and interesting Swedish restaurants where you can order reindeer or moose steak as well as dishes like meatballs, gravlax and smoked fish. Tonight we decided on Tapas at a lovely little place about 150 metres from our apartment. Being a Saturday, night we decided to eat earlier to avoid the crowds.

      We had a lovely assortment of dishes including, beetroot carpaccio with goats cheese and salted almonds, beef sliders, calamari, chicken skewers, garlic mushrooms, beef with a whiskey sauce, and garlic bread. Ian continues to sample the Swedish beer and I had a mojito followed by a lovely Tempranillo from Rioja - everything was fabulous.

      We then strolled around the old town, mainly to get my steps up, as we spent much of the day sitting on the boat and it is a very European thing to do - so ‘when in Rome’ I mean Stockholm!      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 7

      Djurgärden - Vasamuseet

      July 1, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      We left early this morning to get into the Vasa museum before the crowds arrived, and it was a good plan. For most of the time we were there, the crowds were small and there weren’t any annoyingly large tour groups. The museum has seven levels, so you get to view the Vasa from any angle or level. The ship is very imposing and considering the ship spent more than 300 years submerged underwater it was in great condition. The Vasa sank on it’s maiden voyage - in fact it only went 1300 metres, and when the sails were raised it tipped over and filled with water and sank. It is estimated that between 30 and 50 sailors perished. Ninety-eight percent of the ship has been salvaged. The Vasa had a fatal flaw - it was top heavy with insufficient ballast. The ship was raised from it’s resting place in 1961, 333 years after it sank.

      The workmanship on the ship is amazing - many of the 500 sculptures were centred on the stern. There is a 3 metre Lion as the figurehead, in fact there are many lion sculptures on the ship. King Gustav II commissioned the ship and he was known as the Lion of the North. The museum also gives you insight into life in early 17th century Sweden.      Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 7

      Djurgärden - Skansen, open-air museum

      July 1, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      The island of Djurgärden is home to many museums, so after the Vasa Museum we headed off to Skansen which is just up the road. Skansen is an open-air museum which allows you to visualise Sweden’s history through the ages. It contains over 150 traditional buildings from around the country that date from the 14th to the early 20th century. Theses buildings were dismantled, transported and rebuilt on site. There are also a number of Nordic animals such as bears, moose, boars, owls, otters, lynx, wolverine, European wolf and bison. There are a range of buildings, a church, a funicular railway, a children’s farm, gardens, a fairground, aquarium, and Skansen Glassworks, as well as a range of shops, restaurants and market stalls. We spent some time just walking around the site looking at the buildings and Nordic animals.Read more

    • TravelerNorthern Europe
      Day 7

      Djurgarden - Museum of Spirits

      July 1, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

      After leaving Skansen, we made the short trip back to the Museum of Spirits, first to have lunch at their restaurant, and then to take the tour and see the special exhibits on Champagne and the Absolute Art Collection.

      Ian is sticking to sampling Swedish beer, and I decided to try a gin from a local Stockholm distillery. The gin went well with my pâté and shrimp. Angus had the pork belly and Ian went for the sausage with mustard and potatoes. After a leisurely lunch, we headed into the Museum to learn some of the finer points of distilling. We did a quiz on alcohol and scored higher than 50% of those who had taken it before us, we got to smell a number of the botanicals added to give specific spirits their taste and aroma, we got to listen to traditional Swedish drinking songs (they have so many), and got to lie down on a couch and study the intoxication cycle - from stone old sober to under the table - very weird. (Not that we have experienced this ourselves, of course ... that many times.)

      Then we went to the Champagne exhibit, where we learnt about soil types, fermentation, bubbles and much more on the production of Champagne. Interesting fact, Sweden is the 10th highest consumer of Champagne in the world - not bad for a country with a population of only 9 million. Australia ranks 7th, and we just beat the Swedes on consumption per capita.      Read more

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    Stadsholmen

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