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Northern Europe

June 2018 - June 2024
The McNicols are heading to Europe. Angus will be joining us as we explore London, Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin and Hamburg (the birthplace of my father Hans). I will then spend some additional time with my cousins and their families in Brussels. Read more
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  • TravelerNorthern Europe
    Day 6

    A slow boat to Gustavsberg via Artipelag

    June 30, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We headed off on our cruise on the Gustafsberg VII promptly at 11am. According to the brochure, it was a 2 hour cruise - the reality was slightly different - it was a 2 hour cruise one way! We then had just over 2 hours to explore Gustavsberg and then a 2 hour return trip, so in fact in total 6+ hours. The boat we were on was a steam boat that has been in service since 1912, when Stockholm hosted the summer Olympics.

    We left from the Nybrokajen docks and headed up the canal past Södermalm the largest of Stockholm’s 14 islands - it has a population of about 124,000. Next we passed Fjällgatan and the Viking Line Terminal where we will catch the ferry to Finland on Tuesday. We also went past Djurgarden (an island to the north of Södermalm) where we passed the Vasamuseet and Skansen, an open-air Museum which we plan to visit tomorrow. We made our way up some narrow canals past lovely summer homes and lot’s and lot’s of boats of all shapes and sizes. We travelled past Nacka, Skuru, Björknäs and Tollare, where there used to be a paper mill from 1922 till it closed in 1967. It was demolished in 2011 to make way for new developments, mainly in the form of apartments. The building is nearing completion, but there is still much work to do to clean up the seabed which is contaminated with Mercury which was used in paper production. There will be this beautiful new housing development, but at this stage it is uncertain when, if ever, the people who move there will be able to access the beach and water in front of the property.

    We stopped at Artipelag Art Gallery to unload the majority of the passengers. Artipelag is a privately owned Swedish Art Gallery built by Björn Jakobson, the founder and owner of the BabyBjörn Company. The idea was to create a building in harmony with the natural surroundings on the 54 acre grounds. We will visit it when we return to Stockholm, which we will do as it is a wonderful city that I have fallen in love with.

    We stayed on the boat to our final destination of Gustavsberg. It’s claim to fame was originally making bricks from the mid-1600’s, then Sweden’s first porcelain factory was established there, and more recently artisans have continued to produce ceramics, household porcelain and glassware.    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

    Djurgärden - Skansen Nordic Animals

    July 1, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We didn’t get to see all the Nordic animals as some are nocturnal. The brown bears were great, they were very active and great to watch. The Wolverine was running about amongst the bushes but difficult to photograph. The moose, wolf, bison, boar, owl and sea otter were less active, and easier to photograph.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

  • TravelerNorthern Europe
    Day 7

    The Absolut Art Collection

    July 1, 2018 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    The Absolute Art Collection began as part of a marketing programme for the Absolut Vodka brand. In total, it consists of 850 Artworks created by 550 artists between 1986 and 2004. Artists from around the world have interpreted the iconic Absolute bottle. They were given a free hand with few restrictions, and many of the works include animals. When the Swedish state sold its beverage company Vin & Spirit AB, including the Absolut Vodka brand, too French company Pernod Ricard, it was decided that the art collection was part of Sweden’s cultural heritage and would not be included in the sale.Read more

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