Travel with Manfred

Travelogues from around the world

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document without a fee, provided that the person conspicuously and appropriately publishes on each copy the appropriate copyright notice and these terms and conditions for copying, distribution, and modifications. Changing this document or charging a fee for distribution or using this document for a financial profit is not allowed. Including this document in a publication that is for sale is not permitted.

This document solely expresses the author's current opinions. It in no way expresses the opinion of any other legal entity. This document does not claim to be correct, complete, or factual. Reading it is at your own risk.

Copyright © 1996 by Manfred P.. All rights reserved.

Oct 29, 1996

Stockholm

City of Islands and Bridges

by

Manfred P.

Keywords: Stockholm, Sweden, Gamla Stan, Djurgarden, Normmalm, Globen, Uppsala, Gamla Uppsala, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

Sweden. I expected the worst from the weather. I got my thickest coat out of the closet and used it for the first time this season. My friends made fun of me by claiming that this is really a thick sleeping in disguise. That didn't discourage me. I figure, he who laughs last wins. Last time I froze my butt off waiting for the bus at the airport. This time around we wanted independence so we opted for a rental car. The numbering of the bus stops confused us quit a bit because the numbers don't consistently decrease or increase but seem to jump around in a system that I couldn't quite figure out. But instead of looking for bus stop 19 we spotted the rental bus who was just across the street. With four people in the car we cruised, well sped, towards Stockholm with more jokes being added about my driving skills. Needless to say that with all the joking and lack of direction we ended up in some wrong suburb before eventually finding the train station after some detour.

Our hotel was lacking flashing neon signs so we looped around twice before we identified it. I was glad that during the car drive someone mention that the hotel is right over a train station. That explained why several times during night time strange rumblings went on. Being Californian I had blamed earthquakes otherwise or lost some hair trying to figure where this noise came from. But more importantly the bed was soft and I had a good nights sleep.

The weather at the end of October was much nicer than expected. No coat was needed during day time. On the first days it was even warm (12C, 54F) and sunny but on the last day the temperatures dropped below 0C (32F). For most part I only had time late at night to stroll through the city and the coat came in more than handy. Mid November was the time when it started snowing. The sun rises shortly before 8 a.m. were beautiful. At least from the top floor of the hotel overlooking Stureplan park. Everything was dipped into a yellow reddish color and the crisp clean air kept the colors bright. It gives the day a positive start and an optimistic outlook. The icicles hanging off the terrace railing didn't diminish the cosy feeling. With the day time temperature barely above freezing in mid-November the lakes started freezing over and the country side sometimes has a white misty layer, just a couple of feet high, hovering above the ground.

One of the interesting modern buildings in town is the Globe, the "Globen". It is Sweden's largest indoor arena sitting more than 30,000. It is an interesting combination of sports arena and business center. As the name indicates it's a large sphere that houses the stadium in the center and has business facilities around it on various floor. This multifunctional structure is home to rock concerts, ice hockey games, as well as business meetings. The sound system is really good. I had the pleasure of watching a brief section of the ice hockey game where Sweden's number 1 team faced number 2. The commentator behind the microphone had a good sense of humor. When a guy was about to beat up an opponent he played the "Don't do it" tune from Frankie Goes To Hollywood and when a goal was scored for the local team he played "Another bits the dust". Quite appropriately. We drove by the Globen twice a day and as luck will have it a car with the personalized license plate "GLOBEN" drove just in front of us. I wonder where he was going in his Volvo?

Most of the architecture is simple, with square and rectangular shapes. Just the way I like it. Functional, to the point, no unnecessary add-ons or esthetic gew gaws. I really enjoy the straight forwardness of the architecture. Easy to understand, no guesswork.

What puzzled me is that number of bridges. Stockholm is made out of 14 islands. Depending how you count I guess. Some books say as many as 44. There are some 300 bridges! Without doubt it is a city of islands and bridges. I secretly suspect that the Swedes got so good at building bridges that they placed bridges without they real need for bridges. The city stirred up a strange mix of feelings. On the one hand the islands and the ocean gave me a cozy and socially warm feeling as you would get from a small coastal village with a few fishermen. On the other hand I sensed this man-made metropolis with a our-technology-conquered-nature attitude. This second feeling is instilled by all these bridges and tunnels. You can driven beneath complete islands like Gamla Stan or hop from one bridge to another and drive through town on stilts. From that angle Stockholm reminded me strongly of Tokyo. This must be first. I never heard anyone compare Stockholm with Japan's biggest city. There due to lack of space the city lives in three dimension by building bridges, elevated freeways, etc. Stockholm to some degree did the same. The tourist bureau wants you to believe in the first association. Stockholm - the village on the ocean where you can fish in the middle of town or go swimming near downtown in summer.

Late at night the city was quite empty. Just a few American style restaurants and shops open for 24 hours, the McDonald's and 7Eleven kind. On top of that a few local bars. Some of the traditional restaurants are open also quite late. In the opera a disco style dance club is the pouring out music with limos (stretched Volvos) waiting outside. In some countries, like Austria, that would be blasphemy. Pop music in the halls of classical art. It seems to be well received here.

Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is the historic heart of the city and by far the most famous island. The king, among other rich people, lives here. The royal palace is guarded by soldiers to keep the drunk people out. I didn't think that Gamla Stan was the nicest island though. I would rank Djurgarden as the most beautiful one. This is also the island where several embassies have settled down. If that happens you know you are in a nice neighborhood. Djurgarden is full of gardens and walking trails, Europe's first outdoor museum and a whole collection of other museums ranging from the Vasamusset, the Wasa Museum, to the Nordic Museum. In between the parks and the museums, restaurants are sprinkled in. An enjoyable combination. The most popular path is along the coast. It seems to span the whole island. I can't say that I have done the full round, but doing the bottom half was certainly fun. Nexr to the small harbor is a cafe, a good starting point for walks around the island. The harbor has a handful of houseboats which look like tupperware boats with only two or three small windows. The eye catching boat is at the end. Some rich guy had too much money. He converted a large regular boat into a house boat with a few alterations. He placed a small light-house looking thing in the middle of the boat so that the top room has a 360 degree view. Then he added a winder garden, a lass covered room outside, etc. And a sign in front of it arrogantly said "Don't even think about parking here".

I am not a museum freak, but the Wasa Museum is quite fascinating. It is good to know that even back in 1600 the engineers screwed up. Tight deadlines (the king wanted the ship ready for the next battle), quick changes in the middle of the design (I think we'll just place a second floor of battle guns here), no testing (ah, what the hell, it will work) just like today caused a million (in today's money) dollar debacle. After just a few miles the most expensive battleship that Sweden had ever built then, the biggest, the one with the most guns, the pride of Sweden itself, sank quietly and with it most of the crew still in the harbor of Stockholm without any outside cause. I'll keep the reason for the disaster to myself. It falls in the category of human error though.

The Nordic Museum is of interest if the culture of the Lapps and traditional Swedish clothing excites you. The playroom for kids was actually more interesting than some of the exibits.

Not far from Stockholm is Uppsala. It is known as the University Town. It has one of the largest, if not the largest university in Scandinavia. While I was there I sneaked into the large theater in the university main building which has a marvellous ceiling painting and a few crystal chandeliers. What brought me there was music pouring forward from it. A group of musicians was practising a modern piece of a musical. And it was a welcome escape from the rain to sit down for a while and listen in. Like Cologne, the first sight every tourist sees from far is the spire of the Uppsala Cathedral. This is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia. The interior is straight forward and simple as most of the Swedish architecture, except for the burrial places along the sides where royalty has gone out of their way to create unique and impressive as well as large burrial arrangements with scuptures and more.

The second large building is the castle, but in comparison to the cathedral is seems small. However, it was placed such that the royalty could look down onto the quarters of the clergy to give them the message of who is really in charge. Besides these two sights, Uppsala is just a small town with a comfortable small town feeling: a pedestrian zone in the center, a river running through it, a train station, a public library, the university, an open market, a tourist information center, etc. All of this is within walking distance. Only later did I find out that Uppsala is the fourth largest city in Sweden after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo. I was surprised to find out. Sweden must a country with people evenly spread throughout villages to make Uppsala the fourth biggest city.

North of Uppsala is Gamla Uppsala, the Old Uppsala. The only reason why it is on the map is the existance of several burrial mounds. The mounds are grass covered and no more than 30 feet high. Around 1850 one of them was opened to confirm that these are truly burrial places. A sword and a few other items were found. The mound was closed again and everything looks again as it looked for more than a thousand years. From here there is also a good view of Uppsala itself. The skyline is dominated by the cathedral and the castle that stand out of the crowd.

On the way back I detoured to Grisslehamn on the coast. I just got there shortly before sunset at 4 p.m. It was a quiet village, empty and 'closed'. I guess everyone was staying home, where it is warm and comfortable. No action outside the home, I guess. It didn't even look like there was a bar in this place.

Over the next months I will get to experience the real winter in Stockholm and while there are a lot of good things to say about the city I am not sure if I am looking forward to it.