Sweden

The hotel had offered me a courtyard room versus a city view room warning me that it gets loud on the city side. I’m so glad I picked the courtyard room, because I could still hear the music through the night. The Swedes definitely love their music as there are signs all over commemorating the popular DJ Avicii who died several years ago, there was a bumping DJ in Bar Astoria, and the bars were pretty hopping.

My room included breakfast and this morning, I was seated next to some New Yorkers who had just come from Copenhagen. We shared notes and they actually live near me in east Harlem.

The plan for today was to explore Stockholm and mainly the Old Town known as Gamla Stan. Sweden is the largest of the Nordic countries and Stockholm is the largest city composed of 14 islands. So I figured the first day should be exploring the old center.

I took the metro called Tunnelbana which are noted with T signs like in Boston. The metro here is known for cool signs and art and I picked up the red 13/14 line from Östermalmstorg, a few blocks away. Here’s the art in this station:



I got off at Slussen which is at the southern end of Gamla Stan and is known for the locks system between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea:





Gamla Stan or Old Town, was originally known as the “town between the two bridges” and is mainly on Stadsholem island. I wandered through the cobblestone streets passing by the old water pump…



The narrowest street also known as Mårten Trotzigs gränd…



Cute tunnels…



A small statue called “Iron Boy - Watching the Moon” where people leave gifts as you can see from the coins, cough drops, pebbles, and Swedish fish…



I eventually meandered to the Nobel Prize Museum as it’s not open on Mondays and was in the center of Old Town...



For the “benefit of mankind”, the Nobel Prizes are for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace according to Alfred Nobel’s will from his estate earned from his inventions including the notable dynamite. I learned he dictated that the peace prize to be awarded in Norway and there is a 6th award for economics that is technically sponsored by the Central Bank in his memory…



On the ceiling is the profile of every laureate winner in random order that circulate around the museum…



I wandered the exhibits which includes a motley collection of items from all prize winners. Not all that was donated is on display, but here are some notable items explained by the English tour that I stumbled upon…

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the peace prize at the age of 17 and famous Pakistani advocate on behalf of women’s right to education and fights against the Taliban, donated her shawl she wore at the UN:



Madame Curie’s experimental device recreated as her original is still radioactive. She is the first woman to win and the first person ever to win twice - one in physics and one chemistry. Her daughter, husband, son-in-law have also won, so her family has a total of 5:



Original strains of penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming and grown nearby in a university lab to maintain the display:



At the end of the tour, a young child asked the guide if he could win for playing video games. I said he could be the first and she had the better response that many scientists are noted for playing video games which has helped them with the advancement of machine learning. Definitely the better answer. 

I tried to go into the Storkyrkan, the Cathedral which is next door but they had to close midday for some special broadcast. So I headed to Riddarholmen Church where several monarchs are buried:





I then walked back to the Royal Palace which was built on the medieval Tre Kronor Castle that was destroyed in 1697 by fire. I headed downstairs to the Treasury to see the Crown Jewels:



Then headed back up to the State Room which displays the Silver Throne:



Upstairs there were exhibits of all the regalia of the Swedish royal family and the Order of Seraphim:



Then I went to the Royal Apartments…





Which included the Hall of Mirrors designed after Versailles:



Here’s the Royal Chapel:



Outside, I actually saw the changing of the guards twice, once at noon and then again at 3 pm between my Old Town meanderings. There are also several posted all around the palace:











Across from the palace, you can see the Grand Hôtel which is five-star and hosts all the Nobel laureates:



Just right of the hotel, is the National Museum where I headed for a few hours as it is also closed on Mondays. I was particularly interested as my work colleague’s mother used to be the director:





Apparently, it’s famous for having the world’s largest collection of miniature portraits:



They had several famous impressionist paintings like Cézanne and the old masters like Rembrandt. But here’s “Breakfast time” or Frukostdags by the Swedish artist Hanna Pauli. There was an exhibition of her paintings, but this is a part of the main collection, and one of its treasures:



I relaxed for over an hour in the sculpture courtyard and enjoyed the free WiFi. During this time, it started to rain lightly and when the museum was closing, I headed back across the bridge to visit Storkyrkan and because it was closed earlier, they had discounted their admission. It is also known as the “The Great Church”, Stockholm Cathedral, or Church of Saint Nicholas and is the oldest in Stockholm:







It’s also famous for this wooden multi-ensemble sculpture of St. George and the Dragon:



Here’s a bronze replica just outside in the Old Town that I saw earlier in the day:



The rain continued to lighten up, and I crossed the bridge through the Parliament and various parks. This park had a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who helped save many Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. His signature is displayed here, honoring the many documents he had issued to save them:



I was back in my hotel neighborhood and near the Royal Dramatic Theater where I decided to have dinner at Riche. I ordered a light beer from Mariestad, a herring appetizer that came with potatoes, and Swedish meatballs for my main dish. The herring was delicious and reminded me of my dad who loved smoked fish and would snack on herring and crackers. The meatballs were way better than anything I’ve had at a US IKEA and I enjoyed the pickled cucumbers and lingonberries. A collage below:



I then headed back to the hotel past all the fancy stores so I could rest in my room. I had walked over 7 miles which was a win as I needed to walk at least 6 in one day before the end of the month for a work challenge. I knew I was going to be able to do it on a sightseeing day, so I had saved my energy for this trip. I’m sure I’ll walk just as much tomorrow as I continue to explore more of Stockholm!