Stockholm - Paradise on Water - Part I

The last holiday trip we took this summer before Sophie returns to school is to Stockholm.  I heard many wonderful things about the place before the trip, and saw stunning photos of it.  Unfortunately, I only caught fleeting glimpses of this paradise on water during our 4-day sojourn.  It was definitely not sufficient, and left me feeling unsatisfied like a meal without a main course.  What I did see did whet my appetite.  Stockholm's beauty is raw, created by nature, and oh-so-achingly evocative, in the way that Paris' beauty is man-made.  


The city is laid out on 14 islands, and its maritime heritage was clear for all to see.  

   
The people were warm and friendly, but then again, EVERYONE and ANYONE is warm and friendly if you have spent a few months in Paris.  It was unnerving when we were greeted with smiles at restaurants and shown to our table with pleasantries.  The waitress brought some paper and pens for the kids when they got a bit fussy while waiting for our food - WITHOUT us asking for it.  They did not point their noses in the air and stare down at us as if we were useless germs that wandered into their restaurant and offered to pay them lots of money for food.  They brought us extra cutlery with a big smile when we asked for it.  They wanted to know how the food was.  What did we do in our past lives to deserve such service???

Oh great, another language that we don't understand.

They spoke ENGLISH to us very naturally, even though the Swedish language is very much alive and kicking.  We UNDERSTOOD the world around us.  We were not idiots who cannot communicate that we wanted green tea, and orange juice for the kids, please, thank you.  There was an audible distressed sigh from both of us once we returned to Paris, when it sank in that we had returned to the impenetrable world of French.  

I digressed again.  Back to Stockholm.  We spent most of our time in museums and places geared for children's amusement.  Our first stop was Skansen, the world's first open-air museum, and a very well-executed one at that.  It was set up in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to let visitors see how Swedes lived in the past.  Around 150 traditional houses and exhibits from all over Sweden were brought here, and it is populated by staff in period costumes.  I think it managed to avoid the tackiness associated with such ventures, and, in my opinion, was impressively genuine and real.  


When we were there, there was a demonstration on how flak was used to make ropes and garments in the past.  The staff were very knowledgeable (we suspect that they are actual villagers who still use these methods in their daily lives) took their tasks seriously, and were painstakingly transforming the humble weed.   

 From that to this

It was tough work, and they took it seriously 

Various types of ropes, made from a simple, otherwise fragile weed

Stretching out the flak to dry and to weave 

Good old-fashioned methods all the way.  This is a fence around one of the traditional houses in Skansen.

Soph was given a chance to do laundry - you guessed it - the good old-fashioned way.  She did well. :)

Detail on the beam of a tower

Ladies of the manor

 Skansen is also a veritable zoo that showcases Nordic animals.  

It was our first time seeing a real reindeer.  YL and I were so excited to notice fuzzy hair on their antlers.  The kids were nonchalant.  Kids these days....tsk tsk tsk

 And what's a theme park without some treats?  

After our time in the Loire valley, you would not be wrong to think that we would not appear within 1 km of another European castle or palace in our lifetime.  However, you are wrong, because we are suckers for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and so it is under such foolish circumstances that we found ourselves, once again, in front of another castle.    

This is more or less the only picture we have of the Drottningholm Palace.  It is sufficient.

The Drottningholm Palace is the current place of residence of the King and Queen of Sweden.  When it was built in the 17th century, Sweden could not afford the expensive architectural details that its counterparts in France and Italy could.  So the Swedes hired some very talented painters who painted marble surfaces, carvings on walls and ceilings, alcoves, pedestals, and other details on its stucco and papier mache surfaces to make the place look posh.  Ingenious, and pretty well-done, but rather sad when you've seen the real eye-popping stuff in France and Italy.  Call me a castle snob.

For us, the highlight was the palace theater, commissioned by Queen Louisa in the 17th-century.  It is the only working theater in the world with all its 17-th century machinery intact, including a thunder machine, rain-making machine, and a wave machine.  Props and scenes on stage were changed using an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys.  Today, performances are still put up at the palace theater, but only using these original machines to recreate the experience of going to a theater in the 17-th century.  

Next up on the itinerary is the Nobel Museum located in the Gamla Stan (old town).  Alfred Nobel is Swedish, although he spent most of his time in Paris.  Today the Nobel Foundation is based in Stockholm, and is in charge of the administration of the Nobel prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, and Literature.  Selection is done by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Academy.  The Nobel Peace Prize is administered by Oslo.  Did you know that the prize amount is approximately EUR1 million?   

Outside the Nobel Museum.  It was a small but full of interactive displays.  It also displays personal effects of some Nobel prize winners, for example: 

Haha...I bet you do not know what this is....Suffice to say that it was the first and only thing that YL took a picture of.  Madame Curie would be so proud of him.

Personal notebook of Rabindranath Tagore, the great Indian poet and Nobel prize winner in Literature in 1913.


"Pick up this life of mine from the dust,
Keep it in the casket of night with your stars,
And then in the morning,
Let it find itself among flowers that blossom in worship"

I have no idea what it means, but maybe that's why I'm not a Nobel prize winner.