Travel: Midsummer Holiday

Got on an airplane recently ...



A passport was required ...



Name that city?

Click here for this city's tourism web page.



If you check out tourism web pages and travel books, you'll find many good reasons for visiting Stockholm. But for me, the best reason was to enjoy the company of my very special friend Jeanette.



We got on the Arlanda airport to downtown express train and walked into the old town, Gamla Stan. We explored the Storkyrkan which is the city's cathedral dating back to the 13th century. The image above is from the pulpit. The phrase at the top is "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest") and in the middle is the Tetragrammaton, the name of the God of Israel in Hebrew.



Like most European cities, statues abound.



This is the smallest official statue of Stockholm located in the quiet courtyard of the Finska Kyrkan (Finnish Church).



Our next stop was Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace). We got there in time to see the daily changing of the guard ceremony. To read more about the Swedish Royal Family, go here.



Midsummer's eve is a big festival among the Swedish people. There is dancing around the maypole and the singing of Sma Grodorna, the little frog's song. And, of course, there is special food. Since I had been in the airplane about 14 hours, we passed on the maypole dancing and the little frogs song. But, we had many of the elements of the traditional meal as you see in the plate of food along with new potatoes with dill! Sorry, no pictures of the herring. 8-)



Probably one of the most visited museums in Stockholm is the Vasamuseet. The Vasa is the largest and best preserved warship of its era. In 1628, on its maiden voyage, the top heavy boat was tipped by gusting wind such that water rushed into its gun ports near the waterline which caused the ship to sink a mere 20 minutes from the dock.



Because of the relatively low salinity of the Baltic Sea the wood of the ship was not destroyed by shipworms which inhabit most other bodies of salt water. Below is a scale model of what they think the ship looked like when it set sail.



The ship was commissioned by the King of Sweden to help in the war against Poland. It was painted with many colors and adorned with numerous sculptured figures to show the greatness of his kingship and of the warrior spirit of the Swedes. Its ignominious fate vividly illustrated the proverb, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

The other popular museum of Stockholm is Skansen which recreates various parts of Swedish cultural history in a park setting.



This parade shows some of the regional costumes frequently worn for Midsummer celebrations.

One of the neat places was a recreation of a 19th Century Ironmonger's House (hardware store) where Jeanette and the storekeeper regaled me with a recitation of numerous Swedish inventions. The Swedes are a resourceful and practical people!



Aside from the various period piece recreations, Skansen has beautiful gardens.





Here is a hare. See here for what is the difference between a hare and a rabbit.



The Seglora Church was built in the 18th Century and resided in the Vastergotland province. Eventually, it lay unused as a new church was built and eventually was moved to Skansen. We participated in the 6pm service where prayers, Bible readings and hymns were sung in Swedish. The presider noted the presence of English speakers and offered one of the prayers in English.



Skansen also has a zoo of the animals found in Sweden. Below is one of their newborn moose!



Weather changes throughout the day in Stockholm. There were moments of sunshine followed by light rain followed by partially cloudy. For a brief moment, a beautiful rainbow broke out.



When in Stockholm, be sure to spend some time in Skansen!



Perhaps the most famous building in Stockholm is Stadshuset, the City Hall.



Here is the "Blue" Hall. The architect originally planned to paint the walls blue but the brick colors grew on him so he decided not to paint it but the room held onto the name. The Nobel Prize Banquet is held in this hall.



How old do you think the Stockholm City Hall is?

Check here for the surprising answer.



The photo above is of the ceiling of the city council chambers. It resembles a Viking ship recalling the history of the Swedish people.



Here is one of the beautiful long hallways.



A view of the Gamla Stan from an open window in the City Hall.



In the Golden Hall, the walls are comprised of mosaics with over 18 million pieces. One section honors America.



Here is a photo of a display of the dinnerware used in the famed Nobel Prize Banquet.

The only way to see the interior of the City Hall is to take a guided tour. From June to August tours are more numerous and offered in many languages.

If you have the energy, check out the view from the City Hall Tower. The elevator takes you about half way and you take the stairs the rest of the way.



While the Nobel Prize Banquet is held at the City Hall, the ceremony where the recipients receive their awards is held at the Konserthuset, the concert hall.



My last full day began with a trip south to the town of Nykoping where 14th century Swedish kings used to reside before Stockholm became the political center of the nation. After the approximately one hour train ride, we walked through the town to the castle to meet up with Jeanette's parents for lunch. After lunch, we all explored the Nykopingshus where there are two floors with displays about the history of the castle. Below is a model of what the full castle complex might have looked like.



After touring the castle, we walked along the riverfront and checked out a couple of the galleries before having an afternoon fika at Jeanette's parent's home. Thank you for a delightful afternoon in small town Sweden!



Below are some last looks around Stockholm.









I enjoy travel.

Seeing new places and meeting different people is a delight. Each trip is memorable and meaningful for different reasons. Nonetheless, this trip was different than other trips I've taken. There was increased interest from friends when I told them where I was going and who I would see. Upon my return, those who knew why I chose this destination were just a bit more eager than usual to hear about it. And so indeed, this trip was special because of Jeanette. Thank you for a wonderful midsummer holiday!