Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm – What a fabulous day for an interesting and educational visit with fortuitous sightings;-)

Sweden’s capital is one-third water, one-third parks and one-third city spread across 14 islands with 57 bridges and very distinct neighborhoods. It is built on an archipelago of islands making the journey into the city quite beautiful – –

Some islands only the size of the house that sits on it!

In the 1500’s, Stockholm became a political center when Gustav Vasa established the monarchy. A century later, King Gustavus Adolphus made it an influential European capital. This “Lion of the North” prepared to establish his empire by creating a great navy to dominate the whole of the Baltic Sea. He ordered a great ship – The Vasa – to be built with two fearsome decks of cannons that included 72 guns! It also had 500 carved wooden statues – including a 10 foot lion on the magnificent prow – draping the ship painted in bright colors to symbolize the King’s power. Because the ship was built tall and narrow with lots of weight high on the ship – it only sailed a few 100 feet and then sank on its maiden voyage in 1628;-(. 333 years later it was found on the sea bottom, salvaged in 1961 and is in the process of being totally restored. This is one of the most fascinating exhibits to see – –

The actual salvaged Vasa (98% original) with a model in the foreground as it originally appeared.

The model with original detail and coloration.

Loved this Lion on the prow. Just beautifully carved.

The model with painted sculptures as they would have appeared.

The model of the stern of the Vasa.

The actual stern of the Vasa which will appear as above after all restoration is complete!

The crest and initials GARS (Gustavus Adolphus Regeant of Sweden) identify the ship as the Vasa.

A model depicting life on the ship.

This is one of the most fascinating exhibits. Not only is the entire ship enclosed in this building created to protect it, the various exhibits describing the salvage process, reconstruction, etc. are educational and intriguing. One could spend much more time here than we had.

In order to see any additional parts of Stockholm, we had to hightail it over to Gamla Stan – or Old Town. This area of the city is a charming maze of alleys and cobblestone streets, as well as one of those fabulous old squares. The Great Square of Stortorget is the hub of Gamla Stan dominated by the Old Stock Exchange, which now houses the Nobel Museum. It is also filled with many restaurants where one can people watch while enjoying Swedish meatballs – as we did;-)

Unfortunately, time passes much too quickly for us. Feeling that there just wasn’t time to do justice to the Nobel Museum, we headed to the bus pick-up. That’s when the fortuitous sighting occurred. There was a great deal of pomp and circumstance around the Royal Palace – the official residence of Sweden’s King and Queen. (The 18th century Italian Baroque edifice contains 608 rooms and took 60+ years to complete.). Turns out the King, Queen and Crown Princess were to be escorted in their carriages by the Royal Guard from the Royal Palace to the Parliament Building to open Parliament! How lucky were we?!?!?