Orientating yourself to a new city is fun, but can take a bit of work and isn't without its wrong turn moments. We decided follow the (unfollowed) plan for London and booked ourselves onto the hop on/hop off service to stake out Stockholm, and it didn't disappoint. I wouldn't necessarily opt for any longer than a 1-day pass, but that's just me. From tomorrow onwards we'll be hopping on and off the public transport system to the places we plan to visit, saving precious krona for more fridge magnets, or something. The great thing about this service in Stockholm is you can buy a ticket that also takes you on a ferry loop around the city, so this is how our day went.
Breakfast was in a local cafe just around the corner from the apartment. Fried eggs and bacon on a bagel and this morning's coffee was good enough to make the angels sing. The bus stop for the explorer bus left from in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, which is just down the street from our apartment and soon after passing Central Station, we alighted for the ferry. We were kind of glad to say goodbye to the loud German tourists sitting around us. Maybe the coffee was still kicking in.
It was a grey morning, and somewhat cooler than when we arrived yesterday, but still beautiful on the water as we took in the views around Stockholm's fourteen islands.
Grand old buildings line parts of the Lake Mälaren's shores, the city standing where the lake meets the Baltic sea.
Gröna Lund, the city's fun park opened in 1883 and operates during the summer months. I love a roller coaster, but the look of some of those rides left me wondering a) how the cars move about the tracks and b) would the contents of my stomach survive the ride. It looks like a lot of fun cruising past, anyway.
On a small islet called Kastellholmen in the middle of Stockholm sits Kastellet which was built between 1846-48. Sweden's flag is raised and lowered every day, and signals the country is at peace.
When the boat moored near Gamla Stan, the next part of today's adventure began. The cobble stone pavements wind around the old mediaeval city. Its old buildings are several storeys high and tower above to create cosy labyrinthine streets. They lead into a village square where artists paint the streetscape and sell prints of their works to the tourists who don't cheekily snap a close up photo with their camera. We headed to the Royal palace as rain started to fall and were informed we had arrived in time to see the changing of the guard, so we headed back outside and braved the rain to witness the tradition, Swedish style.
Soldiers rode towards the palace on horseback playing musical instruments, winding their way to the back of the palace. That's kind of where our view became obscured by the back of people's heads and phones raised in the air to film the proceedings, so we cheated the crowds and ducked into the palace.
Our first port of call was the treasury, in whose darkened rooms lay the crown jewels. Sparkling await in the feature lighting are crowns, sceptres, swords and jewellery you won't even find in Grandma's dresser. Coronation is a thing of the past for Sweden's monarchy, but the jewels remain as a testament to traditions of a bygone era, and wealth of the present one.
The Royal apartments, upstairs are accessed via the State Room. in which sits the silver throne. The spaces we visited here are still in use today for various functions and are steeped in history, with the internal designs dating back centuries with original rococo features, grand chandeliers, quilted walls, tapestries and ceilings adorned with sculptures that just cannot be properly captured by photographs.
The museum below displays remnants from when the original castle burnt down on the Chief Fire-warden's watch. His death sentence was commuted to running the gauntlet by the King, but the beatings he received in the process brought the same fate.
The sun was shining by the time we emerged from the palace, so we wandered some more around Gamla Stan, the old town and had some lunch before jumping back onto the boat.
We disembarked at the next stop near the Royal Dramatic Theatre, whose lamp pasts are gold and demonstrate a respect in this country for arts long lost in other places.
The explorer bus completed our circuit for the day, passing through grand boulevards and past stately buildings before dropping us back to square one. We popped back to the apartment for a quick rest before heading out for dinner.
I don't think I've ever been the type to eat dinner to the strains of Cherry Pie by Warrant, or even AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long, and I know for a fact that Chris never has, but there we were. Against our better judgement we were lured across the road to the Hard Rock Cafe, and I really don't remember the playlist being so exclusively heavy when I vZisited the LA and Sydney restaurants some years (decades) back. the food was fine and we feel like we've eaten way too much, and they did redeem themselves by playing some Sting and Aha by the end of our meal, but a tip for anyone thinking about doing the same: the sound system inside was much better, and may have been a better aid to digestion. It's a theory I doubt I will ever test.
Tomorrow we're trying our luck with the local public transport and visiting the Paradox Museum and ABBA. Someone's excited (!)
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