Sunday, September 17 More Sweden

 Sunday, September 17

Another great breakfast this morning.  It is 17 degrees Celsius which is around 62F.  

We head out on a bus tour of the city, beginning at City Hall. Built in the early 1900's, it houses government offices but also several wonderful ceremonial halls.  The first we enter is called The Blue Hall because that was what the original architect imagined.  

 It is not blue but is quite lovely marble and brick with a magnificent staircase that was designed so that women's long gowns and high heels could maneuver it. The annual Nobel Prize banquet is held here.

Next, we walked through the elaborate 349-seat Parliament room. The Parliament currently has 8 parties from far right wing to left.

Into the Gallery Room which features several tapestries from the 1600's.

  

down a hall and into the Golden Hall.  

The Golden Hall is quite amazing, with golden mosaics decorating most walls,. They are incredibly detailed and feature many historical events. Beautiful chandeliers and mirrors really make the room sparkle! This hall can support 700 seated people for state affairs.

  

Back in the bus, our guide provides some general information on Sweden. It is the 5th largest country in Europe. 70% of it is forested and most people live in the south.  Sweden was initially very poor which is why 1.5 million immigrants left, mainly for the US and Canada. 

It improved greatly beginning in the 1950's. It introduced social programs to help everyone - medical care and higher education, for example, are free.  Later we learn that the tax rate is 47% but on a sliding scale.   Affordable housing continues to be an issue.  Houseboats are an interesting alternative housing solution, as there is an abundance of water. 

While they are celebrating the King's 50th Jubilee today, the King is a figurehead, says our guide, with no real power.  He "just cuts ribbons",  she says. Obviously not a fan.

Next stop is the Vasa Museum which showcases a war ship built in 1628.  Due to a design error, it sank 20 minutes after it was launched.  It was found in 1956 and raised in 1961.  It is 98% original and is 4 stories high!   Lots of carving and intricate woodwork.

A "complete history of the 17th century life" is found in its contents. Parts of 15 skeletons were also found and they have a picture of what one woman may have looked like, based on analysis of the skeleton.

There is a smaller more colorful model of what the original would have looked like.

There are also models of what the interior may have looked like.

From here we go on an excursion to Uppsala, an ancient town about 45 miles north of Stockholm.

 Nice highway through more rural land with some corn and other fields.   It is home to the oldest university established in 1477,  and a large percentage of the 177,000 population are students. Anders Celsius, who created the 100 degree thermometer scale is from here as well as botanist Carl Linnaeus, who established systems for classification and naming of species.

We are joined by a local guide, Hans, who is a great guide with a delightful dry sense of humor.  We first visit the Cathedral, as Uppsala is the seat of the Church of Sweden.  It was originally Catholic and was begun in 1270's and finished in the mid 1400's.  Quite elaborate with burial place of many Swedish royals.  

 We also stop to see one of many Viking rune stones found in Sweden. Being on a river that connected to the sea, Uppsala was a popular port and ship-building place.

We have a break for lunch in which everyone goes their own way.  Greg and I try a small Thai restaurant which is good. Hans points to the crosswalk sign which shows a woman instead of the usual male, which came about after protests here.

After lunch, we visit the Carolina Redivide Library, which has several billion books! Some of those on display include the rare 6th century Silver Bible, and  several books with beautiful illustrations by Linnaeus and other scientists. There are also ancient maps, one called the Carta Marina, complete with sea serpents. 

There is a castle built by Gustaf Adolfs in 1561 with a bell that still rings daily at 6AM and 9PM as it has for centuries.

  

Bikes are still a preferred method of transportation, along with some electric scooters.

We stop for a "fika" which is a Swedish coffee break which most people practice.  We have cinnamon buns with very strong coffee. That's DeeDee in pink - she always wore lipstick that matched her outfit perfectly.

Then we do a quick walk through Carl Linnaeus' Botanical Garden, which still has some flowers in bloom, a few quite unusual.

 A short drive is next, to Old Uppsala ( Gamla Uppsala), home to 3 royal mound burial sites.  Other archeology finds from the Iron Age were found here as well as mysterious foundations and rocks, and 25' poles with horse heads on top.  Pretty countryside here.

Back to the hotel around 7:30.  We chat with some of the others in the lounge, have a drink and call it a day!

 

Saturday, Sept 16 Stockholm

Saturday, September 16

The hotel breakfast was an extensive buffet.  Lots of different breads, swedish pancakes (like crepes), pickled herring, smoked salmon, bacon and sausage and many kinds of eggs.  Yogurt, smoothies, various fruits including watermelon, a sweet yellow-rinded melon, and pineapple; lunch meats and cheeses...and baked beans - I think these are popular in the UK. 

We walk to the train station and purchase a 24hr pass, which is good for train, subway, bus or boat! We check out the subway which is dubbed "the world's longest art gallery", where different stations feature different art. 

We decide to walk to another station but get easily sidetracked.  It seems this weekend is the 50th Jubilee of the current King, with all sorts of events going on. Also the hundredth anniversary of something... the monarchy? Busy streets with a scattering of western food places like Burger King and Subway, and many shops and restaurants.  Lots of folks walking and riding bikes or scooters. Some beautiful architecture.

We pass a protest gathering and when I ask a woman what they are protesting, she consults her phone for translation and says it is to stop deforestation and pollution due to mining.  

We follow the sound of music to the Royal Palace where several bands and orchestras are playing.  Interesting that there is a military band on the balcony above the stage, an orchestra on the right side of the stage, and a rock band on the left of the stage.  We think they are rehearsing for events later in the day, so we hear a little of everything! 

  We walk around the palace and past the Parliament Building.

 Many of the streets are cobblestone, which is kind of hard on the feet!  Quite a lot of police and military presence.  We hear later that many dignitaries will be attending events, some from neighboring countries, so that is why security is strong.

Military on board boat in harbor.

The city is exceptionally clean and it is a beautiful sunny, cool day.  Lots of statues here and there, some the typical military or royalty, and some more contemporary and/or unusual. 

We make our way to the harbor where we catch boat 82, to Djurgarden Island, home to an amusement park and our destination - Skansen - the oldest open air museum, founded in 1891.  

There are 13 islands which are part of Stockholm! We spent several hours at Skansen, visiting historical homes, various craft demonstrations and shops.  Rode a funicular and walked.  

I think this sign said Furniture Store

There are nice gardens, and an area with native animals, including reindeer and moose.

 

 Only the indigenous people north of here are allowed to herd reindeer.

  We asked directions several times today and everyone was kind and seemed to speak some English.

We are able to catch a bus from Skansen back to within a few blocks of the hotel.  The bus is very crowded and a few people we spoke to are apologetic that we can't get good seats - the festivities have brought lots of people out.  After walking a block in the wrong direction, we use google maps to get back to the hotel.

We relax a bit in our room, fill out some post cards for the grands and then go downstairs to meet our tour director, and 25 other travelers.  There is a group of 8 from North Carolina, a few from Canada, Massachusetts, two couples from Maine, Minnesota and more.  Probably  around 8 are our age.  Our tour director is Dionysian (DeeDee) originally from Greece but now living in Berlin.

After a drink at the bar, we have dinner at the hotel and meet everyone.  DeeDee fills us in on important things - like use credit cards for everything, and bicycles have priority so watch for bike lanes.  We have a GoAhead app that everyone can use and where schedules, etc. are posted.  Very handy!  There will be a tour tomorrow morning and we all get small headphone sets (Vox) to use on tours.

Good dinner! Salmon roe appetizer, beef steak main.

Tomorrow is Sunday - Day of God - and some shops are closed.  Yet when someone asks about attending a church service, DeeDee says they are difficult to find as few Swedes are religious. 

Still getting settled after jet lag and travel but better tonight.

SCANDANAVIA: SWEDEN, NORWAY & DENMARK SEPT 14-25, 2023

 SCANDANAVIA: SWEDEN,NORWAY & DENMARK  SEPTEMBER 2023

9/14/2023- 9/15/2023  Flights

Neighbors Danny and Donna took us to the airport in a downpour!  Our flight was delayed, which in turn caused our connection to change at Charles DeGaulle in France.  So we will have 5+ hours there instead of 2, and arrive in Stockholm closer to 8:00 PM. 9/15/2023.  We are flying on Air France, though ticketing and all was through Delta.  

 Flight was a little over half full - very few people masked.  Beth watched a couple of movies- Greg read a lot.  When we got to CDG, the jetway didn't work, so we waited another half hour while they fixed it!   Quite a bit of walking in CDG, but we had lots of time.  The flight to Stockholm was about 2 hours and this one was filled.

Food was ok.  Free wine and/or champagne and warm wet towels before dinner were nice. 

We got a taxi in Stockholm and found the hotel, Elite Palace, quite nice.  We got some maps and info from the front desk, did a little planning, but we are both fairly exhausted, so go to bed.  Glad we have an extra day before meeting the tour group!