Gamla Stan (again), Stockholms Slott, Segway Tour, Östermalms Saluhall, Kaknästornet and Tekniska Museet: Stockholm Day 2

In the morning of my second day in Stockholm I went back to Gamla Stan to see the churches which I had not been able to enter in the first evening. The Riddarholmskyrkan was not as beautiful inside as it was on the outside, and because of my limited knowledge of Swedish history, I was not very enthusiastic about the ornately decorated sarcophagi of royals. Intriguing, however, was a set of plques on the northern wall of the transcept, which was dedicated to the members of the Order of the Seraphim, the foremost order of Sweden which is awarded to both royals and foreign heads of state. Each member would have a plaque of his own with his name, title and personal shield painted on. Plaques for living members are stored in Stockholms Slott, but once a member passes away, his plaque is transferred to this cathedral for permanent display. On this wall were the plaques honouring some of the most influential figures of the 20th century: François Mitterrand, Haile Selassie I, Chiang Kai Shek, as well as more controversial ones such as Wilhelm II and Hirohito. I definitely enjoyed the great variety of shield designs reflecting the diversity of nations and cultures represented.

As for the Tyska Kyrkan, which name translates to “German Church”, it was established in the days of the Hanseatic League, and still conducts services in the German language. It was exciting to be able to speak to the church staff in German and admire the detailed paintings on the ceiling, but I was confused by the architecture of the church itself, because the nave was divided into two by a row of columns, resulting in blocked views of the chancel from many angles.

Left: Riddarholmskyrkan; Right: Tyska Kyrkan

Up till this point I had not yet eaten, so I strolled along the streets of Gamla Stan looking for something attractive and affordably priced. I settled on a café called Muren, which had an enticing assortment of Swedish ice creams and sorbets. It was not easy deciding among the many tempting flavours, but I settled on a Svea, which was blueberry and strawberry ice cream as well as raspberry sorbet topped with fresh cream and strawberries and served in a cinammon cone. The blueberry ice cream was a bit of a disappointment, but otherwise the Svea made for an unconventionally excellent breakfast, and the scoop of very sublime raspberry sorbet reminded me The Bent Spoon, the Princeton ice cream place which is also one of my favourite eateries in the world.

Left: Inside the Swedish ice cream store Muren; Right: My Svea

Then I walked to the Stockholms Slott, where I narrowly missed the changing of the guards, but still could hear the fantastic military band that accompanied it. The palace itself defied the image of old Sweden as an unconspicuous, pastoral country and was quite the opposite of the humble Stockrykan that I had seen on the previous day. Just the royal chapel itself was probably the most extravagant place of worship I have seen – The lack of transcept in such a large space and the curved ceiling reminded me of a ballroom more than a chapel, but this did not matter. The rococo building was brightly lit by skylights, column capitals were brilliantly detailed, and so was the ceiling with its murals and patterned decorations. And the pulpit was an extraordinarily extravagant work, vividly depicting a series of biblical animals swirling around the structure, all of them set splendidly in gold.

Left: Guard house in front of Stockholms Slott; Right: The royal chapel

I then went to the royal apartments, which proved to be a very different experience from going to palaces in Germany. The Wittelsbach palaces I had visited in Munich – Schleißheim, Nymphenburg and the Residenz were beautiful, but because they had not been used as royal residences or venues for state events for more than a hundred years, they were not in very good condition. Some of the rooms of Nymphenburg, for example, was badly in need of restoration. But since Sweden still has a royal family that regularly hosts foreign dignatories, organizes state dinners and the Nobel banquet at Stockholms Slott, every room was extremely well maintained and completely furnished, the mirrors were perfectly polished and imposing chandeliers absolutely spotless. Though the constant renovation and refurbishment of this palace (one of the rooms was completely redecorated in contemporary style just a decade ago to commemorate the King’s silver jubilee) may take away from historical authenticity, I preferred it this way because it allowed me to feel royal flair, pomp and grandeur at its fullest.

Left: The dining room where state dinners are held; Right: Inside the royal apartments

After a short visit to the Treasury, in which few but nonetheless lavish items of royal jewellry were on display, I went to the Galleria Shopping Centre near the Centralstation to grab a quick lunch. The Soup Lounge there proved to be the perfect spot. Upon recommendation from the convivial shopkeeper, who spoke English with a most charming accent, I ordered a chunky mushroom soup. The creamy yet refreshing soup base with a generous helping of tender mushroom slices was well accentuated by a hint of fragrant rucola oil and parmesan. The small slice of rye bread and cheese dip that came with it was also delicious, and this was washed down with pear-flavoured sparkling mineral water. For SEK 65 this was a bargain by Scandinavian standards, and it definitely left me content for the rest of the day.

Left: Soup Lounge in Galleria shopping centre; Right: Chunky mushroom soup

Next came the most important part of my day – a trip to Djurgården, the former hunting grounds of the Swedish monarch. Instead of doing it on foot or by bike, I opted to join a Segway tour, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made on this trip. Though I had never used a Segway before, it was exceedingly easy to learn and control. The Segway i2 I used could measure my body weight distribution 100 times per minute and adjust the balance accordingly, so staying on two wheels required absolutely no effort on my part. Steering was also extraordinary intuitive, so within five minutes on the practice track in the basement of the Galleria I was breezing around and making rapid turns without any difficulty at all.

Soon it was time to head out. There were only three other people including our guide, so it did not feel like the conventional city tour in which stereotypical tourists provide a continuous source of annoyance. As we made our way on the bicycle path on the Strandvägen, an avenue along the coast of Östermalm, I could not help but put a massive smile on my face. It was one of those moments in which the adrenalin and delight completely overwhelms you and forces its way out through irrepressible chuckles – this was the most exhilarating part of my trip so far! Within ten minutes we were in Djurgården, cutting through sun-kissed meadows and verdant woods, passing by the bright hues of blossoming flowers, admiring the traditional architecture of the occasional museum building, and enjoying the impressive view of the city from across the unbelievably blue bodies of water. Naturally we attracted a lot of attention from others in the park – not only pedestrians, but also a dachshund as well as a lady in a Porsche Carrera GT. Her means of transport might have been many times more expensive than mine, but this didn’t take away from the fact that mine was infinitely better!

The Segway tour to Djurgården was beyond doubt the best part of my day

It was hard to say goodbye to the Segway, but an hour and a half later I had to. I then went to Östermalms Saluhall, which was every bit a gastronome’s paradise. Inside this 19th century market were shops with all types of delicatessen – luxuriant cheeses, freshly baked pastries, colourful fruits, juicy meats, and most importantly impossibly fresh seafood. I stood in front of the trays of lobsters and king crab legs for so long and stared at them with such intense Sehnsucht that the shopkeepers probably started feeling uneasy…

The very alluring delicacies of the Östermalms Saluhall left me salivating in fantasy

Eventually I pulled myself out of the market and took the bus to Kaknästornet, the somewhat oddly-shaped TV-tower. The observation deck had two levels that I could access – sadly one had windows which glass was in desparate need for replacement, whereas the other was caged. The angle of sunlight prevented me from taking a good picture of the main islands, but to make up for that there was still a decent view of the Stockholm archipelago.

Left: Kaknästornet, Stockholm’s TV tower; Right: View of the Stockholm Archipelago from Kaknästornet

The good thing about museums in Stockholm is that most of them have different days on which there are evening opening hours, so I could still make one visit even though it was beyond 5pm. I chose the Tekniska Museet, since I still had not visited a science museum on the trip. It was better than what I had expected. The vast main hall with planes, bikes (including the iconic penny-farthing, on which I find hard to imagine somebody actually riding), motorbikes, cars, plane engines and ship propellors. A smaller hall adjacent to it was dedicated to space travel, where one could watch videos from the most significant space exploration events such as the launch of Yuri Gagarin’s Vostok 1, Neil Armstrong’s moon landing, Apollo 13′s splashdown on the Pacific Ocean, and the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger. There were also simulation booths in which one could get into an astronaut’s sleeping bag, try out the exercise machines typically found on space stations, and even experience weightlessness (unfortunately, that one was not in operation). Though I am no longer as fond of space exploration as I was as a child, it was still a great exhibition.

Exhibits in the Tekniska Museet

More enjoyable, still, was the 4D movie I watched at Cino4, the museum’s cinema. Most 4D movies are extremely short (the one I watched in Legoland lasted for 12 minutes) and have no educational value to speak of, but this proved to be an exception. The 30-minute film was titled Building Beyond Limits, and it described the history of buildings, from the most primitive wooden huts to modern-day skyscrapers. The film took viewers from one continent to another, showing how varying climates and cultures result in a large range of buildings from past to present, and described the pros and cons of main types of building materials one by one. Riding on the moving seats, which also had a “massage” function to hit you on the back or bottom from time to time as well as too many sprinkers or outlets for aromas to count, we watched simulations of the pyramids of Giza being constructed, watched an Inuit put together an igloo, went across the Öresundsbron, flew to the top of the Empire State Buiding, saw the wildly ambitious building projects in Dubai, and even explored a probable future city on Mars. I know these are not words that one typically uses to describe a film seen at a museum, but Building Beyond Limits was indeed a triumphant achievement.

So just two days into my visit, I had experienced enough to declare that Stockholm is one of the best cities in Earth. If I ever manage to find some place to learn Swedish, I would do it just so that I can live here some day!

Kungliga Operan, Nationalmuseum, Gamla Stan, Stockyrkan and Nobelmuseet: Stockholm Day 1

Since I will be making extensive use of the Tunnelbana and visiting plenty of museums during my stay in Stockholm, the first thing I did on Tuesday morning was to get a Stockholm Card, which would allow unlimited usage of the city’s transportation network and free admission to all museums within 72 hours. My hostel’s reception desk did not sell the card, so I had to go out to the main tourist office at the city centre. It should have been an easy walk from the Central Station to the office, but because I still haven’t made any improvement in map-reading skills after more than two weeks of independent travel, I got very lost and wandered in the area for half an hour. Very luckily, once I got my hands on the card, the day got a lot better.

After a brisk walk through the Dansmuseet (Dance Museum), which was obviously not my cup of tea, I headed to the nearby Kungliga Operan, Sweden’s royal opera house. Earlier on when I was still on the Princeton campus, I planned this trip with the goal of watching a show in the opera house of every city I visited. This did not happen – while I did get to see some great performances while I was in Munich, Nuremberg and Berlin, I chose not to go in Bremen because the only show available was Verdi’s Aida, which I had already seen at the Bayerische Staatsoper. As for Copenhagen and Stockholm, by this leg of my trip the 2008-09 performance seasons of both the Royal Danish and Swedish Operas were over. But anyhow, I decided that taking part in a guided tour of the opera house would be better than not going there at all, so that was what I did.

While the Kungliga Operan has none of the innovative architecture that defines Copenhagen’s Operaen and is dwarfed by the Bayersiche Staatsoper in terms of physical size and prominence, there was still a lot to see. This opera house was built at the turn of the 20th century and deliberately designed in the continental style so as to emphasize Sweden’s emerging status as an European power. Despite its somewhat restricted size, the interior is nothing short of opulent, with extremely ornate decorations garnering almost every vertical surface. The good thing about visiting on a guided tour as opposed to watching a show is that you get to use seats for which people typically pay more than 1000 SEK. The view from there was of course fantastic, though this opera house was designed so that the seats in the uppermost balcony actually enjoyed better acoustics. The best sound, however, is found in a place where seats cannot be placed – right inside the chandelier. This is where microphones are located, for live broadcasts on Swedish radio as well as CD/DVD recordings.

And the golden hall, in which opera patrons relaxed and socialized during intermissions, was just as extravagant. Built to imitate the luxurious style of Versailles, this hall boasted a row of impressive chandeliers, detailed ceiling murals depicting the development of Swedish music, plenty of golden rococo decorations, elegant furniture and full-length windows to create a greater sense of space.

The Kungliga Operan, Sweden’s royal opera house

The tour also brought me to three places into which normal opera patrons may not set foot – the royal chambers, the backstage, and the stage itself. The former was a slightly smaller version of the golden hall, still used exclusively by the Swedish royal family and visiting heads of state. As for the backstage, it was unexpectedly enormous. Though not a particularly grand building from the outside, the opera house actually has 12 floors and almost 1000 rooms, making it quite easy to get lost. We saw the trap doors, as well as the large sunken area in which whole sets were kept, and the small chair on which the first prompter typically sat. The stage, however, was most odd, for instead of being a horizontal surface, it had a 4° incline so as to provide the audience with a better view. The downside was that small props would have to be fastened onto the stage by nails so that they would not roll off in the middle of a scene, and more disastrously, ballet performers could easily injure themselves on such a surface. In order to remedy this problem the performers actually have rehearsal rooms with similarly slanted floors. In spite of that, I imagine that would still be exceedingly disorienting to have to dance on a slope!

The Nationalmuseum was just a 5-minute walk along the coast away. While the collection of this museum was far inferior to that of the Statens Museum for Kunst, it’s Danish equivalent, I was interested by its experiments on new ways to display sculpture. Instead of putting each piece on its own fancy marble pedestal, the museum placed marble statues either on fruit crates or wooden platforms and arranged them irregularly, whereas busts were cluttered together on a makeshift case made out of scaffolding material. One work was even displayed in the packaging with which it had come to the museum. It was not the most elegant way of doing things, but it definitely helps the visitor to reassess the ability of art to transform the environment in which it is placed.

Left: Exterior of the Nationalmuseum; Right: An innovative way of displaying sculpture

One good exhibit was Design 19002000, which featured many very sleek and creative household items which I would love to be able to afford. It’s renaissance counterpart, Design 15001600, also had a broad collection of objects from different cultures – there were Chinese porcelain, Turkish tapestries and carpets, Indian chairs and German metalware. The top floor, on the other hand, was pleasantly decorated but the 19th century paintings on display were decidedly much less attractive than those I had seen in equivalent museums in Germany.

Left: An exhibit in Design 19002000; The top floor of the National Museum

The rainy weather of the morning had cleared up by the time I exited the Nationalmuseum. So instead of going to another museum right away, I decided that I would explore the cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town. I absolutely loved the alternating yellow, ochre and orange buildings, traditional lampposts and canopies as well as irresistibly adorable shops, which included the kitsch souvenir shops typical of a tourist area, but also high-end chocolate stores, art galleries, antique dealerships, cafes, ice cream parlours. There I managed to pick up some small souvenirs for my family. I would have loved to buy more, but my very limited baggage allowance for the flight from Stockholm to Hong Kong would probably not allow it.

The picturesque cobblestone streets and charming boutique stores of Gamla Stan

But Gamla Stan was more than just a bunch of charming streets. There were also some very important and impressive buildings in the area, including the Riddarholmskyrkan with its soaring spire, and the Tyska Kyrkan which has German instead of Swedish text at its entrance gate. Unfortunately both churches had closed by the time I got there.

Left: Riddarholmskyrkan; Right: On the street right outside the Tyska Kyrkan

The one church in the area that was open was the Stockrykan, which means “Stockholm Cathedral”, where royal coronations and weddings were once held. The cathedral was built more than 700 years ago, back in the day when Sweden was a poor nation at the periphery of Europe instead of an affluent industrial power, so it really cannot be compared to its much more established equivalents in continental Europe. In terms of size, it could seat less than 1000 people, which made it smaller than the Princeton University Chapel (in case you are curious, yes I do miss Princeton in spite of having a wonderful time in Europe). The columns and arches were generally plain and the stained glass window somewhat ordinary, but the two relatively newer royal pews at the front of the cathedral were very eye-catching. Designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, architect of the Stockholm palace, each pew consisted of gracefully attired angels carrying a resplendent crown more than a metre in diameter above the area where the sovereign or his consort would be seated. The entire pews were covered in gold, which gave them a particularly distinctive appearance in the nave, which was otherwise constructed out of humble red brick. And in one of the transcepts was St. George and the Dragon, a gothic sculpture by the German artist Berdnt Notke commissioned by the Swedish royal court to commemorate a decisive victory over Denmark in 1471. The detail was incredibly elaborate, the postures and expressions were so lively that despite the sculpture’s more than 500 years of age, it still fills the viewer in awe and wonder of the admirable chivalry of the military saint.

The Stockyrkan, Sweden’s oldest parish church and former venue for royal weddings and coronations

Finally I went to the Swedish Academy next door, which housed the Nobelmuseet, with exhibitions on the Nobel Foundation as well as the achievements of Nobel laureates over the years. The permanent offerings were pleasant, but it was the temporary exhibit which was truly remarkable. Titled “Freedom of Expression: How Free is Free?”, it discussed the human right to free expression of opinion, its protections and boundaries, as well as examples of pertinent controversies. In a set of three red lighting-shaped drawers, one could read the stories of and quotes from people who were persecuted or censored in the past because they dared to say what those in power were not eager to hear: from Socrates and Martin Luther to Lech Wałęsa and Nelson Mandela. A set of display boards nearby addressed more recent controversies, such as Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, which prompted a fatwa from the Iranian Ayatollah demanding his execution, and the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist who authored the groundbreaking bestseller Putin’s Russia. Another one called into question the permissibilty of video games that glorify explicit violence, offensive content by the likes of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and extreme anti-Islamic claims by public figures like Italian writer Oriana Fallaci. Often the information was presented matter-of-factly and the viewer was left to reach his own decisions, which was a challening but deeply interesting task. I also liked the media station playing forbidden music throughout the ages, with works ranging from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen to Paul McCartney’s Give Ireland back to the Irish.

Left: Foyer of the Nobelmuseet; Right: Temporary exhibition on freedom of expression

There was finally a small role-play quiz involving a hypothetical scandal involving a nuclear tests that were poisoning the lives of thousands of people (The scandal was set in Norway instead of Sweden. I guess that says something about how the Swedes view their neighbours…). One could decide on whether or not to leak the scandal to the press, whether or not to maintain anonymity, how to handle the subsequent publicity and deal with death threats and the like. In the end the results would be analysed to tell the player whether he was conservative, moderate or liberal in terms of allowing freedom of expression, whether one would protect secrets against conscience or unravel them and put other’s lives in danger. It was anything but easy because of the ethical dilemmas it presented, but it definitely prompted me to reconsider how human rights were defined and when it is appropriate to take risks.

Though it wasn’t a very large exhibit, I spent an hour and a half inside, reading every single English word and watching most of the videos. This was definitely one of the most memorable non-art museums I have seen on this trip, and if other museums in Stockholm are of similar quality, I would be extremely delighted. Anyway, after browsing titles by Nobel laureates at the museum bookstore and trying extremely hard not to purchase anything that was available on Amazon.com, I had dinner at Vapiano (Sara had insisted that I should try something else, but other restaurants in the area were much more expensive), and then returned to my hostel. It was a great first day in this exciting city!

From Copenhagen to Stockholm

Before I go on with the entry on my first full day in Stockholm, let me provide a brief (and unfortunately photo-less) account of my last morning in Copenhagen and the journey from Denmark to Sweden. I spent much of the morning just packing and talking with Fe about my experiences all over the city. I then went out to her to a music instrument store to pick up her new guitar, and it was there that we struck up a very interesting conversation with the owner about Danish politics, in particular the tensions between the progressive citizens of cities such as Copenhagen, and the conservative residents of the Jutland Peninsula. I was quite surprised to learn that Denmark, with its population of only 5 million, has a rather wide spectrum of political opinion which mirrors that of much larger countries, which results in issues such as social welfare and immigration policy frequently being called to debate. It definitely defies the stereotype (and my own naive preconception) of Scandinavians all having one voice!

This was followed by a lunch of Smørrebrød (the traditional Danish open-faced sandwich) at M Restaurant, a place which decor I found to be brilliantly hip, though Fe noted that this was typical of eateries in Copenhagen. I ordered a quintessentially Danish smoked eel with scrambled egg Smørrebrød, which sounded odd at first but turned out to be very refreshing. Then as we stepped out of the restaurant, we were lured by the rich taste of dairy from the cheese shop called Ostehjørnet right underneath the restaurant. The shopkeeper there was extremely friendly and kept providing us with brilliant recommendations and generous samples. Fe was so impressed, she told her she would work at the shop for free whenever help was needed! I would have done the same had I lived in Copenhagen. Anyway, I ended up buying a slab of Norwegian goat cheese which melts in the mouth like caramel, in addition to two chunks of delicious Danish cheese, all of which were now packed in air-tight bags and sitting in my luggage case. Being able to unwrap the cheeses, enjoy their wonderful aromas once again and devour them ravenously is one big reason for me to look forward to getting home at the end of the week.

A quick cup of espresso and two mini pastries at an outdoor cafe later, I bid Fe goodbye and was off to the airport on Copenhagen’s modern and comfortable Metro. Public transportation in the Danish capital is generally horrifyingly expensive, but the ride from Kongens Nytorv (right next to Nyhavn) to the airport was surprisingly reasonably priced. The Norwegian Airlines flight was of course much less enjoyable, but since I got the ticket for just a little more than €40, I definitely am not complaining.

Soon after I arrived at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport I was whisked off to the city centre on the Arlanda Express. This was one train service which quality rivals that of Deutsche Bahn: travelling at 200 km/h, the train completed its journey within 20 minutes. I would not have minded if the ride had taken longer though, for the tennis court inspired train interiors done by Swedish sports legend Björn Borg was comfortable and very attractive. The Stockholm Metro (or Tunnelbana, as locals call it), which I next used, was also quite the paragon of efficiency. It had 100 stations compared to Copenhagen’s meager 22, and was much cheaper for me as well, mainly due to the fact that the age limit for concessionary tickets is 25.

By six in the afternoon I was already in my hostel, converted from the former imperial prison which closed down in 1975. But since I had used my clean clothing up to the very last article in Copenhagen, I could not spend the evening exploring the city, and instead stayed in to do my laundry. Then I uploaded my photos from Legoland Billund, wrote the blog entry on Copenhagen Day 4, and headed to bed in anticipation of the exciting day ahead – the day about which you shall soon read!