Die beste Bildung

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!