Stockholm Smorgasbord

On Tuesday, we disembarked the Viking Sea. The rest of our adventure was to be on our own, and it was starting with several nights in Stockholm. We first visited Stockholm in late May 2016, when I was recovering from a nasty cold, and Jerry was in full bloom with it, including fever. So we hoped to cover a little more territory this time and with a little more vigor.

We arrived in a heavy drizzle, 40 some degrees, and on a national holiday—May 1, Labor Day and the long-awaited kick off to summer. Because we arrived at our Gamla Stan (old town) hotel at 9:15am—the ship hustles people off first thing in the morning since they have a whole new phalanx of cruisers arriving midday—we had 5 hours before check in. We stowed our bags and set out, only to find that absolutely nothing was open. No shops, very few cafes. Ah, but the Stockholm Cathedral was open. We had visited it before, but it looked warm and dry. We took our time and enjoyed our visit lots more than our first one.

The onyx and silver altarpiece.

The main square in Gamla Stan, Stortorget.

We took to the streets and walked through the old town, discovering a number of little side streets and nooks and crannies we hadn’t seen before.

We later stopped for lunch on the main square (another warm, dry haven), and the rain stopped while we ate. Yes! But some excitement was brewing. Speakers and a dais were being set up in the square while we dined. Something was about to happen. National holiday, a few hundred feet from the royal palace: maybe the king would make an appearance, or a few local dignitaries perhaps. Or, with all the sound equipment, maybe a concert. We decided to stay to see what would unfold.

What we got was a Labor Day workers parade. Different groups, waving flags, many in all black, and some wearing kerchiefs covering their faces. A young woman climbed the fountain in the square to plant a flag. As the group kept getting bigger and rowdier, we opted to move to the fringe, still wondering what we were watching at that point. A man started a conversation with us as he could see we were eyeing the best route out of the square. He explained what we were seeing and told us these groups represented the far left and were people “unhappy with the system,” including a number of anarchists. We asked what was likely to happen, and he said there would be many speeches, each group wanting to have their say. At that point, we decided to see if our room was ready. Lots of speeches in Swedish we thought we could probably skip.

Wednesday was going to be our only day with good weather, so we knew we had to take advantage of things outdoors and save some drier options for Thursday. One thing I wanted to see was the “daily” military parade. At this time of year, daily translates to twice a week, and Wednesday was one of those days.

We had seen the changing of the guard in 2016. It’s relatively elaborate, but you have to claim a spot about an hour in advance, and it lasts an hour plus. I thought watching the band and soldiers march across the river and approach the palace would be fun—and much shorter. There is no specific time for these things. Just as we reached the conclusion that it wasn’t going to happen, we walked away from the bridge. No sooner said than done, I could hear a military band. Here came a couple horse patrol people, then the band, followed by the soldiers. Quick and fun.

Palace lion.

Marching past the opera house.

Some pretty buildings near the opera house.

After the parade, we walked to the boat harbor and took a canal cruise. What a pretty way to see the city.

A view of the most exclusive address in town, Strandvagen.

Our last view of the Viking Sea, our home for the previous 3 weeks. It would be sailing out of Stockholm by early evening.

The most imposing retirement home I think I’ve ever seen and with a lovely harbor view.

Coming back toward Gamla Stan.

After the cruise, we walked through a neighborhood we hadn’t explored before and spent some time in Kungstradgarden, “the king’s garden.” Everybody was out enjoying the day and the flowering trees.

Another handsome lion, one of four at the base of a statue. I can’t tell you how long I had to wait for a picture of the lion unadorned with kids or young women getting their pictures taken astride the lions.

Then we discovered a church near the opera house we hadn’t even noticed before: St. Jacob’s Kyrka.

Thursday was forecast to be very wet. And cold. As in low 40’s cold. We had gone back and forth on what indoor options we might choose. Since the rain hadn’t started by the time we set out, we opted to make a public transit foray to the end of Djurgarden, two islands away from our old town island of Gamla Stan. The object of our effort was to visit Thielska Galleriet, a private house art museum. I had been hoping to see some Carl Larsson art. The National Museum was closed for renovation when we were in Stockholm in 2016. And, amazingly, it was still closed, not reopening until October. Thielska was one other place where we could see some Larssons, some other Swedish artists, and some Munch (even if he was a Norwegian).

We bought bus passes and then had to walk about 20 minutes to where we could catch the right bus. We waited quite awhile for it to arrive. It was absolutely jammed. Where were all these people going? We rode the bus to the end of the line and never figured it out. Only a few were going where we were going. A group of women got off at a park, and some students got off along the way. Anyway, that was one very popular bus.

Thielska was not a huge venue, but with very nicely set up spaces for showing art on three floors. There was a whole room of Munch, some very large scale.

Carl Larsson, Azalea (1906).

The Munch room.

Edvard Munch, The Ladies On the Bridge (1903). This beautiful piece was about 6 feet by 8 feet.

The trip back into the city was more comfortable. Catching a bus at the end of the line just about guarantees getting a seat. We spent more time in the city, but ultimately decided to head back to our hotel, hoping to dry out before venturing out again in the evening.

Naturally, the sun came out Friday morning as we headed to the airport to pick up a car and start the next segment of our adventure. In spite of the less than ideal weather, we enjoyed our time in pretty Stockholm. It’s a very approachable city and appears to be a very livable one.