longer you stay there, the more foreign it becomes. "Sweden's
literature and cinema favour a weighty, gothic sense of drama blended
with gallows humor and stark aesthetics -- all of which, in some form,
at some point, will confront the visitor...Attentive visitors will
notice a tone here that hints at many things: depth of feeling,
awareness of doom, absence of sentimentality, strength of principle,
avoidance of conflict, a sombre conviction that certain things simply
matter." While these intangibles won't make it into the post-trip
slideshow, "the mysterious Swedish sensibilty enhances every aspect of
a traveler's experience."'
Of course I can only speak to Stockholm, but I definitley think the
writer was on to something. I thought about these ideas everytime I
passed through the cavernous, ominously decorated Kunstragårdan subway
station or waked through the impossibly beautiful and slightly
sinister streets of Gamla Stan. Also, the light is beautiful. I am
mostly interested in walking around and gawping at stuff, taking
picutres, and resting my feet in places where there is more stuff to
gawp at. Stockholm certainly filled that bill.'
I had found my teeny tiny hotel room (think train compartment) online
and was actually very satisified with it. The city is hugely
expensive and considering how little time you spend in your room, you
don't need a lot of space. It was quiet, comfortable, and in a very
handy location for transport. Transportation for this entire sidetrip
was amazing. When I got back, I felt as though I had been ticking
along inside a giant Swiss watch for days. My nephew dropped me at the
Oslo train station on his way to work on Tuesday morning. I got on
the Flytoget to Oslo Gardermoen airport a few minutes after that,
having bought my ticket at a machine. Twenty minutes later, I was
checking in (again via machine) for my Norwegian Air flight. Just
carried a small backback for these few days, so for once I really was
travelling light. The plane left on time and an hour later I was
buying another ticket from another machine, this time for the Arlanda
Express from Arlanda Airport to Stockholm Central Station. Again, 20
minutes later I was in the city.
Once I bought a Stockholm Card, I was able to use it on all of the
city buses, trams, and underground trains as well as the little Hop On
Hop Off Boats that travel among several of the islands that hold the
most visitor attractions. Forgive me if I started calling them the
Hip Hop boats in my head. I was on and off them all the time. I love
being on the water, and the weather was quite warm so it was also a
way to cool down. I spend the first afternoon getting oriented and
walking around in Gamla Stan. While I have posted a few photos from my
iPhone, I have many more taken with a small Canon that will eventually
find their way onto Flickr. (I'll send a link when they are up.) I
left my DSLR in Norway and somewhat regretted it, but I still think I
have a few good pictures and was definitely not weighed down by the
little Canon.
A word about the iPhone. As is no secret, I do not have any sort of
sense of direction. Can I just say that the iPhone is like a Star Trek
communicator and the Marauder's Map from Harry Potter all rolled in to
one! Every time you come up out of the subway, you can hit that
search button on Google Maps and a littel blue dot shows you right
where you are. But that's not all, folks. Punch in your next
destination - an address or a subway station or a square - and it will
give you a map and directions geared for walking. Then the little
blue dot moves along with you, so if like me you head off in the
wronig direction ANYWAY, it will soon set you straight. This really
saved me tons of time and frustration.
Besides the lovely streets of Gamla Stan, I enjoyed visiting the
Cathedral there. I believe it will be the venue for the big royal
wedding coming up next month, though I'm not 100 per cent sure on
that. I am sure that Stockholm has wedding fever in a very big and not
uincommercial way. Sadly for everyone I could not fit any mugs with
the couple's mugs into my little daypack. From the cathedral, I
carried on to the royal apartments in the palace -- ornate, barqoque,
frenchified, and charming. There is also a room that is quite modern
designed for the current royals and featuring Swedish art and design.
Quite the most cheerful spot in the place. I also dipped into the
Treasury to see crowns and swords, then stood in the hot sun with
every other tourist in town that day to watch the changing of the
guard. I have to say it seemed kind of Ruritanian to me, but very
enjoyable. The band played the uusal marches and flourishes but also
wheeled around to ABBA at one point and does some nifty things with
drum solos. A definite crowd pleaser.
My second full day I went to Riddarholm, the island where you find the
oldest church in Stockholm and all the law courts and far fewer
tourists. In the afternoon I visited the modern art museum and had
lunch there. The terrace was lovely -- and everyone wants to eat
outside because of the nice weather and sunshine. I gave it a try but
saw that the dirty plates were under attack by an aggressive seagull
and got worried about having his business plop on my head, so I
retreated to the long tables inside, which still had a spectacular view.
After checking out on Friday morning, I left my bag and hopped back
onto the subway and a boat to visit Skansen, the outdoor museum.
Don't know if you've been to one of these open air musuems or not.
Old houses and shops from all over the country are lovingly restored
and situated. There are animals, gardens, intepretive guides in
costumes and loads of photo ops. Even the reindeer will pose, I
swear. I barely had enough time to get a sense of the place and
then back into that Swiss watch for my trip back to Norway: Hip Hop
Boat to Gamla Stan, subway to hotel, pick up bag, subway to train
station, Arlanda Express to airport, Norwegian air to Gardarmoen,
Flytoget to Oslo S and then my personal driver to take me back to
Drøbak for dinner. What could be better?
Ha det!
Suzanne
No comments:
Post a Comment