TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2012—Stockholm
Mari-Anne and I headed out for one of the premier areas to visit in the Stockholm area—Djurgården, which is an island close to the central city. The island has been royal land since the 15th century and has a lot of green space, walking paths, museums, etc. We had but part of a day to spend there, but I believe one could easily spend most of a week there! Skansen, located on the island, is the world’s oldest open-air museum. About 150 buildings from throughout Sweden have been moved here in an effort to depict how people lived and worked in the 19th and early 20th century—or earlier. We went into “shops” such as a glass blowing shop, a furniture maker’s shop, grocery, hardware store, bakery, etc., where people (many in period dress) showed us how they made their products or showed off their wares that were for sale at the time. The docents were always ready to explain what they were doing and answer our questions.
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| Skansen Glass Blowing Shop |
Some interesting farm buildings were located outside the “village” proper. The photo shows a farm building from southern Sweden from the beginning of the 19th century. The information sign stated that similar homes existed
in Sweden from early Medieval times. The central, low-ridged cottage was used for eating, sleeping and working. To the left was a storehouse that was also used as sleeping quarters in the summer. A weaving room was to the right of the central cottage. The upper floors were used for storage.
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| 19th Century Farm Home |
Another interesting exhibit were the two “allotment huts” that came from Stockholm’s southern island. During World War I middle-class people were allotted small plots of land to use for growing vegetables to help alleviate the serious food shortages in the cities. Small shelters were initially built on the plots to provide shelter from rain but these were later replaced by more elaborate huts.
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| Alottment Hut |
The Stockholm Zoo featuring animals found in Scandinavia was adjacent to the open-air museum and, since people were finishing their summer holidays, this area attracted a great many children. The Seglora kyrka (Seglora Church) was erected in 1730 and moved to Skansen in 1916. The walls are timbered and both the roof and the walls are lined with oak shingles on the outside. The shingles are painted with a mixture of tar and traditional red paint. The tower was built in the 1780’s. Inside, the church is whitewashed and the barrel-vaulted ceiling was painted in 1735. This is one of Sweden’s most popular churches for weddings.
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| Seglora Kyrka |
We took a short stroll down a tree-covered path to a botanical garden that specialized in plants native to Sweden. This was a large colorful garden and visitors were encouraged to pick flowers to take with them. Mari-Anne, guide extraordinaire, knew of a place to eat in the garden and we enjoyed delicious sandwiches and tea under the shade of an umbrella.
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| Botanical Garden on Djurgården |
Following lunch, we took a bus and the subway back to downtown Stockholm. Along the way we passed buildings with exclusive condos in central Stockholm that are priced at around $1 million USD or more for a small 1,000 square foot unit. We walked around the central Stockholm shopping district and Mari-Anne pointed out several areas of interest that I would not have seen without her. We also visited the Stockholm Concert Hall, a large blue neoclassical architectural-style building with gray columns at the front, which is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also the location in Stockholm where the Nobel Prizes (except the Nobel Peace Prize) are awarded. (The City Hall hosts the banquet for awardees.) Close by was the City Conference Centre with a beautiful fountain in the plaza. I decided this was the perfect fountain to have a picture taken nearby to complete the geocache challenge “Fountains of the World”.
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Mari-Anne and I by the City
Conference Centre Plaza
Fountain |
Soon it was time to catch a bus and head southeast to meet Gunnar for dinner at Fåfängan, a quiet restaurant high on a hill with breathtaking views of Stockholm and the harbor. The evening was beautiful, the company was wonderful, the food was very good, and we were constantly entertained by views of the city and the busy harbor with cruise ships coming and going, ferries sailing to and fro, and other smaller sea vessels moving along the waterways. After dinner, we walked down the hillside to catch a bus, then the subway, and finally the train back to Jakobsberg. It had been another long and wonderful day in Stockholm!
Stockholm Harbor
