Solo in Stockholm Aug 8

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Holly speaking…Gary needed another rest day in the hotel for his knee before we move on tomorrow, but I felt the urge to get out and about, so today’s blog is about me and my adventures!

But before any fun could be had, there was work to do. The day started soooo early as we needed to do more laundry and around here, you’ve got to get in before everyone else wakes up. There are only 4 washing machines and 2 dryers on our floor and the washing machines will only hold about 4 or 5 articles of clothing. All the knobs are, of course, in Swedish and it is a bit of a guessing game to get the machines going. Laundry continues to be the bane of traveling light…

Stockholm’s city center, which is the main hub of tourist activity, is built on a group of islands connected by bridges, which makes it easy, interesting and fun to explore on foot. After taking the metro into town, I walked to the nearby tour boat ticket office and booked the Historical Canal Tour that lasts a little less than an hour. The boat slowly circled one of the city’s islands and with the nice weather and beautiful scenery, I enjoyed the ride. One thing you might not think about – I didn’t – many people in Sweden love to work on their tan. During the short summer, there are hoards of people baking on every flat surface. I think they are trying to soak up as much sun as possible before the long, cruel, dark days of winter set in.

Also, interestingly, about 16% of Stockholm’s people are immigrants which makes this is a vibrant, culturally integrated city.

After the canal tour, I crossed a bridge and walked to another of the city’s islands to roam around and take some photos. There are so many architecturally interesting buildings every direction you turn and in town and along the water’s edge, they make incredible cityscapes.

I stumbled upon the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace and this was truly a spectacle worth seeing, complete with uniformed soldiers playing drums and trumpets while on horseback.

I managed to let 2 hours slip away before realizing how hungry I was. I wanted to catch the 3pm tour of the City Hall and hadn’t allowed myself time for a proper lunch.

I stepped into a café and picked up a tomato/cheese sandwich and ate it while I retraced my steps through Old Town and back towards Central. City Hall is not that remarkable a structure other than it is big, has a tower and occupies prime real estate. The main reason it draws tourists is that it is the location of the awarding of nearly all of the Nobel prizes and the tour passes through the space used as the banquet/presentation hall for the awards.

Nearly 4pm and I was ready to head for the barn. I had to start organizing my stuff in preparation for moving on in the morning. One last item on the Stockholm agenda, I wanted to have a little more authentic Swedish food before leaving.

We treated ourselves to a wonderful meal of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes (kottbullar och potatis) served with lingonberries. We also shared some hash (pytti panna) served with beetroot and a fried egg on top. Just for your reference, based on our personal experience, a few more things they do extremely well in Stockholm – ice cream, pastries and chocolates.