Gamla Stan

At the heart of Stockholm is a small island of Stadsholmen, which is where you can find the Gamla Stan.  Gamla Stan is Swedish for the "old town".  Walking the narrow cobblestone streets here is like stepping back into the 13th century.

An ordinary narrow street

The narrowest street -- Mårten Trotzigs gränd

At the north end of the island is the royal palace.  We got there in time to watch the changing of the guard ceremony.

I'll admit that after watching the changing of the guard in both Oslo and in Copenhagen, I was thinking that we maybe could skip this one.  After all if you've seen one changing of the guard you've seen them all, right?  Not so; I was totally wrong!  Not only did the soldiers literally prance around the square, but also the cavalry band performed several choreographed musical numbers on horseback.  There was even a guy with two timpani drums who controlled his horse's reins with his feet.  Very impressive, and I'm glad we didn't miss it.

We also took a walk over to the nearby island of Riddarholm.

The church on this island (Riddarholmskyrkan) is the traditional burial place of many of the Swedish monarchs.  Some of the crypts are really quite creepy-looking.

Riddarholmskyrkan isn't really used much today for worship, it's more of a museum.  Instead, the Storkyrkan (Grand Church) in the heart of Gamla Stan is used as the city's cathedral.  But I can't imagine going to a church every week where my view of the service is blocked by a massive statue of St. George slaying the dragon.  It would be impossible for me to pay attention to the sermon.

Not far from the Storkyrkan is number 5 Österlånggatan.  This is the apartment building where Kevin's great-grandmother Ada used to live.  Although there are so many historical buildings in Gamla Stan, I'm sure a lot has changed in Gamla Stan since she lived here!

The Vasa and Djurgården

The number one attraction in Stockholm on Tripadvisor is the Vasa Museum, so we made sure it was one of the first things we visited. We were not disappointed!

Model of the Vasa as it would have looked in the 1600's

Back in the 1600's, Sweden's king commissioned the Vasa.  At the time it was the largest warship ever constructed, and one of the few in the world with two gundecks for cannon.  It was an ornate and beautiful piece of art as well, with gilt woodcarvings decorating the stern.  The only problem?  It was too narrow and top-heavy.  It was so unstable that on its maiden voyage it sank in Stockholm harbor after being hit with a light gust of wind.  It lay buried in mud for 333 years.

The Vasa today - so massive I couldn't fit it all in one photo

In the 1950's Swedish archaeologists re-discovered the ship in its watery grave and the country began a massive effort to raise and conserve it.  They towed the nearly-intact hull to a specially built facility, and over the next several decades scientists studied it while painstakingly putting it all back together as it would have been on the day it sank.  It is unique in the world -- a time capsule of 17th century life in the Swedish navy.

Carvings on the ship's stern

The Vasa museum is over on the island of Djurgården, which used to be the Swedish king's game park.

Park entrance gate

Now it's the place where Swedes go on the weekends to enjoy the green spaces and summer sunshine.

The island has museums, amusement parks, walking paths, cafes, and flower gardens.

We spent several hours exploring the park and then stopped at a waterside cafe for pizza and beers.  A great start to our stay here in Stockholm!

Stockholm, Sweden

Today we arrived in beautiful Stockholm!

Stortorget, the main square in the old town (Gamla Stan)

We will be here for four weeks, so we rented an apartment from AirBnb.  It's a studio, but it feels pretty spacious and it's in a great location (the Södermalm neighborhood, just south of the old town).

We did have to laugh at the sleeping alcove with it's "I Love Lucy"-style twin beds.  I'll admit it's a clever use of space; IKEA designers would be proud.

Stockholm covers a much larger area than Copenhagen.  The town is spread out among several islands and part of the mainland.  After spending a bit of time figuring out the bus pass and transit system, we managed to get into the old town for a quick walk around before hopping on a scenic cruise to get our bearings.  It was a good introduction to the city, but it made for a busy and exhausting first day!

Visby

We took a long ferry ride yesterday and arrived in the city of Visby on the island of Gotland.  Visby is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Northern Europe.  Coming here is like visiting a Renaissance festival.

The old town is encircled by a two-mile wall.  Most of the defensive towers still stand, although the city was attacked many times in its history.  Several sections of the wall are damaged.

Visby is somewhat touristy but has an authentic vibe.  After all, this place was built to protect trade, not attract tourists on vacation.  The town was a part of the Hanseatic trading league and some of the warehouses in town date back to the 1200's. The old buildings have been re-purposed from medieval goods storage to shops and cafes.

Even with all the Swedish and German tourists (Americans were definitely in the minority), we still found a few pretty and secluded alleyways.  People do actually live here, although for some it's just a summer house and they pack up and leave when the weather turns cold.

Scattered around town are the ruins of ten medieval churches, each one towering over the the surrounding buildings.  The ruins of Sankt Karin dominate the city's largest square.

We had lunch at the Sankt Hans Cafe.  When we walked through the door to the courtyard to find a place to sit we were amazed to see all the tables scattered among the remains of not one but two churches -- Sankt Per (Peter) and Sankt Hans (John).

I mentioned that coming here is like visiting a Renaissance festival, and in fact next week is Medieval Week which is a huge event for Visby.  Costumed medieval revelers will take over the whole town and spend the week jousting, drinking mead, trading, and whatever else medieval people did. Apparently back then they had pancake buffets.

It doesn't start until Sunday (the day after we leave -- poor planning on my part!) but an early bird was touring the park this morning.

We are sad to miss out on the fun, but I guess that's just another reason to come back here someday.  That, and the beautiful sunsets.

Kalmar Castle

A couple hours north of Kristianstad is the city of Kalmar.  It used to be a very strategically important town since it was on the old border between Sweden and Denmark.  The city was fortified with walls and a castle to help protect the border.

Construction of Kalmar Castle began in the late 1100's -- at first it was just a single defense tower, but over the centuries it grew to the size it is today.  After the Swedish/Danish border moved further south, the castle wasn't really needed for defense and was used as a prison, grain storage, and finally -- a tourist attraction.  Yes, the tour guides are required to dress the part.

We spent most of the day at the castle, and had a fantastic lunch at the cafe inside.  Our lunch didn't feature swan on the menu, but we did have some delicious Swedish meatballs.  And, of course, herring for Kevin.

This area of Sweden is known for its glass artists, and the castle had a temporary exhibition with some works on display.  My favorite was this glass forest that looked like hanging ice sculptures.

Here's the view of the castle from the park across the inlet.  Very imposing, even from a distance.  Definitely worth a visit to Kalmar!

Kristianstad, Sweden

This morning we took the train across the Øresund strait to Sweden, ultimately arriving in the small town of Kristianstad.  We're only here for one night, but it's a pretty town and easy to explore on foot.  There's a really nice pedestrian-only area with cobblestone streets and lots of shopping and cafes.

The main reason we decided to stop here is because Kristianstad was historically a garrison town for the Swedish military, and Kevin's paternal great-great-great-great grandfather was stationed here in the early 1800's.  The town has recently restored one of the old city bastions to its original pointed-star shape, complete with replica cannons...

...and a picturesque moat.  It's possible that Kevin's ancestor once walked along the raised bastion, keeping an eye out for those pesky Danish invaders.

We found out too late that one town over, in Åhus, is where Absolut vodka is produced.  Unfortunately our train leaves early tomorrow morning.  I guess we'll have to settle for beers instead!

Farvel, Copenhagen! (video post)

Well, it's time to say goodbye to Copenhagen.  Tomorrow we head over the Øresund Bridge to Sweden!  We've had a great time these past few weeks -- here's a video with some highlights.

Sunset behind Rosenborg Castle at Kongens Have