A Winter visit to Stockholm

The best time to visit any Scandinavian country would ideally be spring, with lots of warmth and freshness around. Stockholm is a historic place, built on 14 islands surrounded by water. On a winter visit to Stockholm, if you are from a tropical country, it is advisable to keep yourself warm adequately.  Most of the Hop- on Hop-off Bus/Boat sightseeing won’t be available in winter, depending on the weather.  My winter visit to Stockholm was a memorable one.  From Arlanda Airport, we purchased the Stockholm Card which enabled us to use public transport and visit museums. There are about 70 museums, few to mention would be Historiska Museet , where the culture and art from the Stone Age to the mid-1500s are preserved.                                                                             

Nordiska Museet

In Nordiska Museet, we can explore trends and traditions, folk art, textiles, furnished rooms and learn of the cultural history.

It was interesting to know more on the Laplanders or the Sami people. Their costume called Gakti was on display. The colours, patterns and jewellery on Gakti indicates which region the person is from, if the person is single or married, sometimes they are even specific to a family. The audio recording that caught my attention was the voice of a young Sami girl who says that her grandma asks her to learn Swedish language instead of Sami language to get better job prospects. There are about 9 Sami languages. Six of them have written scripts and the other three are moribund. There are hardly 10-20 speakers left in these three languages. Many native languages are at the verge of extinction.

Local wooden furniture

The exhibits at Museet

The Banquet of Aristocrats

The furniture displayed are made of the local timber in different animal forms. The exhibit of clocks are in two different genders (female and male). The banquet display shows the cutlery and food served by the aristocrats for formal dinners with other nobles.In this museum we can see the Swedish culture and tradition in nutshell.

Exhibit at Skansen

Dwellings found in Skansen

Skansen Open-Air Museum has more than 150 dwellings and farms that have been transported from different parts of the country. You can see Nordic animals at Skansen.

            

Vasa

Vasa Museet has the world's only surviving 17th century ship. Vasa is the name of the ship from 1600s that capsized in its maiden voyage. The ship is believed to have capsized due to it's own weight. It was salvaged in 1961 and about 95% of its original parts have been preserved and exhibited.

The other museums to mention would be, Aquaria Vattenmuseum, The Nobel Museum, National Museum and many more.

Aquaria Vattenmuseum

An interesting place to visit at Gamla Stan (Old Town) would be, The Royal Palace. The town was believed to be founded in 1200s. The ruler at that time, Birger Jarl, had built a city wall and fortified Gamla Stan to lock the entrance of Lake Malaren, the third largest lake in Sweden. The fortress was known as Tre Kronor and it was destroyed by fire in 1697. It was later rebuilt as the Royal Palace and is the official residence of the monarch.

The Royal Palace

The Royal Guard

There is Gustav III’s AntikMuseum, Museum Tre Kronor-the remnants of the Castle destroyed by fire in 1697 can be seen, the Royal Treasury, Royal Armoury, The Royal Guard stationed in the Palace is a popular tourist attraction. Along the cobblestoned alleys, there are diverse mix of boutiques, antique shops and much of the original medieval stonework remain behind visible facades, and inside the buildings are medieval cellar vaults, frescoes from the 1500s, high-class Rococo interiors, and extravagant 19th century decor.

Skyview

The Stockholm landmark, Skyview, the Ericsson Globe at Globen takes you to the top of the world’s largest spherical building.            

Into the world of shopping, Bibliotekstan, Sture Gallerian  are Stockholm’s premium shopping arcade, Åhléns City, Gallerian, PUB, Iris Hantverk, Kerstin Adolphson, Arts and Crafts, Knits, to name a few shopping  centres. There are many restaurants for your taste buds, Zum Franziskaner, at Gamla Stan is the oldest restaurant founded in 1421. Kungsgatan with Nordiska Kristall, The Royal Opera House, and Casino Cosmopol is a real happening place.

Nordic Hotel Ice Bar

       

Another wonderful experience was at Nordic Hotel Ice Bar where the interior and glasses are made of crystal clear ice from the Torne River. The Ice Bar is in the form of a submarine, with Periscope and Captains Wheel. The wall of the submarine has etchings of fish swimming. The temperature is maintained at -5 degrees C throughout to keep the Ice furniture in shape. Ice bar at Vasaplan is a nice way to spend the weekend with a choice of your drink in an Ice glass.

This winter trip to Stockholm adds sweet memories of the wonderful time we spent with our friend and family and I also visited my spouse’s first workplace.