STOCKHOLM AND ITS SITES

      Stockholm has a population of a million, but include  the suburbs and that number  doubles. About 12% of the country’s population is foreigners and 25% of those live in the Stockholm area. The rather lax immigration rules of the past are now stricter.

      In 2005 Stockholm was voted the most modern European city. The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1912.

      Elegant Stockholm is a beautiful capital built on 14 islands linked by 54 bridges, but visitors only need to be concerned with 4-5 islands. In the center of Gotland, in the Baltic, a mild natural paradise has many fine beaches and wildflowers. Lund and Uppsala are rich in history and tradition with famous universities and churches. The city, on the country’s east coast, was founded in 1250 as a fortress at the junction of Lake Malaren and the Baltic Sea.  The Royal Capital is ideally situated for trade and maritime connections. The city has historic ties to France, and that is reflected in some of the architecture.

      The city is often called the city of water or the Venice of the north. Besides the islands and bridges, Stockholm has its towers and steeples, cobbled squares, broad boulevards, Renaissance splendor as well as its steel and glass skyscrapers. The city is one-third green, one-third blue water, and one-third for living.    

    The city, with a lively and lovely medieval heart, has pure water and is ringed by quiet woods. An archipelago of 14,000 islands protects the city from the open sea. The city gracefully balances its loyalty to cultural tradition with its affection for modern innovation. The clean green city is understated. Sweden is famous for its glass and crystal.

     Stockholm has a world-class transport infrastructure. Many multinational companies are located in the largest city in the largest country in Scandinavia.

      Our hotel in Stockholm overlooked the Kings Hops Park where hops were grown in the 18^th century for the royal brewery.  King Garden Square, located downtown, was only a short walk away. Five hundred years ago it was the king’s kitchen garden where he raised vegetables. Today it is surrounded by the Sweden House, NK department store and the harbor front; it is a great place for people watching.

      Katrina Church. In the 1600s the king wanted to move old town to a new site because of overcrowding. He built the church first and named it after his mother. It took 40 years to complete. In 1723 a fire destroyed the church and 400 homes. Ten years later the church was rebuilt. In a 1990 fire arson was suspected, but it turned out that old fuses had caused a spark that started the fire. The old foundation and bolts were able to be used when the church was rebuilt in 1995.

     In Old Town, Gamla Stan. the winding cobbled streets are lantern lit. The area was built by merchants dealing with the Hanseatic League. Walking the charming area we saw the narrowest street in Europe, the oldest restaurant, 1421, still in business, a church and the palace. The Italian Baroque Royal Palace, 1754, is the official residence used for state functions. It was built, with 608 rooms, on site of the first Renaissance-style castle that burned in 1697. The statue gazing at the palace is of King Gustav II who was assassinated at a masquerade ball in 1792.   The Royal family lives in Drottningholm.

      At the Vasa Museum the king’s mighty new ship, the Vasa was the center of a huge celebration on the day of her maiden voyage in 1628. She sailed with 145 men on board with plans to pick up 300 soldiers just outside the harbor entrance. She also sailed with all of her gun ports open.  A wind blew  the top-heavy ship and soon water started going in the gun ports which were too close to the waterline. She sank twenty minutes into her maiden voyage, before even leaving the harbor. Several of her crew died, and she was not raised until 1961.

      During the trip we saw several May poles still standing. The pole traditionally is covered with leaves, often beech, and flowers. Girls pick 7-9 flowers and place them under her pillow to remain silent until morning and to dream of a beau. Boys eat salt to dream of a girl pouring him beer and to eventually become his wife.

     One of the  hotels in the city has  ice bar that can accommodate 30 people. Reservations are needed for the half-hour stay. Everything in the bar is made of ice including the glasses. People are given parkers to stay warm while enjoying this experience.

     In Sweden they don’t cross their fingers for good luck, but instead fold their thumb into their palm and say hold you thumbs.  Peppakahor is a thin, round, fluted cookie made of pepper and almonds. At Christmas time they are used to make the equivalent of gingerbread houses. They taste a lot like a ginger cookie.

     In Sweden I found a couple unusual manhole covers and one of these days I’ll gather all of the ones I’ve collected for a show and tell post. 

You might want to check post: Gorgeous city hall  8- 3- 14

                                                  Skansen ecomuseum  4-3 -11

SWEDEN

                              A Beautiful Part of the World
     Sweden, a little bit larger than California lies on the Scandinavian Peninsula between Norway and Finland. Running 900 miles north to south, it is the third largest country in Western Europe. The southern part of the country lies on the Scandinavian Peninsula between Norway and Finland and is home to 85% of the population.  Its strict neutrality left the country undamaged during two world wars. It is a country of forests, sparkling lakes, unspoiled wilderness, a fascinating folk culture, and  an expensive place to be for travelers. Because of its long, narrow shape and northerly location, the landscape is highly diversified. The ever-varying Swedish coastline stretches 1500 miles from Haparanda on the Finnish border, high up in the Gulf of Bothnia, all the way to Norway and the North Sea to the west. Sweden has majestic mountains and glaciers, 100,000 lakes, as well as wide-open countryside, interspersed by small idyllic villages and vibrant cities. The north enjoys the midnight sun in the summer.

      Sweden has more than 25,000 protected Iron Age graveyards and burial mounds, 1140 prehistoric fortresses, 2500 open air Rune stones and 3000 churches, almost one–third of them medieval. There are thousands of nature reserves, 28 national parks, more than 10,000 kilometers of trekking and bicycle paths, not to mention 10 royal castles in the Stockholm area.

      The country can be divided into three regions with the mountains being in the northern region, the lakes in the hilly central region and the broad plateau in the southern part of the country. Oland and Gotland are the largest and most populated islands.

      The ancient Svea tribe inhabited the country east and west for thousands of years. They were followed by the Swedish Vikings or Russ who traveled east naming that area Russia. They sailed around Europe and then the Mediterranean.  The three crowns represent these three tribes. In the 17^th century Sweden was a major European power with a large naval fleet. The empire included the Baltics, Finland, part of Poland, Russia and Germany. By the 19^th century the war wary empire shrunk and the present borders were drawn in 1809. About one-third of the population emigrated in the 19^th century and many Swedes came to the United States.

       Instead of fighting in WW II Sweden spent those years building its economy. A recession in the 1990s was buoyed by multi-national companies. Think Saab, Volvo, Ericsson, and forest products from IKEA. Sweden joined the European Union.

      Although Sweden has a sex-pot reputation, teen pregnancy and STD infections are very low. Ninety percent of the population is Lutheran, but only five percent attend church. Swedes find religion in nature such as fishing, hiking and relaxing at their summer cabins. Eighty percent of the country is wilderness. At work Swedes are diligent, but relaxed and a bit wild at play. Summer is festival season. Sweden is the most populous Scandinavian country, but a low birth and mortality rate make the population among the oldest in the world. Seventeen percent of the people are over 65 years old.

      Scandinavian design, with its roots in social idealism, natural forms and balance between aesthetic and functionality, is much more than an imposed sense of style. It is a way of life and is apparent in homes, businesses and public spaces.

      Well to do families desired red brick homes. Less fortunate people painted their houses red as a substitute. Immigrants make up eight percent of the country’s five million population. Sweden is a monarchy with a parliamentary government.