Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm – another idyllic sunlit day steeped in history. In the early morning, the National Geographic Explorer wound its way along a brilliant smooth sea dotted with small rounded pine covered islands to the entrance of the Djurgården Canal, a narrow scenic passage into the busy city harbor.
The canal, which is about 10 meters wide and 2 miles long, flows between small lush islands which were once the private hunting grounds of Swedish kings. In the last century the area was converted to parkland and in 1981 the pumping of marshes was stopped, creating a small lake which attracted more than 70 species of sea birds within a year.
As we glided gently under one of the small foot bridges we were pleasantly surprised to find Patrick, our Hotel Manager, who had set up a kind of bar boat offering Bloody Mary’s, champagne, and juices to warm us on our leisurely way. On approaching the city, the canal widens, presenting a lovely panoramic view of some of the city’s most impressive architecture.
On the left, just beyond the antique houses of Scansen’s outdoor museum, stands the ethereal cathedral-like Nordic museum framed in lush green vegetation and reflected in the still water of the canal, while on the right behind the many house boats and furled sails we see the graceful brick buildings put up first as facades for the 1898 State Fair. Stockholmers so loved the architecture that they were later built up into complete buildings.
We docked at the Vasa Museum where we went to see the giant warship – at the time one of the most ornate and unfortunate ever launched. In 1628 it left the dockyards for its maiden voyage among much fanfare only to keel over and sink in the channel just outside the main harbor. Apparently the king, who had to be obeyed, had ordered too many guns, too many statues, and much too much décor, making the ship top heavy. Raised and chemically preserved in 1956 it now stands in silent testimony to the fallibility of kings.
A ride through the city took us past the gilded theater where Ingmar Bergman produced his plays, and on to the city hall where the Nobel dinners are held and where a large mosaic-covered salon depicts the history of Sweden. It recreates scenes from Viking, to the endless bloody conflicts with the Danes, and eventually to a resolution with peace and justice. Sweden has not been engaged in a war for the last 200 years.
In the afternoon we wandered around the charming old town, Gamla Stan. In typical Medieval fashion, the town was built on an island and once defended by massive fortifications, which are now gone. Today, a warren of narrow cobbled streets, lined with shops, open out to small comfortable plazas filled with outdoor cafes. In the evening the Old Town turned dark quickly, but as if just for us, the day ended in a spectacular rich sunset with turned the bay to molten bronze.
