Stockholm
The sun rose this morning before 3am; a number of us were already up, prepared for the scenic 50 mile sail through the city’s justifiably famous archipelago. With 30 thousand islands, Stockholm the largest archipelago of any major city. The city itself is situated on 14 islands which are linked to one another by 57 bridges. We docked in the heart of the city in the oldest part of Stockholm, called appropriately “old city,” in Swedish “Gamla Stan,” first settled in the 13th century. The man usually believed to have been its founder, if one individual can be singled out, is Birger Jarl. As we drove past the Royal Palace we saw the Swedish palace guards dressed in their most elaborate finery –white plumes flying from helmets, uniforms of dress blues with ceremonial silver swords glinting in the sun. The President of China was making a state visit and we had the unforeseen pleasure of seeing all the pomp and circumstance of the military.
Our first venture was to the Vasa Museum. Here we saw the fully preserved 17th century warship which sank to the bottom of Stockholm on its first sailing from the dry dock on 10 August 1628. An excess of pride led to build it higher than the original design specified and thus skewed its center of gravity. As the first winds billowed the sails, the ship tilted over. Water rushed in open canon ports and the ship went down within minutes, remaining there for 333 years, until 1961 when it was raised. The ship is 95% intact and the prospect of seeing a 1700-ton vessel almost 250 feet long and 100 feet from the keel to the gunnels is stunning. After lunch we had options of a walking tour of the city of a visit to Skansen, Stockholm’s answer to colonial Sturbridge or Williamsburg. The weather was spectacular and by the time we reached Skansen it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees centigrade). More than 150 historic buildings have been assembled and the guides are all in period costume, living history lesson. Today 17,500 marathoners were running in the Stockholm marathon. We had to dodge runners in order to cross streets. While this was a bit risky at the race’s beginning when they were fresh, after four hours the runners were limping along, and it was easy to cross. We took a different route sailing out of Stockholm harbor and so we were able to see an entirely new part of the archipelago on our way to the Aland Islands of Sweden and the port of Mariehamm. We had the most wonderful Swedish smörgåsbord on the Lido deck in this mild early summer day and watched the sun set at 10:30. Tom O’Brien led the assembled diners in a chorus of “Helan Gor” – a traditional smorgasbord song whose verses are followed by toasts of aquavit. An end of a magical day.
The sun rose this morning before 3am; a number of us were already up, prepared for the scenic 50 mile sail through the city’s justifiably famous archipelago. With 30 thousand islands, Stockholm the largest archipelago of any major city. The city itself is situated on 14 islands which are linked to one another by 57 bridges. We docked in the heart of the city in the oldest part of Stockholm, called appropriately “old city,” in Swedish “Gamla Stan,” first settled in the 13th century. The man usually believed to have been its founder, if one individual can be singled out, is Birger Jarl. As we drove past the Royal Palace we saw the Swedish palace guards dressed in their most elaborate finery –white plumes flying from helmets, uniforms of dress blues with ceremonial silver swords glinting in the sun. The President of China was making a state visit and we had the unforeseen pleasure of seeing all the pomp and circumstance of the military.
Our first venture was to the Vasa Museum. Here we saw the fully preserved 17th century warship which sank to the bottom of Stockholm on its first sailing from the dry dock on 10 August 1628. An excess of pride led to build it higher than the original design specified and thus skewed its center of gravity. As the first winds billowed the sails, the ship tilted over. Water rushed in open canon ports and the ship went down within minutes, remaining there for 333 years, until 1961 when it was raised. The ship is 95% intact and the prospect of seeing a 1700-ton vessel almost 250 feet long and 100 feet from the keel to the gunnels is stunning. After lunch we had options of a walking tour of the city of a visit to Skansen, Stockholm’s answer to colonial Sturbridge or Williamsburg. The weather was spectacular and by the time we reached Skansen it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees centigrade). More than 150 historic buildings have been assembled and the guides are all in period costume, living history lesson. Today 17,500 marathoners were running in the Stockholm marathon. We had to dodge runners in order to cross streets. While this was a bit risky at the race’s beginning when they were fresh, after four hours the runners were limping along, and it was easy to cross. We took a different route sailing out of Stockholm harbor and so we were able to see an entirely new part of the archipelago on our way to the Aland Islands of Sweden and the port of Mariehamm. We had the most wonderful Swedish smörgåsbord on the Lido deck in this mild early summer day and watched the sun set at 10:30. Tom O’Brien led the assembled diners in a chorus of “Helan Gor” – a traditional smorgasbord song whose verses are followed by toasts of aquavit. An end of a magical day.
