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Published: June 23rd 2008
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Stockholm
The city from a vantage point just outside. On about our third day on the ship, the captain announced that the port of Stockholm had denied entry to the Queen Victoria. He sounded a bit exasperated, but I learned something that I hadn't known. Cruise ships publish their itineraries, sometimes hoping that they will be able to get into port. When they can't, they need to scramble to find one that will take them. Luckily, we were able to get into Nynashamn, a port about an hour outside of the city. What was exciting about this change was that the ship was not able to use a berth. As a result, we anchored about half a mile from land and had to take tenders in. Yet another new experience to add to my list.
I learned something else in Stockholm. As much of a traveller as I am and as much as I love seeing new places, even my brain can go into overload and I need a day of rest. After the past five days of full on sightseeing, I was a tad burned out. As a result, I do not feel that I did Stockholm the justice it deserves, but looking back on it now, I
City Hall
From the outside. did get a sense of the place and enjoyed a lot of moments during the day.
So, first thing in the morning, we all got onto our tender and then a coach to take us into Stockholm. Another lucky thing about not getting into the port was that we got to drive through the Swedish countryside. We had another gorgeous day, so this was an added and unexpected treat. Lovely, green rolling hills and bits of forest in the distance.
We started off at the City Hall. What makes this place so exciting is it is where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held every year. The prizes are actually awarded elsewhere, but the celebrations take place here. The Banquet is held in the Blue Hall. It takes one full week to set it up as 1,300 guest are served at one time. Our guide told us that the entire event is televised in Sweden and that she watches every year. Her favourite part is when the waiters walk down the steps carrying the desserts. She mentioned that every year she waits for one of them to trip (!!), but they never do. This same guide spent fifteen minutes
The Blue Hall
Where the banquet is held. on the coach ride back to the ship telling us all the gossip about the Swedish Royal Family. She even had photos that she had cut out from the Swedish version of "Hello" magazine. Gave me some real insight into her character!
From the Blue Hall, the celebrants move into the Golden Hall for dancing. Another lovely spot. It turns out that anyone can rent the Golden Hall for an event. The City of Stockholm, to ensure that everyone has access to the room, charges for-profit companies significant amounts to hire the room so that the non-profits can afford to use it as well. Yet another example of socialism that works.
From the City Hall, we went to the Vasa Museum. This museum is so good that it makes the "1,000 Places to See" list. Today, however, I just couldn't get excited by it. There were too many people, I was tired and I knew that I was never going to be able to see everything I wanted to see. As a result, I just wandered around and looked at some of the exhibits. (Guess I'll just have to go back to Stockholm to tick it off the
The Blue Hall
The steps that our guide watches so closely every year. list....)
The Vasa was a ship built in 1628 to be the pride of the Swedish navy. Deemed unsinkable, she sank before she ever left the harbour. (Like the Titanic, I think people should stop using the term "unsinkable" when describing a ship. It seems to bring out God's sense of humour.) She lay at the bottom of the harbour until 1956 when she was brought up and turned into this museum. What is so remarkable is that most of the ship and many of her artefacts are completely intact. The museum spans six floors and I could easily have spent the better part of a day there.
The most interesting thing was the bones they found. They have brought in forensic anthropologists to examine the remains and, as a result, have been able to determine who some of these people were. They have even had some of the skulls re-constructed so that one can know see what they probably looked like. From the bones, they could tell what diseases these people had and that some of them had been malnourished as children. I was absolutely fascinated by it.
We were taken to lunch at a Hilton
The Golden Hall
Where the dancing is held. hotel. I was not at all impressed, but it turned out to be one of the best lunches we had on tour. The bread itself, hot and crusty, was worth the price of admission.
From the Hilton, we went into the Old Town for a bit of a walk. This is where the fun began. Today was the day that the seniors graduated from High School. To celebrate, they hire trucks and decorate them with signs that show which school they are from. They all wear captains hats and ride around town drinking champagne and beer and cheering. Our guide was not impressed. We got a short lecture about how, in her day, one did not behave in such a manner. We were told that we should ignore them and not let them affect our view of the city. Affect it? I wanted to join in.
She did tell us one lovely story, however. It turns out that, on the last day, the kids are all at school. Their parents then gather outside with presents and photos to greet the kids as they come out the door for the last time. Everyone does it and, when it came
The Golden Hall
A huge mural at one end. time for their kids to leave school, even the King and Queen joined the throng. The kids then climb into the trucks and ride around for a while until they go home to have a formal meal with their families. As we walked around the Old Town, we saw one table set up outside waiting for the new graduate to return. It was great fun to watch, and more fun than all the other things we saw all day. A real insight into the city.
In the Old Town, we walked into this beautiful garden. Very small and tucked away, it had the smallest statue in Stockholm. It is of a little boy sitting and watching the flowers grow. The locals rub his head for good luck. I did the same.
The other great thing about the day? As we were heading back to the ship, I fell into conversation with some guys from South Africa. As happened so often on the trip, we got onto the subject of the American election. His comment? "The great thing about Obama? He's only 46 and so youthful." I smiled. It's been quite a while since I have been younger than
Stickers
One must wear a sticker when walking through the City Hall. At the end, one may place it on this board. I just loved the riot of colour. My sticker is in my journal, so I didn't add to the mix. someone called 'youthful'!
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