In a Flash

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October 8

Perhaps I went to Stockholm compelled by some hidden attractive force of this city, because, first of all, I've already been there though seen little, and secondly, I might have chosen other options of flying from Tallinn with Ryanair such as Bremen, Dusseldorf or Frankfurt (not Oslo, because that’s a different plan already). The price was as low as one could imagine and I bought the ticket without hesitation; though, adding up the cost of bus to Tallinn, the cost of overnight stay in Tallinn, and the cost of bus from Skavsta to Stockholm I suspect there could have been cheaper options of getting to Stockholm such as via Riga with airBaltic, or maybe even from Helsinki. The subjunctive mood set aside, I state that I bought Swedish kronor in advance and the Flygbussarna ticket Skavsta – Stockholm.

This time I engaged in thorough reading-up for the visit because I wanted to waste no single minute but to see as much as I could and, again, I found two items of the Unesco World Heritage List in Stockholm, namely Skogskyrkogarden Cemetery and Drottningholm Palace; I also intended to see the Skansen Museum, as well as Millesgarden, but that one I omitted.

The bus from Petersburg to Tallinn departed at 22-30 and at 1-30 we were at the border. As usual there was no trouble, but due to some reason at the Estonian border we were asked to leave the bus and present our entire luggage, which usually never happened to me before. It’s so convenient to travel with as little luggage as possible. In Narva we had a short stop at the petrol station and then I slept for the whole four hours.

I booked the Tallinn Hostel for 15 Euro though initially I bravely intended to keep awake and walk to Kadriorg Park and Pirita, but thought better of it. Tallinn Hostel is located a couple meters from the Bus Station, perhaps the most ideal location between the airport and city centre. The price was non-refundable. My arrival was scheduled at 6 o’clock of the forenoon so I received a letter from the staff saying they'd leave the key in the kitchen and the hostel door was open day and night. So I searched for the key but it was nowhere, but everywhere was light and I guessed somebody would soon appear though they wrote their working hours were from 9 o'clock. I put my head on the kitchen table and realized how happy I was to be at least indoors, suffering no winds or rains. Presently I heard some noise and went to investigate and was extremely pleased at finding a note attached for self at the reception door I’ve not noticed before. It gave the information about my room so I went there in high spirits and it was not closed (there was another man sleeping and snoring aloud – a 6-bed room), and slept till check-out. On descending downstairs, I found the reception door closed but I perceived a woman within. I did not knock and notify her about my nocturnal visit and imminent departure, though of course I should have. I went on foot to the airport.

Tallinn’s airport is not big but its appearance is fetching. There was a short flight delay due to heavy rain (20-40 minutes), and the aircraft drove on the two landing strips seemingly in circles until finally coming to a parking place and the pilot announcing the delay officially. An annoyingly noisy child sat at the front seat talking loudly for a long time making me uncomfortable, though I was anyhow rewarded by the sky view – I never saw such neatly arranged white clouds before.

Arrived to Skavsta, I took at once the bus to city centre and thankfully did not get lost because I downloaded a map of the area to my telephone; the hostel was easy to find near Klara Kyrka and Ahlens Mall – I’d call its location perfect but it’s no good for those who want solitude or daylight in their rooms because the hostel is located in sort of a ground floor or basement, and has no windows; the cheapest room has 18 beds each looking like a bird’s nest because there are curtain-like pieces of fabric hanging on all sides from the second tier. Although, the kitchen and other amenities are good but it feels like sardines in a can.

My list of sights for the evening comprised Klara Kyrka, Riddarsholmkyrka and generally I walked in Gamla Stan remembering everything I saw in 2009, and I do remember literally almost everything which our group did that time; it is such a pleasant place especially given the negligible number of tourists. I passed by Tre Kronor and Opera realizing that lighting seemed somehow insufficient in Gamla area but the more modern streets were lit better. I proceeded along Drottninggatan to Sergels Torg feeling a bit disappointed by the cool wind. It was not late evening, but the streets were rather solitary and most of the shops were closed.



October 9, 2012

I slept very well but got up at 8 o’clock and at 10 started as planned to Skansen Museum. First I went to find the 69 bus stop and managed because I saw the bus passing in the street; however, the driver said tickets could not be bought on board so I went to T-centralen and bought it – I have read about tickets beforehand, but not attentively. I should have bought a 24-hour card because transport prices are too high. [Off-topic, if you want to experience a cheap though old tram, come to St. Petersburg to Ozerki area and take a tram to Prospekt Prosvescheniya – it’ll be noisy but the principle is the same, one is transported from a certain point to another point, quite safely. I’m just wondering what’d foreigners say about our Soviet-old trams (not all of them of course) – but the price is about 6 Kronor]. I got off at Djurgardsbron and, unwilling to pay for the tram (now, see what an example of absence of mind! – the ticket IS valid for an hour for all transport kinds), I went to Skansen entrance on foot; I did not go there in 2009 because lacked money. Skansen is an open air museum displaying the history of Sweden in miniature – buildings, gardens, countryside, poultry, animals, traditional costumes, fresh air – I did not read about Skansen before, I simply checked up the prices and admission hours, and the scenery perfectly met my expectations. I saw many farmsteads, livestock, even a seal, windmills – just imagine them arranged and maintained through the years all so successfully. Since I as a child also grew up with my mother raising cattle (cows, horses, even rabbits (they died of a wrong grass), hens and pigs, but mostly the two first animalia domitae naturae), I immediately wished to have my own farmstead, just like those at Skansen, with a low ceiling, everything wooden and covered with straw. I met the ram, pig, and stork with two seals. I saw two peacocks sitting on a porch and tourists making strange noises to induce them to spread their tails, but peacocks thought better of it.

It’s an idyllic sort of place; I saw cows and goats warming in the sun at the summer pasture and all of a sudden out of the blue there jumped at me an active little squirrel, moving fast, and standing on hind paws as if asking for food, but the very next second jumping and running away seeing I had nothing to offer but to shoot it. Several minutes later, as I have decided to leave the wonderful museum and go to the cemetery, I happened upon some views over the city, trees enclosing them like frames. I saw alpine huts, one of them was like a hut on the chicken legs from the Russian fairy tales.

Two more interesting areas were a rose garden quite similar to those characteristic of Russian emperors’ gardens (for instance, in Peterhof) and the town quarter which I brushed past. Up next I took the tram (bought a ticket at a small shop – look for blue SL letters) and there was a woman checking the tickets on the tram. It quickly took me to Sergels Torg where I changed to T-bana for Skogskyrkogarden (stupid me, I remember I bought another ticket for that!!!!).

Memento mori. Skogskyrkogarden was interesting for me only because it was on the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites. I was just going to have a glimpse. There are two quite different chapels. Graves are tiny, neat, and lined up in parallel rows in the thick of the pine forest with no fences as distinct from Russia. I threw out my T-bana ticket but I could have used it because I spent too little time at the cemetery, feeling much of an alien there, as if disturbing the afterworld. It’s no place to visit as a tourist I reckon, unless you are specifically interested in cemeteries.

Then was perhaps my most awaited sight – Drottningholm, also enlisted you know where; getting there from Brommaplan metro station by bus, which, however, did not stop at the Drottningholm station, because, perhaps, nobody was there to ascent or descent and you have to press some button to let the driver know or ask him/her to stop; I descended two stations later and quickly took another bus and asked the driver to stop at the Slott. I was very quick because it was windy and cold and I wanted to spare my one-hour ticket.

There was a group of Chinese tourists excitingly promenading and photographing; the palace is similar to other ones of the kind. The slott was closed on that day and the walk paths were fenced off by chains, either due to the off-season or due to the non-working days. I bought a coffee and a burger with sausage at the shop nearby and in less than 10 seconds was on the bus, taking pains not to spill my coffee in haste. As the train carried me back, I realized that the day’s rating was 100% successful, eventful, and pleasant.

When I came to the hostel, I occupied one of the public computers (because the wireless signal did not work in the second smaller kitchen in our room) and bought a combined train/bus ticket to Sigtuna (via Marsta) and immediately afterwards collected it from SJ ticket machine at the Central Station to avoid hassle in the morning should I again make a mess of things and go to the wrong place or a wrong machine.

The underlying reason for Sigtuna was the Skokloster Castle but I understood I’d not manage to go there from Sigtuna because it was off-season and the boats, ensuring the simplest transportation to the slott, did not run anymore. It is possible to reach the castle by bus from Balsta, but its price was more than twice as expensive.



October 10

I got up at 7-25 and after breakfast went to the train station, found the spar (platform) for Marsta and waited for some twenty minutes. Everybody has the smart cards and goes as they please, but I showed my ticket to the official in the window and he stamped it. There were crowds of people on the platform going to various places and the trains came and went every 2-3 minutes; they were of different kinds, colours, sizes, makes, and speeds.

At first the train was invaded by many people, but gradually they descended as soon as the next station, and another station, and yet another. There is little to see during the journey, and the good of Stockholm is that is does not have many tall buildings (or it seemed so to me). At Marsta, only a minute passed between my leaving the train and ascending the bus – I was convinced that one must stick to the time shown on the ticket; however, later I disproved this theory. The road to Sigtuna was winding and here and there people were entering and leaving the bus; no crowds or even small groups of tourists, fortunately. It was rather cold.

Sigtuna Radhus is considered to be the smallest in Sweden and perhaps in Europe and they can arrange a wedding ceremony there; a comprehensive free map of Sigtuna Region, including Rosersberg and Marsta, can be procured at the information point at Stockholm Centralen. I saw runic stones accompanied by a plate with the transcription, translation, and pronunciation of the letters. Such stones were erected during the 11^th century in the memory of some people who lived in the area. By the way, the town of Sigtuna is the first Swedish town and is perfectly preserved.

I happened upon a belfry looking picturesque among yellow-leaved trees, and I tried varying the parameters of my camera to take good pictures with correct lighting and exposure… Live and learn. I better take a course on photography. The area in the vicinity is perfect for picnic, with granite stones, leaves, moss, trees, panoramic views on the lake and houses down below, and overall quietness.

Now, the next sight was an absolute surprise for me. I came upon some church ruins, but I did not expect to see them (no previous reading on the topic). They made me so happy; I’m a lover of ruins. You see, the ancient often makes the best, and they were three in a row in my case – Tallinn’s mediaeval town and fortress, then Pskov even more so, and now Sigtuna. I wandered inside two of the ruins and also saw a totally unruined Maria Kyrka of a more recent age.

I was a bit worried about the ticket – it had fixed departure and arrival times on it, so I thought one must stick to them, but when I ascended the bus the driver said OK, as did the woman at the Marsta Train Station; thus I returned to city centre very early, some three hours before I planned to leave for Skavsta.

In 2009, we were also taken to Radhus, but this time I was amazed even more by its hugeness and austerity. Also, by the cold wind blowing perhaps from the Arctic Ocean. I remember so clearly how I stood here and went there, took a photo of this and zoomed in that back in 2009 (on my first trip to Europe). Specifically, the statue of the gentle girl and the waterfront of Riddarholmen.

The desire to take a leak came without warning and I had to find suitable amenities urgently – it was a free-of-charge WC near Drotninggatan. I’ve previously decided to see some more churches, such as Adolfs Kyrka and Jakobs Kyrka, and had a cheap tasty kebab (or somehow it was called) at the kebab huset near Adolfs Kyrka. Didn’t like to hear Russian speech at a table – that’s what I am, fellow countrymen abroad excite absolutely no interest of mine. Or, I’d rather emphasize, it’s just the sound of native speech that annoys me abroad.

Somehow or other it happened that I found myself near Gamla Stan for yet another time, as if magnetized or bewitched by it. Though, actually, I proceeded simply along Skeppsbrokajen to Sodermalm, yes, right you are, to see some more churches, but, tiredness dominating, decided to finish the exploration and start back. I walked back to T-Centralen, unwilling to pay the rest of my coins for just two stations, and tried to spend them at McDonalds, but they had no McMuffins, so I went to Pressbyran shop, bought croissant and coffee, and then two pears at ICA To Go, thus getting rid of all but two coins. Mission accomplished, I entered the City Terminalen.

The flight was delayed for some 40 minutes or more. It took me 22 minutes to walk from Tallinn Airport to Tallinn Hostel in a heavy rain. The public transport seemed to be available but I had no money left (it was after 22-00 in the evening). Six o’clock, departed to Petersburg.

Much still remains to be seen in Stockholm, such as Globen, Millesgarden, some museums perhaps, a boat trip, Birka, the famous subway stations in granite rocks, but definitely I will go there next time with the girlfriend.

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