Stockholm
Introduction
All of these pictures were taken on July 25, 1999. This stay was part of my round the world trip from July 24 to August 6, 1999. My day can be summarized simply by saying that I walked around the central area, took an hour boat ride on a 62 year old wooden tourist boat, and walked around the Old Town. Stockholm is a very attractive place. I did not remember it being quite this nice from my previous visit in 1962.
I had originally planned to stay in Stockholm only long enough to change planes for Helsinki. However, as a requirement for my airfare, I had to stay in three cities for at least 24 hours each. Due to a change of flight schedules after I booked my ticket and had it checked and approved, I was not going to be in Hong Kong 24 hours after all. This was caught the week before I left. My only choices were to pay an extra $3000 (US) or to start a day early and visit Stockholm for at least 24 hors. You can see from the photographs what I decided to do.
The pictures come in normal (usually 1280x1024 resolution) or 2X (640x480 resolution). To see the big version, you have to click on a thumbnail.
Views near my Hotel
I stayed at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel, which is a two minute walk from the central train station and near the Old Town. However, there are many places that can be reached in two minutes from the train station. After several false starts, I asked the driver of a van from the Westin Hotel where to go and he said, hop in. (The Westin and Sheraton chains are both owned by the Starwood Group.) I was very thankful for his kindness. At 9:00 on a Sunday morning in Stockholm, there are not many people to ask directions from.
My hotel from across the water. The view across the water from my hotel. The Norrström is the body of water and the Old Town is in the background. The little chateau (IDEA) on its isle in the middle of the Norrström. IDEA is a political think tank. Maybe there is a http://www.idea.se web site that explains what it does. Another view across the Norrström. IDEA is prominant on the left. The Old Town is prominant to the right of IDEA. The bridge carries cars, people, and has one of the main lines out of the train station. An odd angle of the Stadshuset. The body of water is the Riddarfjärden. Excursion boats leave from here and eventually return (many hours later). On the Way to the Grand Hotel
One of the great things about a digital camera is that I took pictures of where I came from so that if I got lost on the way back, all I had to do was look at earlier pictures and match views with where I was standing. Unlike a trail of bread crumbs, I did not have to worry about birds eating my trail. Of course, that said, I did not get lost thanks to acquiring a good map at the hotel (once found), but the concept was reassuring anyway.
Another view of the bridge and Stadshuset. If you look closely, you will see a train on the bridge. The Opera. The Riksdaghuset, where parliament meets. Another side of the Riksdaghuset. A view of the Grand Hotel, boats for tours, the National Museum, and the environs along the banks of the Norrström. Looking across the Norrström at the Riksdaghuset. I aimed the camera to the right and took another picture. This includes the way back to my hotel and the Opera from the opposite side. Near the Royal Palace
The Norrström goes through the heart of the old part of Stockholm. It is also where many of the nice tourist hotels are located. There are many scenic views near the royal palace. Further, there are lots of tourist boats located in front of either the palace or the Grand Hotel.
The Grand Hotel, where I stayed with my brother and parents in 1962. It is directly across the Norrström from the Royal Palace, which is in the Old Town. (My dad was speaking at the 1962 International Congress of Mathematicians on that trip. I remember the restaurants with a view of the palace across the water and the security people across the hall from our rooms who never did let on that they had seen us before. They were guarding David Ben-Gurion from Isreal.) Some sailboats tied up in front of the Royal Palace. The Royal family moved out to the suburbs to a smaller chateaux. This is used for official functions and has the offices for the king and queen in it, making the king and queen of Sweden commuters. Where the tour boats come in by the Grand Hotel. My boat was at pier 4, which is just to the right of the leftmost boat docked. A view out of the Norrström from in front of the Grand Hotel. I aimed the camera to the right and took another picture with 2X zoom. The royal palace from in front of the Grand Hotel. A Viking boat that goes out twice a day and is a floating restaurant at night. It tied up in front of the royal palace. They specialize in Viking feasts. I passed. The Boat Ride
The only way to see Stockholm is by boat. Stockholm consists of many islands. While you can drive to them, the views of the islands are quite beautiful. I had a choice of three different trips, but chose the one hour trip that went to a collection of interesting places. The two hour under the bridges tour (which I remember from 1962) was too long and the one hour royal tour did not go to where I wanted to go. I settled for the unnamed one hour tour, which was quite pleasant.
The Nordiskamuseet and the Vasamuseet. The Vasa is the warship that sank 20 minutes after it was first launched in the 1600's and was raised from the floor of the Saltsjön in 1961. I visited the Vasa in 1962. I remember how much water was being continuously sprayed on the boat as they slowly dried it out. More Swedes visit the Vasamuseet than any other museum in the country. A view of Strandvägen's finest apartment buildings. Many of the aprtments have 20 rooms. When the Ostermalm section of Stockholm was architected in the 1800's, it was designed to be the wealthy neighborhood of Stockholm. It shows in the beautiful buildings and lovely streets. This picture is on the Landsviken. A different view of Strandvägen with boats tied up in front of Nobel Park This is probably a gaggle of barnacle geese. They were moving across the Landsviken by Nobel Park. The flag raised on top of Kastellholmen means that Sweden is an independent country today. This is an old tradition. Gröna Lunds Tivoli. We were heading back to the Norrström from a visit to the Hammarby Sjö (via the Danvikskanalen). The Hammarby Sjö used to be a port surrounded by industry. All of that is now gone. New apartment buildings went up in the 1990's and will continue to in the near future. A view of Kastellholmen and Gröna Lunds Tivoli. A view of the Vasamuseet and Gröna Lunds Tivoli. A view of the Old Town and Kastellholmen. A view of Kastellholmen, the Vasamuseet, and the Nordiskamuseet. Full steam ahead into the Norrström to drop off the passengers. The Grand Hotel and National Museum are in the picture on the left and a nice tall ship on the right. A close up of the tall ship with a pretty palace behind it. A Walk Through the Old Town
The Old Town is the original area settled. It is the island that the royal palace sits on. Many of the buildings on it are quite old, but many have a new facade that is 200+ years old now. The streets are narrow and the buildings crowd each other. There are few green areas, but the open areas (paved) are quite nice. Västerlänggatan is the street to go to for shopping and eating if you are a tourist.
A view of old buildings on one side of Stortorget square. Looking up at the steeple of the Tyskakyrkan. I turned and took a picture down Tyska Brinken. The buildings across the water (Riddarfjärden) are in Södermalm. I turned around and took a picture back up Tyska Brinken. I turned and took a picture back up towards Stortorget square up Svartmangatan.
