Stunning Stockholm

Almost story book quality these buildings in the old city

So much to see and do and I only have 1 1/2 days.  What an amazing city, Stockholm.  Ironically, it is not as hot here as Sundsvall, but it is still wonderful.  Stockholm was founded around 1250 and is made up of 14 islands.  It’s larger metropolitan area boasts of population of 2.1 million.  Waterways, ships, gorgeous historical buildings and lots of people.  I am only getting to see a fraction of it.  I am staying at this hostel called Af Chapman which is an old boat from 1888 that has been fixed up.  Unfortunately there is not room on the boat so I am staying in the associated building which used to be where firewood was stored for the Royal Palace which is just across the water.  Granted my room is a 17 bed dorm, but it is the cheapest and just fine.

My dorm room at the hostel.

The actual boat part of the hostel

Well after a hectic departure from Sundsvall where the train was broken down and part of my travels was by bus, which was 45 minutes late, and that caused me to miss my connection but as I finally sat on the designated train they said it would not leave for another hour waiting for others so I ran to catch another train and finally arrived in Stockholm.  All this after getting up at 5:30 am to say goodbye to Lottie and Mike.  Needless to say I was a little tired.

View of the waterside of the Old City from the position of my hostel

But undeterred, I headed out to investigate the old city where the Royal Palace was situated and it did not disappoint.  At first it was not quite as stunning as some of the extremely ancient cities I have seen throughout Europe, but it began to grow on me.  And then I wondered down it’s main thoroughfare which was packed with people and shops and this is where I suddenly was immersed in Swedish culture – Viking shops, wool and linen shops, carved horses.  I loved it.  It was so different to what I had seen to date and it touched my long ago viking heritage (I am a redhead Scot afterall).  And boy, was I in the mood for wanting to get things.  Good thing I don’t have a house because I could have just bought a whole bunch of stuff.

Ah, the good ol' Scandanavian Troll - I forgot about these guys

Beautiful Swedish sweaters

The core of the old city dates from the mid-1300s.  The architecture is much different from Europe.  I want to say it is simpler, but it is not.  I want to say that the lines are cleaner, leaner and more pragmatic.  But I am not an architecture expert by any stretch of the imagination but there is something different about it.  And I like what I see.

A good example of some of the architecture in the main city. This is not in the old city.

The old city has many a narrow road way between tall and not so grid-like set up buildings.  They are not as windy and crazy as the towns in Europe, they definitely have a more square planning associated to them.  But they are still lovely and unique.

Narrow street in the old city

I think the things that are different but not obtrusively obvious, are the fact that the buildings are colourful.  Lines are clean.  There are lots of little sculptures and details that are not at all religious, which I have to tell you, is a refreshing change from Europe.  But I will get into that element in my “Comparative” post.

The mall up the side of the Royal Palace towards the church at the end

The back of the Royal Palace

Statues on the palace, I think the king must have been a ladies man.

Anyway, I had such a great time in the old city but I had to leave before I spent all my money.  There were just so many neat things that resonated with me.  But I highly recommend the visit if you come to Stockholm.  And the place is so clean too.  The Venice of the North as it is known, without the smell!!

Statues at the gates of the Royal Palace - sadly I did not meet a prince

And another more liberal form of Swedish sculpture.