Sweden: Day III (Stockholm)

Sunday, June 5^th:

Klara Kyrka:

            Today Jen and I began our sightseeing in Stockholm. We woke up early for the hotel breakfast of cereal, yogurt, granola, and veggies before heading out. We decided to explore using the Stockholm Tunnelbana (subway) system, and took a train to T-Centraalen before walked towards the Stadshuset (City Hall). On our way we also stumbled into a beautiful church in the downtown area called Klara Kyrka with a service going on. We continued our walk until we found the massive brick building and went inside with the entrance fee. A note here: Stockholm’s museums and sights are not too expensive (and the US:Swedish currency rate is about 1:6, as Sweden is part of the EU but uses its own currency, the Swedish Kronor) but the city’s restaurants, clubs, and bars are very expensive.

The Gold Hall of The Stadshuset, Stockholm City Hall:

            The Stadshuset, or Stockholm City Hall, is less than one hundred years old but the architect built it to look like it is much older, perhaps to match the buildings in nearby Gamla Stan. The biggest attraction of the Stadshuset is the Blue Hall, where the annual Nobel Prize Banquet is held. Another part of the City Hall that was very interesting is the City Council Chamber, where the Stockholm Innerstaden (Inner City) council has its meetings. In Sweden, women are particularly advanced in the workplace and society, as shown by the fact that the City Council has a majority of women in its 101 seats. Farther along our tour, we also came to the Gold Hall, a room filled with gold mosaics of Swedish history, where the Nobel Banquet Dance is held after the dinner in the nearby Blue Hall.

Riddarholmskyrkan:

            Following the Stadshuset visit we walked over to Gamla Stan again and visited the Riddarholmskyrkan (Riddarholmen Church), the second oldest structure in the city. This church-turned-museum is a royal tomb and the site of many royal funerals over its eight-century existence. The church holds the tombs of former Swedish Monarchs Magnus III, Charles VIII, Gustavus Adolphus, and Gustaf V to name just a few. It also holds hundreds of coats of arms of the dead members of the Order of the Seraphim, a Royal order bestowed upon nights by the Swedish monarch. After the Riddarholmskyrkan we walked to go get lunch near the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace) and heard a ton of trumpets. We realized that it was 1pm and the Sunday Changing of the Guard was just about to happen! We hustled up the hill to the Palace gates to watch this event unfold. A group of Royal Guards, led by police and trumpeters walked into the gates to replace the other guards there as they do every day at noon (1pm on Sundays). It was quite the fanfare and quite amusing to watch the Swedish military guards try to keep the crowds in order. We watched this for a while before heading back towards Storkyrkan (The Cathedral of Stockholm) for lunch again. This time we ate at a quaint little basement café called Café Sten Sture. I had a traditional Swedish lunch of Shrimpmix in a baked potato, while Jen had a mushroom crepe. We also tried a Swedish dessert called a Daimcake that was very tasty.

Changing of the Royal Guard at the Swedish Royal Palace, Kungliga Slottet:

Following lunch we took the short walk to the Storskyrkan and went inside. Much like Riddarholmskyrkan, this church also housed tombs of important Swedish figures, but most importantly, the famous statue of St. George and the Dragon. It is a very brilliant sculpture made over 400 years ago, and worth the visit. We then walked over to the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace) to see its many museums. On one ticket, tourists can visit the Royal Armory, the Royal Apartments, the Tre Cronor Museum, and the Museum of Royal Antiquities. We also opted to see the Royal Treasury where the crown jewels of the monarchs are kept. Inside the Armory is tons of artifacts relating to ancient Swedish royal rule and warfare. The Royal Apartments exhibit the guest apartments as well as some of the rooms that the King and Queen and their family still use today. We did not make it inside the Museum of Royal Antiquities, but the Tre Cronor museum is in the basement of the palace and shows artifacts and pieces of the old Tre Cronor Palace that stood on the same foundation as the current palace until it burned down in 1697.

Sculpture of St. George and the Dragon inside Storskyrkan, the Cathedral of Stockholm:

            On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped for a Swedish beer, or öl, called Falcon at a nice scotch bar called Pickwick’s. Falcon is very tasty, one of the only Swedish beers around, and comes in at a whopping 7.2% alcohol-by-volume! We were exhausted from the long day of touring the city, so both Jen and I passed out for about a four-hour nap before we realized that all the dinner restaurants would be closed! We woke up in a hurry and scrambled out to find a restaurant called Falafel Kungen that was still open, and I got a Chicken Kebab Wrap while Jen got a Falafel. After dinner we just headed back and went to sleep so we could have breakfast early in the morning and visit Drottningholm Palace, the summer residence of the Swedish Royal Family! Also, tomorrow is June 6^th, National Day in Sweden!

Kungliga Slottet, the Swedish Royal Palace: