Djurgarden

Skansen, the Nordic museum and the Vasa museum were all on an island called Djurgarden. From our hotel there was a lovely waterfront walk along a street called the Strand to get there.

Buildings along the Strand. Apparently this is the place to live in Stockholm.

Djurgarden bridge is to the left.

Kayak and paddleboat rentals under Djurgarden bridge.

Rosendals, one of the Royal palaces, was also on Djurgarden. They had a lovely garden but it was too early in the season and very little was growing. This stone sheep is sitting in an orchard.

The garden also had a shop and a cafe. I walked around this island on Monday and discovered how many things were closed Mondays.

Nordiska museet

The Nordic museum was a very dramatic building.

It had exhibits on Nordic life, which weren't nearly as interesting as the building itself.

Whoever built this had a grand vision.

The entrance doors.

Behind the Nordic museum was a graveyard. Spring was almost at the same point as Toronto, despite the fact that Stockholm is at the same latitude as Whitehorse.

I took a short boat tour. This is the museum as seen from the water. It had a huge central hall. After the computer programming contest we were whisked away to the Nordic museum for dinner and a concert from a band that played ABBA hits.

I still need to correct the horizon on this picture. The weather was sunny but cold. I thought my spring jacket and a sweater would be enough. I had to put on all my layers and borrow Rodney's coat and I was still cold. I didn't think to pack mittens and a hat.

City walk 2

Ostermalm saluhallen. A delicious foodie market.

I had a very tasty lunch of shrimp on toast here.

It was similar to Toronto's St. Lawrence market.

A drug store. Rough translation: Apothecary store. There were many Swedish words that were similar enough to English that you could figure them out. Spoken Swedish was much more difficult, although it sounded enough like English that you could imagine you were picking out a word or two.

My middle son loves construction equiptment. This photo is for him. I don't know what they were doing on the roof of this building.

Skansen

Skansen was a large park where they gathered together many historic buildings from across Sweden. It was like Toronto's Black Creek Pioneer Village.

It also had a small zoo and some amusement park rides.

Cabinet maker's shop.

A sundial. I hadn't seen one like this before. Later on in the trip we saw another one at Windsor Castle in London.

I took a lot of pictures of windows.

It was early in the season and most of the buildings in the park were closed. There were a few that were open and had guides in period costume. This is in a farmhouse. It had a very interesting fireplace, but the light was too low for a picture.

City walk

The courtyard inside City Hall.


A window inside City Hall where we watched the opening ceremonies for the contest.


A view on the walk to City Hall.

The parliment buildings.

The house of the prime minister of Sweden. I love the ironwork.

Gamla Stan 2

A window inside a church in Old Town.

There was a singing group rehearsing while I visited.

The acoustics were incredible, what a treat!

I loved the architectural details on the windows.

I should reverse this sign. I took it from the back and now I like the photo this way.

There was beautiful iron work everywhere I turned.

In the morning the light on the windows caught the beautiful colours of the surrounding buildings.

Vasa museum

The Vasa Museum as seen from the water. The height of the masts reaches well above the building.

A model of the Vasa. There were even huge sails on the bow.

The Vasa was a viking ship. It was to be the grandest warship the baltic sea had ever known.

The king commissioned so many carvings and extra cannons that the top heavy ship sank in the harbour on its maiden voyage in 1628.

It was rediscovered in 1956, covered in silt 30 metres under the water. Usually a worm eats wood of shipwrecks, but the water was not saline enough and the ship was preserved.