Our second day in Stockholm was going to start with a bit of history.
This picture of the Swedish Royal Family, King Oscar II of Sweden and his family, hung in our hotel. For Swedes, it perhaps represents a happier time when the Swedish and Norwegian thrones were joined in the 1870s.
Unfortunately, his reign saw the decline of this union, resulting in its dissolution in 1905. King Oscar was a distinguished writer and amateur musician, with his Easter hymn known throughout Scandinavian countries. He loved theater, mathematics, and was a strong supporter of Arctic exploration. He was a generous sponsor of the sciences and personally funded the Vega Expedition, which was the first Arctic expedition to navigate through the Northwest Passage, the sea route between Europe and Asia through the Arctic Ocean. A lot to be proud of...
We made our way down to the harbor and jumped back on the Slussen ferry to Djurgården, bypassing the ABBA Museum and heading north to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a warship that sank on it's maiden voyage in Stockholm on August 10, 1628.
Not enough ballast, narrow beam, tall, and top heavy with a second story of heavy cannons.
The king, who was leading the army in Poland for control of the Baltic at the time of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see her take up her station as flagship of the reserve squadron in the Stockholm Archipelago. Unfortunately, none of the king's subordinates had the political courage to openly discuss the ship's problems with him or have her maiden voyage postponed.
Shortly after it launched, the Vasa started to list and, less than an hour later, toppled over and sank.
An inquiry was organized by the Swedish Privy Council to find those responsible for the disaster. The main ship's architect had died during construction and the King had given specific instruction as to the ship's design, so it's not surprising that in the end no one was punished.
The museum has multiple floors of artifact exhibits and viewing platforms so you can really get the scale of the ship. The detail of the ~500 wooden sculptures is amazing! All designed to strike awe and fear in their adversaries.
See below for the detail in her impressive stern. The lions were meant to remind all of Europe that King Gustavus Adolphus was the "Lion from the North"
Again, for scale...
An artist depicted the ship - had she sailed in all her glory, for king and country.
During the recovery, thousands of artifacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around Vasa's hull. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship herself have provided scholars with invaluable insights into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques, the evolution of sailing rigs, and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time this trip to visit the Nordic Museum next door.
Nor did we stop by the intriguing Museum of Swedish Drinking Culture ????
One of the things I saw that I liked was so many Swedish flags flying everywhere. Swedes are obviously very nationalistic and proud of their country. In more rural parts, you would see pennants flying from flagpoles everywhere. This one was near the harbor...
We boarded the ferry and headed back to Gamla Stan.
Looking back at the Vasa Museum...
We shared the ferry with a bunch of school children, on a field trip no doubt.
Safety vests and matching backpacks aid in teacher identification and group counts!
Approaching Gamla Stan...
Among our group, there was a lot of talk about the restaurant, "Meatballs for the People". They make traditional Swedish meatballs with exotic meats. Reservations were hard to get and it was always booked up. What a great marketing campaign! We bit. So after disembarking the ferry we headed south to the Södermalm island on foot to see if we could get a lunchtime seating.
The Södermalm island has a little bit of elevation and, as we climbed, we had more unique views of Gamla Stan.
Even in the city, you can find traditional structures like this one.
Beautiful!
From the end of the Högsbergaten street this view back towards Gamla Stan and Skeppsholmen unfolds.
Across the street, was a neighborhood nursery school with strollers parked for the ride home later.
Inside the festive play area.
We eventually made it to Meatballs for the People, and only had to wait a short while before being seated at an outside table - score!
You can see from the menu, the meatballs can be made from moose, bear, wild boar and everything in between.
I opted for the chef's selection, hoping to get boar and caribou.
Approaching Gamla Stan...
The Södermalm island has a little bit of elevation and, as we climbed, we had more unique views of Gamla Stan.
I did get caribou, but then more traditional pork, chicken and beef. I hate to say, but I thought the caribou was pretty dry and the beef were the best. My chef/wife, Kathi, says that's because beef has a good fat ratio which keeps the meatballs tender and juicy. It's the same reason ground beef is used in so many other recipes.
The restaurant's racy merchandise - only a slight ripoff of the Rolling Stones logo!
Not even Corky, a HUGE Stones fan, had the meatballs to buy anything with this logo on it! Clever, but when would you ever have the occasion to wear it without scorn?
At this point, we split from our friends and headed to a location on my bucket list - the Fotografiska (photography museum). I had heard that they had a top-floor cafe with great views of the city.
We had to take some steep stairs down to the harborside and then navigate past the cruise ship terminal but we eventually made it.
To avoid the fee to enter the museum (we just wanted to go to the restaurant), we asked to use the stairs to the basement bathroom, which we did use, and then took the elevator to the cafe. It was a nice spot for a little fika.
After walking almost the entire length of Södermalm, and seeing many cool looking shops, I finally arrived. Inside was well stocked with just about anything you could imagine.
I walked to the reel counter and asked about Danielsson, but they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. They did show me some Swedish-made reels and I did fancy one that would work for salmon, but the $800 price tag was too much for a memento so all I bought was a Lemmel- brand hat instead. Good enough.
On the way back, I veered into the courtyard and snapped this picture of the sun lighting up Maria Magdelena church.
As I crossed the bridge to Gamla Stan, I looked back to Södermalm, and the Mariahissen landmark.
Turning about face, off in the distance, the tower of the Stockholm City Hall pierced the sky with the iconic spire adorned with three crowns - the national emblem of Sweden.
Navigating down from the bridge, there were more examples of Sweden's bike-centric culture - tracks to guide your bike or baby buggy down the stairs.
Carrying on my fascination with decorative manhole covers, here's one from Stockholm...
I reconvened with Kathi and our friends and we headed back out to experience Stockholm's Ice Bar.
As we crossed the Vasabron bridge looking east down the Norrström canal, we got a good look at the Swedish Parliament building on the right and another government building on the left.
Before you enter the Ice Bar, you are provided with a warm coat and gloves to withstand the freezing temperatures.
Kathi and I got the Musko!
Arbetsdomstolen, the Labour Court.
The enduring sunlight of mid-summer lured us on to Sodermalm and the Katarina Lift for an elevated night cap.
The original lift was constructed in 1881, but the current structure dates from the rebuilding of the Slussen transport interchange in 1936, with a lengthy renovation in 2010 (reopened in October 2023).
Taking the elevator up...
At the top of the lift, there are a number of bars and cafes at different levels to choose from - all bathed in the setting sun.
Piercing the skyline were the City Hall and the Riddarholmen church steeple.
The ladies...
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