we arrive in Stockholm... |
...and take an apartment in Södermalm for four weeks |
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time to go sightseeing, starting with the park across the street |
up above us is an historic hospital |
the climb up will give us a view over town from the cliff |
Södermalm is an old and once-poor part of Stockholm... |
...with a fantastic view of the central part of town... |
...and all over the several islands making up the city |
looking eastward toward the Baltic |
looking back up the cliff from the wharf |
up on the cliff again, among the old houses |
there are bicycles all over town; you'll see them in later photos |
lots of brick faces in Stockholm's older areas... |
...and quiet streets during the summer holidays |
entering the churchyard of Katarina kyrka... |
...a stately Stockholm landmark on Södermalm |
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many historic houses have survived on this island |
Sofia kyrka, on the east end of Södermalm |
the peculiar Globen arena, south of Södermalm |
walking the neigborhoods... |
...near the southern theatre |
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here's another way down to the water... |
...to stop in the Stockholm city museum |
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an interesting display on play and playgrounds in the city |
and a deep display of building styles, materials, etc. |
plus some re-created historic interiors |
the Katarina elevator as it once appeared... |
...and today, just outside the museum |
back in our neighborhood |
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it doesn't take long to walk to a quiet neighborhood (here, the island of Reimersholme) |
some new architecture... |
...and some new technology (here, solar power) |
but: there are still pockets of older technology! |
the Slussen lock and bridges connect Södermalm to Gamla Stan... |
...the original island and center of Stockholm |
it has some lovely 16th-c. streets and squares |
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the castle also: here's a daily changing of the guard |
we escape the crowds to a back street |
Stockholm spreads all around Gamla Stan |
remember what we said about bicycles? |
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city archeologists still find things here when buildings are repaired |
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Stortorget (the Big Square); coins from the 13th-c. have been found here |
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crossing the Riksbron isn't bad some days... |
...but watch out on weekends! |
a mermaid lures us down under the northern bridge... |
...to the Middle Ages museum |
a model of Gamla Stan, where Stockholm began |
a relic of the first city wall |
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some re-created dyes for medieval paints |
hey, this guy has an arrow-hole in his head! |
hmmm... time to get out of here |
we take a local train out to Lidingö, home to Millesgården... |
...former residence of artists Olga and Carl Milles |
Towards Another World |
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the Hand of God |
Icarus |
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looks like Jay is concerned about joint strength in one of those sculptures |
in town again, now heading for Skeppsholmen (ship's island) |
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the sky is changing rapidly today |
a view back toward Södermalm |
now we are at the Moderna Museet... |
...which this year is featuring photography |
here's Irving Penn on a familiar face |
in another wing, a great collection of Soviet posters... |
...and down the central aisle, more art that moves |
on the Skeppsholm bridge again, heading toward Norrmalm... |
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...for a visit to the National Museum |
it's a lovely building with an eclectic mix of Swedish and foreign art |
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some classics of Scandinavian design! |
out in Norrmalm again, the central business area of Stockholm |
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a long view toward Stadshuset (city hall) |
the city hall complex is at the tip of Kungholmen... |
...giving good views over water to the west... |
...and east... |
...and south to our island |
now we're back in Norrmalm |
here's the Museum of the Mediterranean... |
...a collection of art and history from all around that sea |
works from Egypt and Cyprus... |
...share space with graceful Islamic designs |
uh-oh... |
a great collection of pottery from all ages and areas |
out on the streets in Östermalm |
the historic 'saluhall' or covered market |
lots of traditional foods here... |
...and at least one rare type |
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the nautical theme is evident in several of the buildings around town |
that's gotta hurt |
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now we're on Strandvägen, a row of 19th-c. houses facing Skeppsholmen |
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a little bit of advertising for the building trades |
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Oscarskyrkan, another turn-of-the-century gem |
now we're at the Historiska museum, which houses Sweden's largest collection of antiquities |
a model of Birka, a Viking-era trading center and proto-town |
the Istaby runestone, the oldest known example of this common Swedish relic |
easily the largest collection of Viking-era combs we've ever seen! |
also unexpected: the museum describes how 'Vikings' were practically invented in the 19th century |
a generous collection of medieval church art from all over Sweden |
in this tradition, Mary is blond |
another tradition |
Eve before the fall, in baroque style |
now we pass the Opera house, on our way to Vasastan in the north part of the city |
here's Stockholm's Jewish museum... |
...a learning center about traditions and Sweden's Jewish history |
a model of the synagogue in the southern city of Malmö |
the pulpit from the 19th-c. synagogue on Gamla Stan |
an amusing display on the contributions of Jews to comic books |
later that day, crossing the Sankt Eriks bridge to Kungsholmen |
in the middle of the island, a tiny Jewish cemetery (Aronsberg) dating from 1776 |
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a few blocks away, the second burial ground (Kronoberg), from 1782 |
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back on Södermalm, this house sheltered Jewish immigrants in the 1920's |
this building on Gamla Stan was a synagogue from 1795 thru the 19th-c. |
now at the edge of Norrmalm, a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg |
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this part of the memorial, a railroad with bricks from the Budapest wartime ghetto... |
...leads to the Great Synagogue of Stockholm |
the building was designed in oriental style by a Swedish architect... |
...and opened in 1870 |
the ark, with many scrolls |
an unusual torah shield, with the emblem of the Swedish monarchy |
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a memorial to Shoah victims remembered by immigrant Jews after the war |
Marla with the docent at the wall of remembrance |
on our way along the water again... |
...this time heading to Djurgården (the historic royal game park island)... |
...to visit the Vasa ship museum |
the great ship sank in 1628, and was raised in 1961 |
this is how it looked when Jay saw it in 1977... |
...but look at it today! |
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the new museum is a remarkable exhibition space |
here's one of the spare sails recovered from inside the ship... |
...with parts of the rigging intact as well |
marine archeologists have established many facts about the people who went down with the ship |
most of the flamboyant carvings are still intact |
mocking the enemy (here, the Poles) |
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a common danger for sailors |
outside again, keeping an eye on the weather |
the tip of the Nordiska museum, yet another turn-of-the-century giant |
now a day out of town, visiting historic Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren |
visible structures date from before the 16th-c., but the city is Sweden's first, originating in the 10th-c. |
runestones have been extracted from the foundations of the church ruins |
our guides are friends Eric and Lollo, who visited these sites as school children |
the landscape and old buildings are typical of the rocky coastal areas around Stockholm |
the old church at Skokloster castle |
Vaxholm castle, since the 16th-c. a key sea defense against Danes and Russians |
back in town, we head out to Djurgården again... |
...for a quick stop at the 'biological museum'... |
...a kind of taxidermy-in-the-round exhibit |
it's a good display of native Swedish species... |
...and some rarer examples |
now we're moving on to Skansen |
it's Stockholm's famous collection of vernacular architecture... |
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...and northern wildlife... |
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...and city water views... |
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...and folk customs... |
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...and gardens |
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Skansen is the world's oldest open-air museum |
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it's also just a great place to walk and get a broad taste of Sweden |
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houses range from the grand... |
...to the humble... |
...to the utilitarian |
here's a pair built in alottment gardens for factory workers... |
...originally from Södermalm |
the interior of the red house |
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the creator of Skansen lived here until 1901 |
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another bicycle! |
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heading back to town center via the water's edge |
saying farewell... |
...and reflecting on our great time in Stockholm... |
pano: Stockholm harbor from Norrmalm |
pano: Stockholm harbor from Södermalm |
pano: cruise ship from Södermalm |