Some Stockholm Sights

Hello everyone,

I am a bit behind on updating this blog, so it's time to write some entries on the last few weeks. Also, you finally get to see some pictures! In this post I'll tell you a bit about some my favorite sights I've seen so far in Stockholm.

Parliament 

One of the first places I visited was the Swedish Parliament building. Why? Because they give free tours in English. If I can get in for free, it's worth checking out. It was also great to learn the basics of Swedish government. Parliament is on the island of Helgeandsholmen, which is right between the island for the old city (Gamla Stan), and the island which includes the modern, downtown Stockholm. It is in two buildings, one of which used to be the old Parliament, and the other which was once the Swedish national bank.

Parliament 

The Chamber

The Grand Stairway
(only used for special occasions now)

Skylight in the Grand Gallery
(the coats of arms are for Sweden's provinces) 

 The Prime Minister's house is right across the street from Parliament. I found it interesting that in Sweden the Speaker of the Parliament not only outranks the Prime Minister, but he or she has the duty of appointing the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister of Sweden's House
(The white building in the middle)

Stockholm City Hall

Stockholm's City Hall

 Stockholm's City Hall is the site of the Nobel Banquet each December after the Nobel Prizes are awarded (except the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Norway). So while the building is used for local city government, it also is designed for events. The Blue Hall (yes, it is not blue, but the name stuck even after a change in design) is where the banquet is held each year. They cram a whole lot of people into the moderately sized hall. I really liked the design, which is based on an Italian city plaza.

The Blue Hall

The Blue Hall

The winners of the Nobel Prizes along with the royalty process across the upper balcony and down the stairs to dine. One of the rules is that every prize winner must sit next to at least one royal person. The staircase in the hall was specially designed by the architect so that women in long gowns and high heels could walk down it easily. The architect made his wife Elsa practice walking down a wooden model of the stairs until he got the proportions correct. This is why the staircase is called Elsa's Staircase.

For my Wellesley friends: What was interesting to me is how similar the staircase's design is to the steps outside of the Science Center at Wellesley. As we all know, those steps were designed 'for a women's pace' and they're really awkward to walk up, since the steps are short in height and really deep. These steps in the city hall are the very same type of stairs!

Elsa's Staircase

Another great room in the City Hall is the Golden Room. Unlike the Blue Hall, this room is aptly named. It is where the dancing takes place after the banquet. The mosaics are quite impressive. 

The Golden Room

The Golden Room

On one wall, different nations are depicted.
Look, there's the USA

And if you ever win a Nobel Prize, here's where you'd enter the Blue Hall:

From the outside, Stockholm's City Hall really has a southern European feel, especially with the arches and the gardens on the waterfront.

Boat Tour

Another great thing I've done in Stockholm is take a boat tour called Under the Bridges of Stockholm. I got to see Stockholm from the water, both from the Baltic Sea and from Lake Mälaren. Because Stockholm is spread across many islands, there's no better way to see the city. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the tour:

This boat is actually a youth hostel. How cool is that?

The old city (Gamla Stan)

The Vasa Museum

Going through a lock between the lake and the sea

Wandering

A lot of my time here has been spent wandering. I like to just walk around the city and explore, especially in Galma Stan. I can't get over the winding, narrow streets and colorful buildings. I also love that there is water everywhere. You can't get around Stockholm without crossing a bridge, and a lot of people now commute via ferries instead of buses or the metro system. I think the closeness to water is part of what makes Swedes (or at least Stockholmers) so invested in their maritime heritage. The people of Stockholm take care of the water, and you can actually swim in the water right in the city. They're really careful to keep the water clean. So it makes sense that they care about their rich maritime heritage and its connection to their history. It's not like they have wrecks that are hundreds of miles off their coast. Well, they do, but they also have wrecks right in their backyard!

Here are a few pictures of Stockholm:

The island Riddarholmen

A street in Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Riddarholmen

So that's a bit of what I've been doing during my first few weeks here. People are finally coming back from vacation, so my project is getting underway. However, even on my own explorations, I have learned a lot about how Swedes regard their underwater heritage. I have a few more updates from this week's adventures outside of the city that I'll post soon. And tomorrow I am off to a dive park north of here, so I hope to have some fun insights to share after that visit.

~Kristine