Visit to Stockholm
Perversely, last weekend we left some of the best weather this summer has known for the distinctly cooler, Nordic climate of Stockholm. For my husband this was partly a business trip but for me, entirely pleasure.
Stockholm is a beautiful city, built on an archipelago, so the sea is everywhere.
The view from the City Hall
The architect was very much influenced by medieval Italian architecture and had planned for the building to encompass two open air piazzas. It was subsequently realised that this was impractical for the northern climate and one was roofed over. It is in this room that the dinner for the Nobel prizewinners is held each year.
The Golden Hall (Gyllene salen), lined with gold mosaic, is unique in my experience.
One of the highlights was a visit to the Vasamuseet, a museum dedicated to the Vasa, a warship, pride of the fleet, launched with much fanfare in 1628 but which capsized in a sudden squall and sank shortly after launching. She lay at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, preserved by the cold brackish water, until she was raised in 1961 , the hull almost intact but waterlogged. The process of preserving the hull took the next 16 years. (There is a fascinating and detailed account of the recovery, preservation and restoration here: http://www.abc.se/~m10354/publ/vasa.htm)
It is thought that there may have been insufficient ballast to keep her upright once the sails caught the wind. However, contemporary drawings show her sailing out with all gun ports open, which would never normally be done as the lowest gun port is only 5 foot above the waterline. This would have been a contributing factor, as when she heeled over in the wind, water would have come in through the gun ports, causing her to heel over even more. Rather like that tragic ferry disaster, the Herald of Free Enterprise, which sailed out with the car loading bay doors still open.
No photograph can convey the impact of seeing this vast vessel from what would have been water level in the dim light of the museum. I felt I had wandered into Pirates of the Caribbean.
There is much that we had no time to see, indeed, enough museums, parks and boat trips to keep one occupied for weeks, weather permitting. I would go back, but given the choice, in May - July as recommended by eandme.
Stockholm is a beautiful city, built on an archipelago, so the sea is everywhere.
The view from the City Hall
The architect was very much influenced by medieval Italian architecture and had planned for the building to encompass two open air piazzas. It was subsequently realised that this was impractical for the northern climate and one was roofed over. It is in this room that the dinner for the Nobel prizewinners is held each year.
The Golden Hall (Gyllene salen), lined with gold mosaic, is unique in my experience.
One of the highlights was a visit to the Vasamuseet, a museum dedicated to the Vasa, a warship, pride of the fleet, launched with much fanfare in 1628 but which capsized in a sudden squall and sank shortly after launching. She lay at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, preserved by the cold brackish water, until she was raised in 1961 , the hull almost intact but waterlogged. The process of preserving the hull took the next 16 years. (There is a fascinating and detailed account of the recovery, preservation and restoration here: http://www.abc.se/~m10354/publ/vasa.htm)
It is thought that there may have been insufficient ballast to keep her upright once the sails caught the wind. However, contemporary drawings show her sailing out with all gun ports open, which would never normally be done as the lowest gun port is only 5 foot above the waterline. This would have been a contributing factor, as when she heeled over in the wind, water would have come in through the gun ports, causing her to heel over even more. Rather like that tragic ferry disaster, the Herald of Free Enterprise, which sailed out with the car loading bay doors still open.
No photograph can convey the impact of seeing this vast vessel from what would have been water level in the dim light of the museum. I felt I had wandered into Pirates of the Caribbean.
There is much that we had no time to see, indeed, enough museums, parks and boat trips to keep one occupied for weeks, weather permitting. I would go back, but given the choice, in May - July as recommended by eandme.