Stockholm..

The next stop on my Beagle was Stockholm in Sweden. I was there for almost for a week attending a workshop. It was good weather according to most Swedes and other Europeans. But I found it quite warm. I thought it might be colder than Edinburgh (which was 14 degrees at that time). So, with a nice weather by my side, I did a little bit of roaming. I visited a number of museems (called museets in Swedish), roamed a lot on the streets, got on the ferrries quite a few times and enjoyed every bit of it.

The city is built on 14 islands connected to each other by some 50 odd bridges. There were boats everywhere and the clear blue water only made the city more photogenic. The city center is the old town called Gamla Stan (meaning the old town). The buildings are still so old that walking thru the streets makes u feel u are walking back in to the history. I visited the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan. I happened to be there at noon and so was lucky to catch the change of guards ceremony in the courtyard of the palace. It is a ceremonial event but is executed to perfection that makes it look exciting. Old guards are replaced by the new set of guards. And this is accompanied by a military band performance. The music was very good. Definitely unmissable. The Nobel museum, virtually next door to the palace was inspiring but was loaded with information.

My visit to the Rosendal palace was very informative. It didnt look like a palace, so I dismissed it and went around searching for the real palace. After some searching around, I came back to the same building which I thought was only a rich man's house. The guided tour was wonderful. I learned that it was a summer palace and was purposefully built at a lower cost by the first king of the current dynasty, House of Bernadotte.

I also visited the Vasa museum, the Nordic museum, National museum and the Music museum. But the best part is that I enjoyed walking around in the streets of the city walking on and off the bridges, from one island to another. The coastal line was beautiful lined with boats, both latest and some old ones with sails. There are several ferries that take you from the mainland to other islands in the archipelago.

Another major tourist attraction is Skansen. Its a part of the Djurgarden island and is basically a miniature sweden in term of time. Houses from 10th century onwards are on display along with a miniature zoo and a glass making workshop. Glass works at this workshop were amazing. One needs absolutely 4-5 hrs walking around Skansen.

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip walking around the Stockholm city but I did miss my chance to explore the islands like Voxholm in the Stockholm archipelago. May be another time :)