The first part of the 20-day journey covers Stockholm, Sweden.
From Philadelphia, we took Iceland Air to Reykjavik Iceland where we changed planes for the flight to Stockholm. In total, almost nine hours of flight time. Don’t expect much in the way of amenities on Iceland Air. And, when you’re at Reykjavik airport, expect confusion.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and spans fourteen main islands on Lake Mälaren which flows into the Baltic Sea and is connected by 54 bridges. In contrast to Venice where the city is sinking, Stockholm is actually rising due to a phenomenon known as postglacial rebound. This is where the land springs up in the absence of the weight of ice sheets from the last ice age. The effects of glacial rebound can be seen in some of the buildings where there is noticeable tilting.
After a 25-minute ride from the airport to our hotel in the heart of downtown Stockholm, we rested for an hour. Then we took on the trail forged by Stieg Larsson in his Millennium Trilogy. This tour can be booked online. For the uninitiated, the first book of Larsson’s trilogy originally took form in the title of “Men Who Hate Women” only for the original German publisher to change it to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”
The tour starts at #1 Bellmansgatan, Sodermalm where the novel’s protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, has his apartment. There is no street-level entrance to the apartment. It is accessible only from a second-story bridge that runs over Bellmansgatan to the building.
From this point, the two-hour tour winds its way through the streets of Stockholm to some of the familiar haunts from the novels. If you take this tour you will encounter some true die-hard fans of Stieg Larsson’s work that will have all of the details memorized. Brush up before you go.
Panoramic views and Stockholm station
For fantastic panoramic views, walk from #1 Bellmansgatan about a block and a half up Bastugatan until you see the sign for Monteliusvagen Street. Then hang a right turn and walk up the hill to this high panoramic view to the North including Gamla Stan (The City Between the Bridges). The Town or Old Town as it is known now. Many other historic sites to the North and East in Stockholm are visible from this vantage point.
Stockholm Central Station is a sprawling complex for train and bus departures. There is an outstanding pedestrian arcade with many restaurants and shops. The station is worth checking out both for the shops in the interior and the architecture both inside and out.
If you hail from an English-speaking country you’ll have no trouble navigating your way through the city. Almost all of the locals speak English very well. Swedes generally begin learning English around age seven.
Tours and the Swedish Museum of Photography
A great way to see a lot while in Stockholm is the Hop On, Hop Off buses. They get you around a large part of the city between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. You can even do a Hop On, Hop Off boat tour as part of the bus tour for a few dollars more. If you catch the boat, it will drop you off on any of the nine stops it makes.
For the photographer, get off the boat at the Södermalmstop and go to Photografiska (The Swedish Museum of Photography). The museum and the attached outdoor restaurant offer a great experience.
Across from Photografiska is the small island of Kastellholmen. Here there is a small, but prominent castle that almost rises out of the lake. The castle is sometimes referred to as the Citadel. It has continuously flown the Swedish naval flag since 1665 indicating that the capital city is still under Swedish control.
The shopping district
Stockholm has a vibrant shopping district heavily visited by locals and tourists alike. With one million citizens in central Stockholm plus tourists, it can make for a very crowded experience almost anywhere you go. On the corner of Olof Palmes Gata and Drotninggatan, there’s an Espresso House where we stopped for a coffee and some people-watching. The throngs of shoppers were nonstop the entire time. We even witnessed a pedestrian and driver getting into a slap fight in the middle of traffic after the pedestrian made some disparaging remark to the vehicle’s driver.
Nobel Peace Prize
On Dec. 10 each year, the Nobel Prize awards ceremony is held at the Concert Hall on Haymarket Square. Later that day, a dinner honoring the winners is held at City Hall. The only exception is for the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. This is because Nobel felt Norway was the most peaceful country on earth since they had never initiated a war.
There is a lot to see and do in Stockholm. You could easily spend five days or more checking out all the landmarks and other places of interest.
In Stockholm, we board the ship that will take us to our remaining stops. The transit of Lake Mälaren takes about three hours and once we hit the Baltic Sea the ship quickly picks up speed. This journey to Helsinki takes about seventeen hours in total.
Editor’s Note: This is a four-part article from our reader, Bob McCormac. It encompasses a 20-day trip to the Nordic countries that spawned the Vikings and where they left their mark on civilization. In most areas, those direct influences have long since been erased but the impact on the cultures is still apparent in each country.
You can find Bob’s work here:
Interesting but nothing about the Gamla Stan (the original center of Stockholm) and the royal palace….. You could have made the most beautiful pictures there…..