Stockholm
Monday July 17, 2017
After arriving in Stockholm, I met up with Rafael and Erika, who took me around the sights of the local neighbourhood. We went up to a roof bar that overlooks the island that they're staying on, and on a cloudless day with the sun far from setting at 8pm, the view of Stockholm was stunning. There were even a few hot air balloons floating around - that would have been a great idea if I was made of money. We continued walking around and ended up at Mariatorget, a park on a cliff with a view of the north side of the island that looks towards the city hall and city centre. The warm hues of the sunset bathed the city in such an artistic light, it was a beautiful sight to see.
Yesterday, I ventured out by myself into the city's main sights, visiting Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace, the Modern Museum, Nordic Museum and Vasa Museum. I found a kayak rental, so hired a kayak for an hour and paddled around the strait between the museum island, near the Royal Djurgarden. When I started, the sky was completely blue and it was pretty hot out, but as I neared the end of the hour, the clouds and wind had come in.
After lunch (which was the traditional Swedish meatballs!), the weather had started to turn cold, so I took a tour of the Stockholm Subway. Several stations have some very interesting art installations, and since they're inside the subway itself, a single ticket is sufficient to view them all since you never need to exit the subway. My tour took me around:
- Kungstradgarden: Full of red and green bands, with some impressive Scandinavian statues
- T Centralen: Blue and white leaf patterns
- Radhuset: Archaic cavern with a large stone column
- Solna Centrum: A huge red and green mural depicting the destruction of the environment and nature
- Thorildsplan: Pixel art, including icons from Pacman, Space Invaders and Mario
- Universitetet: Scientific murals and artistic wordsearches
- Tekniska Hogskolan: Large geometric shapes with a nature theme
- Stadion: Art for the 1912 Olympic games, with a rainbow on the bumps and crevasses in the bedrock of the station
As I exited the subway, it was indeed raining, so I went back to Rafael's to chill out for a bit. I managed to see all I wanted to see, except IKEA, and I didn't want to stay out too late since I had an early start this morning. Next stop: Norway!
Posted by Jeremy at 4:28am on Monday July 17, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 