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After Nordic Fuzzcon, Entei-rah, Wolfie and I opted to stay in Stockholm for a few days to explore the city.
Our exploration started on the Sunday - the day of the Dead Dog Party - as there were six or seven hours to kill between the Closing Ceremony and the dances. The three of us along with Panthras headed out into the grey overcast day, the same clouds which had greeted us every day throughout this trip, and hopped on the J-train from our hotel in Handen to Stockholm Central, some 20 minutes and five stops away. We met up with some other UK furs along the way and we got chatting to them on the rather comfortable and modern commuter train, a train that was a far cry from the thirty-year-old shit we have to endure in the north of England. The quintet were going to a modern art gallery, having looked around the city earlier on their trip, but Zuki opted to break away from them and join us instead.
We were headed to Gamla Stan, the old town, which is on an island just to the south of Stockholm city centre. The city itself is built across 14 islands, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, which makes for an excellent defensive position yet one which is also quite exposed. As a consequence, the bitter wind is present almost everywhere that you go in the city. It was certainly the case last time I visited, back in September 2003, and it was evident again as we crossed the Vasabron and onto the small island on which the city was founded. The first sight we saw was the Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility, which has been described as the most beautiful building in the whole of the city. It's a red brick and sandstone affair which looks out over the waterways, providing an excellent view of the heart of the city, including the Clarion Hotel, which I'm sure wasn't there when the Riddarhuset was built in the 17th century. The original architect, a man called Valee, was stabbed to death during its construction due to a disagreement over the plans, but it was completed by his son and is a magnificent testament to his architectural skill. The building sits on the north side of Riddarhustorget, where the assassin of King Gustav III was flogged before being beheaded.
Continuing on, we headed over Riddarholmsbron onto the peninsula known as Riddarholmen or the Isle of Nobility, which is dominated by the imposing black and gold structure of the Riddarholmskyrkan. Founded in 1270 and completed the following century, it has been the final resting place of the Swedish kings for over 500 years. There is a former Riksdag (Parliament) in this area too, along with a lot of court buildings and other public offices dotted around a neat little square which is dominated by a rather lonesome looking plinth.
Crossing back over Riddarholmsbron, we opted to delve deeper into Gamla Stan's narrow alleyways, with three and four-story buildings blotting out the vast amount of the light from the sky. The cobbled streets and ancient architecture was very similar to what you would expect of alleyways in southern France or Italy - Zuki even commented that it reminded him of Naples - and it was great just getting lost in the warren of streets with their combination of quirky niche shops and modern designer brands. We saw a shop which sold fashion and curry, while Zuki and Panthras got lost in a range of sci-fi and anime stories, including one which was over four stories. We also popped into a local chocolate store to try some of their truffles, which were exceptionally delicious.
Around the corner from the large sci-fi store was the Tyska Kyrkan, the German Church, which lept out from between the houses to smother the sky above us. The golden gates, adorned with German text, were quite a site and punctuated the street in an almost regal manner such was the beauty of its baroque architecture. To be fair, the churches in Stockholm are clearly built in a particular style and this one, barring a few differences, was quite similar to the others we had already seen. It didn't make it any less impressive though.
Turning back north, we stumbled across the Börsen (the Swedish Stock Exchange) and the Nobel Museum, dedicated to the work of Alfred Nobel and the prizes which are now given out in his name, With only one hour of opening time left and the darkness starting to draw in, we opted to skip the museum and headed over to the Kungliga Slottet on the north-easterly poiny of the island. We were quite lucky as outside the Royal Palace, we noticed a changing of the guards ceremony taking place, so we caught the tail-end of the regal and regimented display before looking at the grandiose architecture of the building, which is not too dissimilar to Buckingham Palace. The main difference is, like in Denmark, just how close you can get up to the gate and walls and in fact the vast majority of the palace is open to the public (the King has now moved residence to save the country money). Unfortunately, it being late on a Sunday (and I having done the tour back in 2003), we decided it would be best to continue our tour of Gamla Stan by checking out the imposing Storkyrkan or Great Cathedral. This is situated opposite the Palace and we had hoped to look inside as the photographs I had seen displayed a stunning interior of neat brick and polished marble. It is the city's oldest church, dating from the 13th century, and is the site of most of the coronations of the Swedish kings. It's rather dull on its exterior but the late-Gothic exterior looked exquisite. Sadly, we were literally two minutes too late to see for ourselves so we had to content ourselves with taking a look from the outside only.
One of the main statues inside the Storkyrkan depicts St George wrestling with the dragon, which is seen as a metaphor for Sweden's battles with Denmark. Continuing this theme, there is an impressively intricate statue depicting this event overlooking Österlånggatan (Eastern Long Street) which along with Västerlånggatan (Western Long Street) is one of the main two streets bisecting Gamla Stan. Both streets are full of restaurants and traditional shops and galleries, and so we targeted this area to find somewhere to eat. We eventually found a charming little place overlooking a little square where I tried some deliciously fresh salmon with celeraic puree, starting with Swedish cheese sticks and loganberry jam. Being in the heart of the old town and the middle of the tourist district, the meal was quite pricey but the quality was magnificent so I didn't have too many qualms with the £40 price tag, particularly as I did manage to try two new beers (both from Åbro) with the meal. The hamburger looked like a particular speciality.
Conscious of time and the desire to get back to the hotel for the Dead Dog party, we opted to leave Gamla Stan by walking down Norrbro, which guided us right through the middle of the Swedish parliament building or Riksdaghuset. This is built on a small island between Gamla Stan and the main city (on one of the four islands which make up Gamla Stan), which is excellent for security and provides an imposing and awe-inspiring scene. It was quite tranquil as we were heading over the bridges and back towards the main railway station, and there was much delight when we spotted an awesomely realistic looking statue of a dog sat outside a building. We then headed up Malmtorgsgatan, past many restaurants and towards Sergels Torg which is the heart of modern Stockholm. Two things dominate this area, the glass-fronted Kulturhuset with its bright red lighting which contains the Stockholm Stadstheater (which was putting on a bling production of a Shakespeare play) and a huge glass obelisk which is lit up bright white at night-time and which forms the centre of the busiest roundabout in the country. Sergels Torg is a two-level concrete area, clearly of Seventies design, and is Stockholm's answer to Times Square or Trafalagar Square albeit quite a bit uglier. At one end of it sits Nordiska Kompaniet, Sweden's most exclusive and largest department store which has a rotating clock situated upon its roof, glinting in red lights on one side while the NK logo is in green on the other. It was here on 10 September 2003 when Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was attacked with a knife. She died the following day. I remember this happening quite vividedly as I arrived in the city for the first time only two weeks later and you could still sense the shock that was around.
After this and feeling tired after near five hours of walking, we opted to head back towards the railway station to catch our train back to our hotel. Upon arrival at the station, we bumped into some Swedish furs who were heading back to Gothenburg. They had half an hour to wait for their train so we opted to chat with them for a bit before we headed back to the Dead Dog party, which turned out to be the best night of the con for the reasons I have already discussed.
Our exploration started on the Sunday - the day of the Dead Dog Party - as there were six or seven hours to kill between the Closing Ceremony and the dances. The three of us along with Panthras headed out into the grey overcast day, the same clouds which had greeted us every day throughout this trip, and hopped on the J-train from our hotel in Handen to Stockholm Central, some 20 minutes and five stops away. We met up with some other UK furs along the way and we got chatting to them on the rather comfortable and modern commuter train, a train that was a far cry from the thirty-year-old shit we have to endure in the north of England. The quintet were going to a modern art gallery, having looked around the city earlier on their trip, but Zuki opted to break away from them and join us instead.
We were headed to Gamla Stan, the old town, which is on an island just to the south of Stockholm city centre. The city itself is built across 14 islands, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, which makes for an excellent defensive position yet one which is also quite exposed. As a consequence, the bitter wind is present almost everywhere that you go in the city. It was certainly the case last time I visited, back in September 2003, and it was evident again as we crossed the Vasabron and onto the small island on which the city was founded. The first sight we saw was the Riddarhuset, the House of Nobility, which has been described as the most beautiful building in the whole of the city. It's a red brick and sandstone affair which looks out over the waterways, providing an excellent view of the heart of the city, including the Clarion Hotel, which I'm sure wasn't there when the Riddarhuset was built in the 17th century. The original architect, a man called Valee, was stabbed to death during its construction due to a disagreement over the plans, but it was completed by his son and is a magnificent testament to his architectural skill. The building sits on the north side of Riddarhustorget, where the assassin of King Gustav III was flogged before being beheaded.
Continuing on, we headed over Riddarholmsbron onto the peninsula known as Riddarholmen or the Isle of Nobility, which is dominated by the imposing black and gold structure of the Riddarholmskyrkan. Founded in 1270 and completed the following century, it has been the final resting place of the Swedish kings for over 500 years. There is a former Riksdag (Parliament) in this area too, along with a lot of court buildings and other public offices dotted around a neat little square which is dominated by a rather lonesome looking plinth.
Crossing back over Riddarholmsbron, we opted to delve deeper into Gamla Stan's narrow alleyways, with three and four-story buildings blotting out the vast amount of the light from the sky. The cobbled streets and ancient architecture was very similar to what you would expect of alleyways in southern France or Italy - Zuki even commented that it reminded him of Naples - and it was great just getting lost in the warren of streets with their combination of quirky niche shops and modern designer brands. We saw a shop which sold fashion and curry, while Zuki and Panthras got lost in a range of sci-fi and anime stories, including one which was over four stories. We also popped into a local chocolate store to try some of their truffles, which were exceptionally delicious.
Around the corner from the large sci-fi store was the Tyska Kyrkan, the German Church, which lept out from between the houses to smother the sky above us. The golden gates, adorned with German text, were quite a site and punctuated the street in an almost regal manner such was the beauty of its baroque architecture. To be fair, the churches in Stockholm are clearly built in a particular style and this one, barring a few differences, was quite similar to the others we had already seen. It didn't make it any less impressive though.
Turning back north, we stumbled across the Börsen (the Swedish Stock Exchange) and the Nobel Museum, dedicated to the work of Alfred Nobel and the prizes which are now given out in his name, With only one hour of opening time left and the darkness starting to draw in, we opted to skip the museum and headed over to the Kungliga Slottet on the north-easterly poiny of the island. We were quite lucky as outside the Royal Palace, we noticed a changing of the guards ceremony taking place, so we caught the tail-end of the regal and regimented display before looking at the grandiose architecture of the building, which is not too dissimilar to Buckingham Palace. The main difference is, like in Denmark, just how close you can get up to the gate and walls and in fact the vast majority of the palace is open to the public (the King has now moved residence to save the country money). Unfortunately, it being late on a Sunday (and I having done the tour back in 2003), we decided it would be best to continue our tour of Gamla Stan by checking out the imposing Storkyrkan or Great Cathedral. This is situated opposite the Palace and we had hoped to look inside as the photographs I had seen displayed a stunning interior of neat brick and polished marble. It is the city's oldest church, dating from the 13th century, and is the site of most of the coronations of the Swedish kings. It's rather dull on its exterior but the late-Gothic exterior looked exquisite. Sadly, we were literally two minutes too late to see for ourselves so we had to content ourselves with taking a look from the outside only.
One of the main statues inside the Storkyrkan depicts St George wrestling with the dragon, which is seen as a metaphor for Sweden's battles with Denmark. Continuing this theme, there is an impressively intricate statue depicting this event overlooking Österlånggatan (Eastern Long Street) which along with Västerlånggatan (Western Long Street) is one of the main two streets bisecting Gamla Stan. Both streets are full of restaurants and traditional shops and galleries, and so we targeted this area to find somewhere to eat. We eventually found a charming little place overlooking a little square where I tried some deliciously fresh salmon with celeraic puree, starting with Swedish cheese sticks and loganberry jam. Being in the heart of the old town and the middle of the tourist district, the meal was quite pricey but the quality was magnificent so I didn't have too many qualms with the £40 price tag, particularly as I did manage to try two new beers (both from Åbro) with the meal. The hamburger looked like a particular speciality.
Conscious of time and the desire to get back to the hotel for the Dead Dog party, we opted to leave Gamla Stan by walking down Norrbro, which guided us right through the middle of the Swedish parliament building or Riksdaghuset. This is built on a small island between Gamla Stan and the main city (on one of the four islands which make up Gamla Stan), which is excellent for security and provides an imposing and awe-inspiring scene. It was quite tranquil as we were heading over the bridges and back towards the main railway station, and there was much delight when we spotted an awesomely realistic looking statue of a dog sat outside a building. We then headed up Malmtorgsgatan, past many restaurants and towards Sergels Torg which is the heart of modern Stockholm. Two things dominate this area, the glass-fronted Kulturhuset with its bright red lighting which contains the Stockholm Stadstheater (which was putting on a bling production of a Shakespeare play) and a huge glass obelisk which is lit up bright white at night-time and which forms the centre of the busiest roundabout in the country. Sergels Torg is a two-level concrete area, clearly of Seventies design, and is Stockholm's answer to Times Square or Trafalagar Square albeit quite a bit uglier. At one end of it sits Nordiska Kompaniet, Sweden's most exclusive and largest department store which has a rotating clock situated upon its roof, glinting in red lights on one side while the NK logo is in green on the other. It was here on 10 September 2003 when Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was attacked with a knife. She died the following day. I remember this happening quite vividedly as I arrived in the city for the first time only two weeks later and you could still sense the shock that was around.
After this and feeling tired after near five hours of walking, we opted to head back towards the railway station to catch our train back to our hotel. Upon arrival at the station, we bumped into some Swedish furs who were heading back to Gothenburg. They had half an hour to wait for their train so we opted to chat with them for a bit before we headed back to the Dead Dog party, which turned out to be the best night of the con for the reasons I have already discussed.
