I have to hand it to the Grand Hotel Stockholm. I slept about as well as one can sleep in their bed. And for those of you who have not been to Scandinavia, they have an interesting way of placing comforters on a king-sized bed. We learned this last year in Copenhagen. You get two comforters, one for each person, tucked in at your feet. In other words, no Scandinavian has ever had to complain that their spouse pulls the comforter off them at night. Each has his or her own. No wonder Sweden is ranked #1 on the Democracy Index.
That is not a joke. When The Economist ranks every nation in the world based on how democratic they are, Sweden comes in first and North Korea comes in last. For those curious, Sweden scores a 9.88, North Korea a 0.86, and the USA comes in at a very respectable #18 at 8.22. The ranking relates to free and fair elections, voter security, foreign influence on government, and capability to implement policies. Oddly, people sharing a bed each having their own comforter is not part of the Democracy Index, but all that would do is widen Sweden's lead.
We woke up, got some breakfast, and met up with parents to do a bit of sight seeing.
My parents make their first appearance on the Waste, at one of the fountains in front of the Swedish Royal Palace.
Barbie wears the crown.
Obelisk! (This square is directly next to the Royal Palace.) This obelisk looks like it was made out of concrete, as in it was not stolen from Egypt.
It is in this courtyard of the Royal Palace where they hold the changing of the Guard. We happened to be near here when the change was about to happen, but the crowd was rather thick and we opted to walk away.
Stockholm Royal Palace, Candid. July, 2010.
(I believe there is a website that refers to pictures like this as nature's birth control.)
Guess what happened? We said, "We do not need to see the changing of the Guard," and left the palace's courtyard. As we were walking toward our intended destination, the Nobel Museum, we heard a drum march. Alas, we had stepped right into the path of the Guards who were on their way for the changing of the Guard.
We were treated to a view of the Royal Guards which nobody inside the courtyard was going to enjoy. Now we knew why people had been standing around this area for the last half hour. They were in the know. We were not in the know. We were just lucky.
Following the drummers were these men, who I assume are the Guards.
Barbie gets a picture of this lovely square in Gamla Stan. By the way, I have neglected to mention that we have spent this entire morning in Gamla Stan, or Old Town. Every shot I take out of the hotel room window is of this island, where the Royal Palace, Parliament, and many other buildings of importance can be found.
The above square is adjacent to the Nobel Museum. The concierge had told me that this museum was excellent and nearby, and we ran with his suggestion.
The Nobel Museum has a no photos policy. They also have nobody around to enforce it, and, well, I am not sure why but I took this picture for you of the most famous will ever written, the will of Alfred Nobel. It was with this will that the childless inventor took his riches and created the Nobel Prize.
I snuck this picture assuming that a picture of the floor was not exactly a violation of the no photo policy. Why? When Barbie and I were at The Lennon Wall in Prague, we had no idea why people had painted the word Fred on it. In my ignorance, I thought it might be a reference to Old Fred from Yellow Submarine. Well, the Nobel Museum educated me on how to spell the word in Peace in many languages. It also taught me many words for Economics, Medicine, Literature, Chemistry and Physics. But the only word I shall remember is Fred, because now I know why it was spray painted on The Lennon Wall.
By the way, the Nobel Museum was very good. Alfred Nobel lead a fascinating and important life. His inventions have been utilized for war and peace, and as an individual he pioneered concepts such as being a global citizen. If you happen to be in Stockholm, I recommend a visit.
Known as the German Church, the Tyska Kyrkan is visible from all over Sotckholm. In fact, I can see it from our hotel room. As you know, I like Gothic architecture very much, which means that I like Stockholm's architecture very much. Even their buildings that are meant to have Renaissance or Baroque influences end up looking Gothic.
Another Gothic church.
After Old Town we went for a walk down Drottninggatan, Stockholm's main pedestrian shopping street. I swear to you, I can often pick up local language. Swedish, not at all. I will never be able to say, "Drottninggatan," with ease. Never. By the way, it means Queen's Street, probably because it begins across from the Royal Palace.
By the way, again, I think I know why Swedish will not enter my brain. This is the rare European nation that was never occupied by Rome. Never. The Romans had more than enough trouble with Germania and went no further North. Yes, the Romans traded with the people who lived in this area before it became Sverige / Sweden, but this is literally the first European country I have stepped foot in that was never part of Ancient Rome.
Along Drottninggatan, Barbie poses with a troll.
For those of you who watch The Colbert Report, this will make sense. The rest of you, not so much.
Drottninggatan stretches further than the eye can see.
We stopped for lunch at, get this, Bar Celona. Yes, in Sweden we stopped at a Spanish Pub covered with F.C. Barcelona banners.
I ordered the Albondigas, or Spanish Meatballs. Revel in that, Wasters. I am in the land of Swedish Meatballs, where in fact Swedish Meatballs are simply called Meatballs, and I ate Spanish Meatballs.
Barbie, my mother, and my father all ordered burgers.
I can absolutely imagine a Swede telling me how awful this is, and how the government is a pain in the neck, and I understand this point of view. But when you look at cities with little zoning or planning such as Athens, and you look at a city with tight planning such as Stockholm, well, just visit the two and tell me where you would want to live.
While I am talking about the joys of Stockholm, I might as well choose now as the time to mention that I have learned that Sweden and Stockholm dominate our lives. Not our as in you and I. Our as in Barbie and I. We love our Volvo, we love the clothes we get from H&M, and we love everything we get from Ikea. Swedish, Swedish, Swedish. Until this visit I had no idea that the Swedes were dominating our Los Angeles lives.
Walking back to the hotel, we stumbled upon the lovely pond and fountains of Kungstradgarden. King's Garden, in English. Apparently this was once a walled, private, Royal Garden, but the walls came down in the early 1800's and today it features everything from a free concert stage to a TGI Fridays.
Swedes playing chess in the Kungstradgarden. When they exchanged pieces, I found it quite thrilling. Something about picking up a chess piece that size and moving it off the board is dramatic. They should play those televised chess matches on gigantic chess boards.
Back in out hotel room, I took this opportunity to show you that the clouds are parting. Did I mention that it was cloudy and kind of rainy and yucky today in Stockholm? Now I have.
We met up with my parents in the lobby and hopped into a cab for dinner.
Where else?
It was going to be a half hour wait, and I believe these might be the first alcoholic beverages of the trip for us. The bartender set down Barbie's pomegranate martini and said, "Here is your beautiful drink," and then set down my Guinness saying, "And this is perhaps even more beautiful." I quite agree.
I got the Citrus Grilled Chicken.
Barbie got the chicken fingers.
And for dessert, my parents ordered this amazing, warm brownie and that amazing, warm apple cobbler. They shared with us.
On the taxi ride home, I was amazed at how relaxed and careful the driver was. Then I read the message on the dash, which basically explained that Stockholm is regulating taxi driving to make this city basically the opposite of every other city in the world, where taxi drivers drive like maniacs with little care for safety or the laws of physics.
This hot air balloon delighted us with its presence as we entered our hotel. I stood like there one of those people taking pictures of it trying to catch the moment that they fired the flame to heat the air inside.
My parents headed inside to call it a night. On a whim, Barbie and I went for a walk near sundown, which is 10 PM here, since the weather was better and there was hope of good pictures.
Sergels Torg nearing dusk, fromt he opposite direction as above. Note the Gothic spire in the background. Old and new, together in this dynamic city.
Stockholm when the lights have just come on.
This passageway through Sweden,s Parliamentary Building, the Riksdag, takes you straight from Drottninggatan to the Royal Palace. You may be reminded of the word Reichstag, where the German Parliament meets. The word Reichstag actually dates back to the Holy Roman Empire's parliament. (Loyal Waste Readers know that the Holy Roman Empire was Germanic and had nothing to do with Ancient Rome.)
Our hotel on the right, its bank neighbor on the left. (And a hint of the Kungstradgarden sits to the left, too.)
Barbie says, "This sculpture, she makes-a no sense!"
Talking about things that do not make sense, does anyone understand what this sign is banning? The only thing I can come up with is No Tire Screeching. Has anyone ever slammed on the brakes and screeched their tires on purpose? And if they are immature enough to do this on purpose, is a sign going to matter?
I do not think you can have a prettier picture of our hotel than this.
I might as well ruin the prettiness with my finger, showing you that our room is THERE.
Good night.
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