SWEDEN
ROSLAGEN - OSTERSKAR & AKERSBERGA
Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and also known as “Capital of Scandinavia” is unique with its breathtaking location that has made the city known far and wide as one of the world’s most beautiful. Built on 14 islands linked by 57 bridges it is one of Europe’s largest and best-preserved medieval city centres. The Swedish capital is superbly positioned, with stunning and extremely varied scenery in every direction. The archipelago consists of more than 24,000 islands and islets.
Sweden is home of the furniture giant IKEA, the garment giant H&M and not to forget the intellectual giant - the NOBEL PRIZE!
We were in Stockholm for 3 days, from 18th to 20th August 2006. We traveled by train from Aarhus. We had got a good travel plus hotel package deal from the Danish RailwaysJ We changed the train at Copenhagen to go to Malmo (a small city in south of Sweden). During this travel the train passes over the famous Oresund bridge, connecting the two countries. It takes only 35 min from Copenhagen to Malmo.
In Malmo, we had a waiting time of about 2 hours, so we went around some places in the late evening. Then we took the night train to Stockholm. The train is the best sleeper train we have seen till date. We had booked the 2 sleeper compartment for us. It is very comfortable with bedding, pillow, blanket, drinking water and also a wash basin with mirror cabinet. It was like a small hotel room for just two us! We had a comfortable sleep. Also there was an alarm service in the compartment. It rang in the morning, 40 min before arrival of the main station. In the morning around 8, we went to the hotel. But no room was available at that time, since the check-in time of the hotel was at 2 p.m. So we left our luggage in the luggage room of the hotel. We decided to start with sightseeing and then come back to the hotel in the afternoon. We purchased the SL card for 3 days costing 60 SEK per day. It can be used on metro, bus (local as well as some nearby islands to Stockholm), regional trains and ferry to some islands. There is also a Stockholm card which includes all the modes of travel + entrance to some 70 museums, etc….It costs around 270 SEK per day. But then no one can see 70 museums in a day! It’s a clever gimmick by the tourism industry;) The underground metro (Tunnelbana) network is very good, covering almost whole Stockholm region and nearby suburbs. The walls of the tunnels have some paintings on them and some stations are strangely painted making them appear like caves. Overall the metro tunnels and stations can be called as a 100 km art exhibition!
Our hotel (Scandic) is located at Slussen. Within 2 minutes walking distance from the hotel’s location, is a busy circular intersection. There are bridges connecting to other nearby islands. We could see fantastic views in almost every direction from the street. As Slussen is quite near to the Old Town, we could clearly see the Riddarholmen and the City Hall from the bridge. Also there is a lift (Katrina Lift) service to go to a terrace to get a better overview of the city. The overview from the terrace is fantastic, with beautiful buildings, towers and spires across the archipelago islands. Stockholm is a mix of old and new buildings. Also Stockholm has a very picturesque setting that makes the city unique. We had to pay 10 SEK to use the lift. We paid money to take the lift up, but we were surprised to know that we have to pay money again to go down also! We decided to take the stairs while going down. After taking some pictures, we took the metro (tunnel train) and then a bus to Vaxholm. The SL card includes the bus trip to Vaxholm.
Vaxholm is a small picturesque town the northeast of Stockholm. Vaxholm – the capital of archipelago has a beautiful port. It is also called as the pearl of the archipelago. We walked around the port and then took a map. The town has an idyllic atmosphere. We took a walk in the old part of the town. We saw beautiful, colourful houses and some picturesque surroundings. We also visited a cafe, where young students blow glass. It was an amazing to see how different shapes are given to the glass, to make vase, show pieces, wine glass or other crockery. There is a Vaxholm Fortress from the 16th century, which has a Military museum. One has to take a short boat trip from the quayside to reach the Fortress. We did not take the boat trip as we were not keen on seeing the fortress from inside. We then took the bus back to Stockholm.
On the way back, we visited ‘The Swedish Museum of Natural History’. A section of this museum exhibits the early earth which includes models and fossils of Dinosaurs. The science section of the museum is quite interesting. After that, we returned to the hotel. In the evening, we met Vineet (my friend from Portugal). We visited the Kungsholms church and then the Stockholm city hall, called as Stadhuset – one of Stockholm’s most popular attractions. It holds the World famous Nobel Prize banquet on December 10 every year. The City hall is one of the most impressive buildings in terms of architecture and artistic embellishment. It is definitely one of the must see places in Stockholm. The view from the bank is mesmerizing with the reflection of the City hall and other buildings across the other bank, especially after it gets little dark and the lights are put on. After dinner, he took us to one of the popular areas of bars and discotheques which are frequented by the royal family too! (There is no difference between the royalty and the commoner in the Nordic countries.)
The next day morning, we took a boat to Skansen. The boats depart from Slussen, which is just 5 minutes by walk from the hotel we were staying. It is an open-air museum on an island called Djurgarden. It is the first open air museum of the world, as well as a zoological garden specializing in Nordic fauna, such as moose, reindeer, bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine. It features over 150 historic buildings from the last centuries. Most of the buildings date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Visitors to the houses and farmsteads are met by hosts and hostesses in costumes from that period. They often demonstrate domestic occupations, such as weaving and spinning. Also there were workshops and dwellings side by side, with a host of different crafts and occupations represented. Attractions included a bakery, an old shop, a potter's workshop, a printer's and a pharmacy, as well as a furniture factory and an engineering workshop like glass blowing. In the bakery, we saw how different kinds of breads are baked and we also could buy the fresh baked bread/pastries. We enjoyed eating the fresh bakery food. We also saw some people dressed in the traditional dresses of 18th century. Skansen is a living history. Later, we visited the Skansen zoo. There are something like 70 different animal species in the Skansen Zoo. There is also a Children´s Zoo, which is open during the summer. Here children can get to know about baby-animals; kids, lambs, kittens, ducklings and chickens. It also has a selection of animals that can be kept as pets at home like tortoises, guinea pigs, rabbits and parrots. There is also an amusement park on the island of Djurgarden. We did not go there.
We took a boat back to the Stockholm center. And then went to the Old town - ‘Gamla Stan’. The oldest part of Stockholm is Gamla Stan (the Old Town) and the tiny adjacent island, of Riddarholmen. The Old Town (Gamla Stan) is the beautifully preserved historical heart of Stockholm. Gamla Stan is northern Europe’s largest and best preserved medieval city, with a history dating back to the 13th century. Gamla Stan is home to the Royal Palace, several beautiful churches, narrow, picturesque streets and an abundance of shops, restaurants and cafes. It is a very popular area to shop.
Kungliga Slott (Royal Palace), is the largest palace in northern Europe, with its 608 rooms and famous museums including the Treasury and the Armory. We liked the Royal Palace very much. (We could not visit it from inside as we went after the opening hours). The present day palace had been rebuilt again after a fire in 1697 damaged the palace extensively. The view across the bridges in that area is enchanting. We walked around for 3 hours in Gamla Stan but could not finish seeing the whole area that day. We saw the German church, the Finnish church, the Saint Nikolai church (Stockholm’s oldest church), the Royal Palace, lots of colourful buildings, especially in the ‘Stor torget’ area and the popular statue of St. George and the Dragon. While returning, we walked along the river side from the Royal Palace. We enjoyed walking there as we got to see some beautiful views.
The third day morning, we decided to go to some small country side towns in the Roslagen archipelago. We took the regional train (Roslagen’s railway) as the SL card covered the travel to the towns. It was around 50 minutes by train. First we went to Osterskar. It’s a very small town 30 km north east of Stockholm. We walked from the Osterskar station towards the beach. On the way we saw many summer houses with beautiful gardens. After walking for 20 minutes, we reached in an open area. One of the branches of a fjord finishes here. The surrounding is beautiful and we get a view of the archipelago. The area has a peaceful atmosphere, perfect to have a picnic or relax. After spending some time, we returned to the station and took the train to Akersberga. It is a bigger town, close to Osterskar. Here, we visited the busy and beautiful central square of the town. And then to the Aker canal. The canal was a very important waterway during the Viking era. We then returned to Stockholm. After resting for some time, we went to Gamla Stan again with Vineet, as we had not finished seeing the whole area the previous day. We went to the small island of Riddarholmen. The Riddarholmen church is a strikingly beautiful and so are the surrounding buildings. After taking snaps, we walked towards the Royal Palace. On the way we saw the Riddarhuset and some other beautiful buildings. Finally, we walked in the popular shopping street of the Old Town. It is a busy colourful street with restaurants and many souvenir shops.
The same night, we took the train back to Aarhus.
We liked the city very much, especially the Old Town. It’s the most beautiful of the cities we have seen so far; and this also completes our trip of SCANDINAVIA!
Scandinavia is the region in Northern Europe named after the Scandinavian Peninsula. The most common definition includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
As with other regions of the world, the usage and meaning of the term 'Scandinavia' can be misunderstood and misused. Therefore some or all of the following geopolitical entities may be considered peripherally Scandinavian (but more correctly Nordic), since they may be believed to have had strong political, social, economic, linguistic and/or geographical ties with the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
All Nordic countries, including the autonomous territories of Faroe, Svalbard and Åland Islands, have a similar flag design, all based on the Dannebrog, the Danish flag. They display an off-center cross with the intersection closer to the hoist, the "Nordic cross".
Denmark Faroe Islands Finland Iceland Norway Svalbard Sweden Åland Islands
Greenland
and the Sami people have adopted flags without the Nordic cross, but they feature a circle which is placed off-center like the cross.
Greenland Sami
These flags are taken from www.3Dflags.com