The
weather remained kind to us the entire night. The sea was calm, and the ride
was smooth, except for occasional mild vibrations which were supposedly
expected on any cruise. We had an early breakfast and reached the top deck.
Though not clear, the morning sky looked quite bright. It was not windy as it
was the previous night and the light breeze was soothing, giving us an
opportunity to enjoy a stroll on the top deck. We were steadily sailing,
getting close to the shores of Stockholm. Nestled in small rocky hills, the
beautiful houses at the shoreline were enjoying private and comfy moments.
Occasional water scooters stirred the quiet ripples of the blue waters, painting
them white for a while. The seagulls were catching the attention of one and all
with their peculiar screech, grunt and squawk sounds. As our cruise anchored at
the Stockholm shores, the sky was almost clear.
After disembarking from the cruise, we boarded
our coach for a city tour of Stockholm, which seemed a busy place, with a
sizeable crowd. Besides the political and economic centre, it is the largest
urban area in the Nordic countries. Being a cultural centre of Sweden,
Stockholm is known for housing many ceremonial halls, and we were going to
visit one of them, the Stockholm city hall. The construction is of red bricks,
which were traditionally used in monasteries and churches. Influenced by
Venetian Gothic architecture, the hall has many wooden masts and statues,
golden artwork and decorated balconies. The Blue Hall is special. It is the
dining hall where banquets are held after the annual Nobel Prize award
ceremony. After the banquet, a ball is held in the Golden Hall, which lies
above the Blue Hall. The Golden Hall is made of nearly 18 million mosaic tiles,
which make use of motifs from Swedish history. The northern wall shows a large
seated queen of Lake Malar. I was wondering how overwhelming it might be for
any Nobel Laureate to attend such an event.
As we passed by the War Collegium and
Swedish Radio office, we could feel the buzz of the city. The city has an
extensive public transport system. The tram line, light rail and the bus
services are very efficient and widely used by all. The traditional buildings
took us into past as our tour guide for the day told us the history of
Sweden in short. “We will walk down from here up to the museum”, our guide told
us as we got down from our coach. We walked down a short distance and reached a
building which resembled a ship’s hull. The wooden panels with masts were
perfectly designed to make one curious about the interiors. The Vasa Museum is
a maritime museum in Stockholm. The museum displays a salvaged 64-gun 17th century
ship called ‘Vasa’ that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 after sailing less
than two kilometres. The salvaged ship was treated with polyethylene glycol.
Certain missing parts were replaced. The original parts have been darkened due
to prolonged contact with water. The replacement parts are not treated or
painted and can be distinctly made out of the original parts. The roof of the
museum is made of copper. We saw the ship from six levels, from the keel to the
very top of the captain’s cabin. Along with the ship in the centre, the main
hall has various exhibits related to the archaeological findings of the ships
of the 17th century. The Vasa is probably the only 17th century ship that has
been salvaged and preserved almost fully intact. Although the ship sank after
sailing for less than two kilometres, the skill of the artisans and the
mathematical knowledge of the designers are amazing considering the non-digital
era. It was fascinating to learn how sailors scaled the boundless seas in
unpredictable weather conditions in the olden days with very limited navigation
techniques. The hard work and continual search for excellence in the field of
shipmaking and sailing was evident in the exhibits in the main hall.
Our
tour guide of the day made us curious about the royal family while narrating the
history of Sweden. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy where monarch exercises
their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making
decisions. Fascinating stories related to kings and kingdoms have always left
me enquiring. The Royal Palace of Stockholm was not going to be an exception.
It is erected in the same place as the mediaeval Tre Kronor Castle, which was
destroyed in a fire in 1697. It took more than 50 years before the king and the
queen moved into the palace, as the war-affected kingdom did not have enough
funds to build the palace. The Royal Palace is the official residence and major
royal palace of the Swedish monarch. The palace is made of brick and sandstone
and the roofs are covered with copper. It has more than 1000 rooms, four
facades named after the four cardinal directions and two courtyards. The
exteriors are adorned with beautiful sculptures, medallions and reliefs. The
Pink Drawing Room and the White Sea ballroom looked majestic. The Hall of State
and the Bernadotte galleries were grand. The events unfolded in my mind like a
movie as the tour guide narrated how the kingdom evolved to reach the present
stage. Interestingly, similar to Finland, the Swedish king was also on summer
holidays. Countries like Sweden are examples of how the old monarchy and new
democratic setup can work together and still adjust to the modern times and
progress exceptionally well without compromising on quality.
We had lunch in an Indian restaurant and went to the Globe Arena to have a panoramic view of Stockholm city. Unfortunately, some of the members of our group got stuck at the top due to a technical glitch. They were rescued with great difficulty. The Globe ride was closed to all visitors after the incident. We also had a brief visit to the ‘Ice bar’, a place entirely made from ice. Even the glasses in which the drinks were served were made of ice. It was fun.
(Stockholm)
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