Foggy with a Chance of Meatballs - 10/6/13

 It was extremely foggy this morning. We could barely see anything when we went down to breakfast. Anything outside, that is. We could see the food quite well. A Swedish breakfast buffet includes smoked fish, cold cuts, cheeses, cucumbers, tomatoes, crackers, breads, rusks, jams, nutella, butter, oatmeal, cereal, yogurts, weird scrambled eggs, baked beans, and, of course, Swedish meatballs. I wasn't wild about the meatballs; maybe it was the early hour.

Our first destination was City Hall. To get there, we walked around the other side of Gamla Stan and saw lots of cute shops and inviting cafes. In the morning gloom, in this country of black-clothed people, I stood out like a sore thumb with my fuchsia fleece jacket, neon green raincoat and big nose. But at least I didn't have to worry about getting separated from Ken.

Gamla Stan

Street scenes on the way to City Hall:

In most places, especially in the US, I would not bother going to the City Hall, but Stockholm's City Hall is a must-see.  It was completed just 90 years ago, but it is designed to look much older. It is an enormous red brick building on the edge of the water. On one corner there is an imposing tower topped with a green cupola with a gold dome and three gold crowns on top of the dome. The three crowns are a symbol of Sweden and you see them everywhere. The effect is reminiscent of Venice. The building is a combination of the National Romantic style of architecture and the Italian Renaissance style.

City Hall

This planter at City Hall has a 3D map of Stockholm

My two favorite rooms were the Blue Room and the Gold Room.  The Blue Room is where the Nobel Prize banquet takes place. It was  supposed to be blue, but it ended up not actually blue. It is a huge room with very high ceilings and lots of natural light. It is dominated by handmade brick. There is also a lot of green and white marble.

The Blue Room

A fabulous clock

You will know when you are in the Gold Room. It is also a huge room with a high ceiling, but it is covered with tiny mosaic tiles, most of them gold. 19 million tiles, give or take.

Two dead Swedish children in the Gold Room

"The Queen of Lake Mälaren"

The city assembly chamber was also very impressive, with a wonderful painted wooden ceiling.

Next, we walked over to the Opera House to get tickets for the Stockholm Panorama Bus Tour.

He's pointing the way to the Opera House

On the way to the Opera House

The Opera House

I needed some quality sitting down time. To kill time before the bus tour, we stopped in the Gallerian Mall and bought some coffee and an amazing cardamom pastry. I have been very impressed with all of the baked goods in Stockholm. The mall was a clean, bright upscale mall that bolstered my impression that all Swedes are middle class.

The bus tour was ok (but not great), and my feet and knees really appreciated it, but it was hard to take decent photos from the bus and the A/C wasn't working. We did get to see some areas that we probably would not have seen otherwise. This type of tour seems to bring out the worst in people. Although the bus was only about 25% full, two young women who were at the end of the line ran up to the door when boarding began and tried to cut in. A couple sitting across the aisle from us threw their coats over the seats in front of them to prevent anyone from sitting there. I really get tired of such selfish behavior.

During the bus tour

Residential area across the river

City Hall from across the river

Modern and efficient transit system

After the bus tour we headed to the Royal Palace and arrived in time to see the last half of the Changing of the Guard. It was a modest ceremony with a smallish marching band (with an awesome glockenspiel) and a small contingent of soldiers. One part of my brain expected the band to play something by Sousa, but that didn't happen. 

We were able to enter the palace without going through any kind of scan. You could just wander around, but we took a fascinating (English) tour of the Royal Apartments. We were not allowed to take pictures inside.

The Royal Family is reasonably popular here, though they have no political power. King Carl XVI Gustav has been king for 40 years. His oldest child, Victoria, is the Crown Princess and will some day become the Queen. Victoria studied political science at Yale for two years while receiving treatment for eating disorders. She interned at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, DC and performs many duties as a member of the Royal Family. In 2010 Victoria married her personal trainer, and they now have a young daughter.

To be continued . . .