Last posted as recent as May 26, 2019, this post is originally from 2011, when I was still new to the country. And believe it or not, I am still as fascinated by the country as I was when I came. I will say though that I know I have to move on--and should be thinking about it soon.
Regardless, here are some shots from Stockholm. The reason this post has been reposted in such a short period of time is because this is the fifth most popular post on the blog. Obviously, it is because of the pictures. But hey, the blog gets some more eyes, if not readers!!
Not sure how but this post got posted as being from September 1, 2018. But it is actually from January of 2011, if I remember correctly. I was still very new in the country. And its lights and sights excited me.
Strangely enough, they still do!! The joys of being an outsider, we never become blind to the beauty around us.....for its always new, like the world to a child.
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In the middle of January, I had to be in Stockholm. A friend who I knew from Fiji, and had live in Europe for the last 2 years, was heading home (Fiji). She stopped in the capital for two days. Two days, many sights to see. Inches of snow on the ground and the fact that this was my second time in the city made it difficult to reach places in time. But we had fun in the mean time looking around.
A shot from Hermans. All vegetarian restaurant in Stockholm. Highly recommended. The lights on the left upper corner of the picture are the lights from the restaurant reflected in the pic. I always enjoy taking pictures of reflections, especially through windows that allow for an overlap of the scene through the window and parts from the surrounding of the photographer. Merges the two worlds. Always creates an interesting effect.
Entrance of Vasa Museum. Vasa is a ship, that never really sailed....
A model of Vasa in the Museum. Notice the ornate work on the side of the ship. Vasa (or Wasa) was a Swedish Warship that was built from 1626 to 1628. On August 10, 1628, after sailing merely one nautical mile the ship foundered (go down/ being lost in the sea). In the 17th century, most of the bronze cannons were salvaged, and Vasa was forgotten. However, in the 1950s she was located again, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961.
Vasa was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has since 1961 attracted more than 28 million visitors.
Vasa was built top-heavy and lacked sufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze.
This picture is of the real ship. Show how much intricate work was done on the ship. A ten minute movie at the Museum details the restorative process. I was half asleep when I was watching it, but clearly remember that the only gold item they found on the ship was a ring. The short documentary is really amazing to watch, of how many people got together to restore Vasa to its original glory, where it brings back people to the times gone by!! I remember feeling like a midget standing next to it. What if it never sailed, it gives such a joy to the eye and provides labyrinths for our imagination to run wild!
Entrance of Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm
My friend P, at an exhihit/set up in the ethnographic museum. This set up is to show how in the 50s people sat around in their living rooms, huddled around a radio listening to a show on culture. I think we can still use such shows. In general I find Swedes pretty well informed about the world. In a conversation, when asked what are the first things that come to mind when you think of Asia, or say India to be specific, the answers have often been, 'technology, population, democracy, diversity, and yes poverty' But poverty is not the first thing that is mentioned. Which shows that they have a more holistic view of the world in general, and are not simply biased by one sided coverage of places and events.
Afternoon sun, benign but welcome...
A teepee outside ethnographic museum. I wonder if teepees were just in North America, or if they were also used by other populations under similar climatic conditions by other populations?
I found this fascinating. These were just stickers about Native Americans on a poster. So many of these tribes are just footnotes in anthropology books now.
Outside Hermans: A visitor from Fiji.....what does it feel to be ankle deep in snow instead of the Pacific. She kept commenting how even in Switzerland one never saw snow for a long time on the streets. She was fascinated with it. I like it too, but it stays too long. So I kept joking, why don't you take it with you....
Cooks and caretakers of Lao Wei. Possibly the best Chinese but Vegetarian restaurant. However, the staff is mostly Thai. All of them nearly fluent in Swedish, have spent the last 15 years of their lives in this multicultural city.
A picture I took on my way home from Stockholm. Home is only a few minutes walk away from the final bus stop. There is something about the light in Sweden. It makes things and places seem magical. Only if it were not biting cold, I would sit outside and just breathe in its beauty.....
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