Sweden: Stockholm and Goteborg

No,

This wasn't supposed to happen,

It wasn't part of the plan,

I thought I was invincible, but evidently I'm not.

The unthinkable has happened..

..yes, I am sick.

=(

But on the upside for all our loyal readers, it means I'm going to stay home and upload photos and finally get this Sweden post up (yay!)

Serena, the Italian bella from Roma and me, as Svensk (Swedish) vikings!

After a 5 hour train journey from Kobenhavn, we arrived in Stockholm to dreary grey skies and dark threatening clouds. As we walked from the station to our hostel, we were able to take in the beautiful harbour and juxtaposition of different styles and eras of architecture, which is a contrast to the uniformed building facades in Kobenhavn.

Within 10 minutes Serena exclaimed, "Stockholm is better than Copenhagen!" I was amazed at how quickly one could come to such a conclusion after seeing only a few streets in the city. Hrmm...maybe Italians are quickly won over by the initial beauty of a place, or maybe as a Sydney-sider I've grown accustomed to having great harbour views and am unappreciative of those in other cities, or perhaps the loyalty and adoration I've developed for Copenhagen is so strong that I can't allow another Scandanavian city trump that. Or maybe the answer is D: all of the above, but whatever...regardless, there is no doubt that Stockholm is one of the most beautiful harbour cities in the world as you can see from the photos below.

Stockholm is home to over 100 museums..how to fit them all in within 1.5 days?! Well we can only try right? The first on our list was the Moderna Museet (Modern Art Museum) which houses permanent Swedish and International collections, including works by Picasso, Dali and Warhol just to name a few. Unfortunately we only had an hour in there before it closed.

We ventured to up the Kaknästornet TV Tower which gave us magnificent views of the city. Not to mention great hot chocolate and apple pie too =)

Walking the streets in the modern part of Stockholm

The next morning we were lucky to be blessed with sunny blue skies and headed to the Vasa Museum on the island of Djurgarden. The Vasa was a ship which sank in 1628 but was discovered almost completely intact more than 300 years later hidden within the murky waters of Stockholm harbour. The temperature and chemical properties of the brackish water in The Baltic Sea allowed the wood to be preserved and prevented it from rotting. Very very amazing...

Also on Djurgarden is the Nordiska Museum which houses Swedish and Nordic collections, everything from fashion to design, household items to photography. It even has a whole exhibition dedicated to the history of the social problems surrounding alcohol and alcoholism in the country, including a question put out to visitors, "Does Sweden need the monopoly?" Apparently the government tried to implement prohibition to curb the excessive drinking in the country which failed very quickly. So instead they placed ridiculously high taxes on the alcohol. Thus today, the Swedes travel to Denmark to buy cheaper alcohol, the Danes to Germany, the Germans to Eastern Europe..and the Eastern Europeans, well we all know how cheap the alcohol is there!

This island also has divine parklands and botanical gardens

We took a tour of the state apartments at the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace) which has 608 rooms, making it the largest royal palace in the world. Now you all know where the high taxes go to in Sweden...

I like this picture of the viking ship replica on the harbour in front of the National Museum because it encompasses several themes central to Stockholm: its viking history, its rich arts and cultural presence, its beautiful waterfront views and magnificent architecture.

Both of us museum enthusiasts managed to squeeze in the Nobel Musuem before closing time. Not a very big museum but the history of the Nobel Prize and past laureates was creatively displayed in the small space. Scandanavian innovation never ceases amazes me! To be honest I wasn't that interested in the special exhibition on Albert Einstein as I've always detested physics (purely because I can't get my head around it). His theories of relativity were condensed into simple cartoon animations so the simply layman can understand them..but I think it just isn't possible because they are really complicated theories!

We then took our own little walking tour around the oldest part of Stockholm, Gamla Stan, which has gorgeous old houses, cobblestone streets, vaulted cellar restaurants and quaint little alleyways & squares. The city emerged on this island in the 13th century and became a trading port and city.

We couldn't resist stopping for ice-cream =)

Marten Trotzigs Grand, the narrowest lane in Stockholm..only 90cm wide!

The first night we stayed at a hostel near Central station in the new part of town but we moved to another hostel on the second night which was in Gamla Stan. These were the gorgeous views in front of our hostel. After I asked a stranger to take a photo for the both of us, I thanked him but he kept saying "No, thank you thank YOU". (?) Puzzling indeed...

It became my mission to track down and try Swedish meatballs, so we ventured into Nilssons restaurant as the menu promised traditional Swedish meatballs. However, after we sat down and ordered, the waiter regretfully announced that they had JUST sold the last 2 plates of meatballs! =( Instead we had the seared salmon with creamy dill sauce and pototoes which is also a traditional Swedish dish and I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint at all. Mm-mm. Not at all. A very hyggelig (cosy) restaurant as well with red tableclothes and candles everywhere.

And then there were three..

On Saturday morning we rose at the crack of dawn to catch our train to Goteborg (pronounced "yoo-te-bor, or known in English as Gothenburg) where we met Sarah. Goteborg is Sweden's second largest city and lies on its west coast. Originally a medieval kingdom, this city is bordered by canals and has a much older and homelier feel than Stockholm. Unfortunately for us, the skies opened up and didn't let up for awhile. Our visit to the Stadsmuseum to see what they claimed to be "Sweden's only original Viking ship" proved to be disappointing, as the few pieces of planked wood displayed honestly looked like they could have been picked up from anywhere!

They say that a good man is hard to find..but all the exchange students here will attest that a good coffee in Scandanavia is even harder to find. Most of the time we end up saying, "Why do we even bother?!"

The Opera House in Goteborg, situated by the port.

Yay! I finally find my Swedish meatballs after consultation with Sarah's Lonely Planet to check out Smaka (meaning "taste"). The menu didn't specify what type of meatballs they were but after a few bites it was evident that it was of the moose or reindeer type. The taste: strong, funky and certainly doesn't sit well in the stomach for a few hours after. Especially all curdled together with the mashed potatoes, ligonberries and cucumber they came with. Well at least my Swedish experience is now complete (bar going to an IKEA, meeting blonde girls called Inga from the Swedish bikini team or spotting Freddie Ljungberg lookalikes) =P

We were all ready to party, but attempts to find nightlife in Goteborg proved to be difficult. Simple bars required an entrance fee of 50 swedish kroners and clubs were asking for 80-100kr so we ended up in a smoky sports bar but balked when we glimpsed at the prices of the alcohol there. Although we wanted to avoid it at all costs, it was somehow inevitable that we would end up at a 7-Eleven drinking hot chocolate, reading "In Style" Magazine at 2 in the morning, indulging in some old fashioned Anglo-American celebrity obsessed materialism.

Sunday morning: time to hit the Kunst (Arts) scene!

The Konstmuseet was certainly large and impressive, with a vast collection of Nordic Art (which Sarah and I skipped..just seen too many!), French and European Art, Sculptures, Contemporary Art (which I loved) and my favourite of course was the special Picasso exhibition, which showcased works from both his blue and pink periods.

You might think we would be musuem-ed out by now but definitely not! A quick visit to the Rohsska Museet (Museum of Design and Applied Art) which displayed awesome Scandinavian design and decorative arts before scooting down to the World Culture Museum. The main exhibition on "Human Trafficking" was amazingly done but was also very heavy, chilling and upsetting. The personal recounts and testimonials through documentaries, letters, pictures and artworks from women and children who had been sold into sex slavery and exploited was so raw, real, confronting, compelling and moving. It really was an eye-opener and a reminder of the dark and harsh realities of this world.

Goteborg doesn't have an underground system but instead has a tram system running through the city.

The Goteborg Botanical Gardens which I took great pains to track down and visit..its all for the photos, its always for the photos!

Farvel Sverige!