Stockholm

**Note -- the wifi is slow so I'm not including pictures on this post, but I will upload them to my Facebook album and I'll comment how they relate to each item.

Sweden is the third largest country in Europe. A few of the famous companies that are based here in Sweden are Volvo, IKEA, Electrolux, and H&M. The capital city of Stockholm is made up of 14 islands. This my friends makes it VERY hard to navigate. I consider myself a decent magellen but between trying to figure out what island you are on, the names of the streets being SO LONG that they don't always fit on the map, AND trying to find a bridge/water ferry/bike/canoe/horse to take you to the next island, I spent quite a bit of the day lost. Seriously the street names are absurd....Klarabergsviadukten??!!

Thankfully the first part of the day was spent on a city tour so we had a guide and bus driver to lead us around. Our first stop was at City Hall. This isn't a concrete block with a jail in back. This city hall is where the Nobel Prizes (with the exception of the Peace prize...remember it was back in Oslo) are given. The building was built between 1911-1923. It went over budget so there were advertisements in the local paper asking the citizens to donate whatever they could to finish the project. There is a sweet story of a little girl that brought her piggy bank to the architect and asked him to use her money for something special. The architect placed a crown in the hands of a princess on one of the statues in the courtyard in her honor. The reception hall to the top right side of the banquet hall was supposed to be done by a famous painter but he died. They asked another artist, who was a young 28 years old, to complete the project. He created the golden hall that is completly made of gold mosaics. Well....the Sweds HATED it. So much so that the man sunk into a depression and couldn't work again for many years. Today, the hall is loved a little bit more. One of the most striking features of the Golden Hall is the mosaic on the far wall. It is of Mother Sweden in the middle of the world connecting the East and the West. This hall was being completed after WWI where Sweden remained neurtral. 

A little bit about the Nobel Prize...it is awarded by the Alfred Nobel Foundation which was created by Alfred Nobel, the inventor of, among other things, dynamite. The first prizes were given in 1901 in all the major areas except Economics. That prize was created later, and is funded by, the Bank of Sweden. This was created as an honor to Nobel who contributed a great deal to the economy having 90 factories worldwide. It was Nobel that insisted the Peace prize be given in Oslo since at the time of his death Norway and Sweden were still one country.

Another cool fact for my music friends about the banquet hall is that there is a pipe organ in it with over 10,000 pipes. Unfortunatly they are hidden behind a decorative screen :-(

After City Hall we visited the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship ordered by the Swedish king in 1625 when Sweden was at war with Poland. It took three years to build and there was a grand celebration in the harbor for its madien voyage. It was HUGE ship at 69 meters long and 52 meters high. It had TWO gun decks, which was unheard of at that time. The king ordered that those gun decks be open for the occasion. The Vasa set sail and caught a wind that pushed her to one side. Then there was another wind that pushed further. The gun decks took in water and 20 minutes into her maiden voyage the ship sunk killing 30 of the 150 people on board. In 1961 the ship was excavated and a museum built around it. The Sweds...they know how to celebrate their mistakes.

After a stop to view the "old town" of Stockholm, Wendy and I decided we were ready for a bit of fun and a little less history. I LOVE history, but this is a 17 day trip...got to take a break. We also needed to cool off a bit. It was a BEAUTIFUL day here but we packed more for winter instead of summer so we headed over to the Ice Bar. They have these in many cold countries of the world. They put you in a fur lined parka and stick you in a room where EVERYTHING but the floor is made of ice. We had a wonderfully refreshing vodka and managed to last about 30 minutes. It would be expensive to maintain one of these in Mississippi but could you imagine the traffic on a hot day??

Our last stop was the ABBA museum. Yes, an entire museum based on the group ABBA. We were able to "record" a track, dance on a lighted stage, and learn more about this funky Swedish band. 

I will say this has been my least favorite stop on the trip. The Norwegians will the prize for the nicest Scandinavians. The Danes were pretty cool and Copenhagen is beautiful. The Sweds are helpful but not overly nice. On to the last Scandinavian country tomorrow....after I find myself a Swedish massage in the morning :-))