Stockholm Thursday 28th February

So here we are, dearly beloved, with the final instalment of An English Fool Abroad With his Sketchbook, Stockholm Edition. I had a number of plans for this morning, none of which involved going beyond walking distance from the bus terminal where I was going to get the bus to the airport. Why? Well, you see, the thing is that I wasn’t entirely sure when my transport pass would run out. I know that we touched down on Monday about 11am local time, and that it takes a good 20 minutes or so to find the train and take the train into the centre of Stockholm, and the first thing I did when I got to the Central Station was buy a 72 hour pass. Which is okay, as long as you remember that those 72 hours start from the moment that you first use it. And I wasn’t sure when that was. I reckoned that I was certainly good until about 11:45, but after that your guess was as good as mine, since I didn’t both to check what the time was when I used it on Monday.

Now, you remember how I said yesterday that the sun was conspicuous by its absence? Well, today was worse. Officially we were due a high of about 5 degrees, and it may well have reached that in places which were sheltered from the wind. The only trouble was, there wasn’t really anywhere that was actually sheltered from the wind today, or it certainly felt like that. It was one of those winds which seems to blow in all directions at once – it was always in my face no matter which way I was walking. Add to that the fact that it was what you’d all a lazy wind – so called because it’s too lazy to go around you so it goes right through you instead – and you’ll appreciate that I was glad that I was wearing my ‘last line of defence’ jumper. The only reason I was is that it’s too thick to cram into my rucksack, and I couldn’t leave it at the hotel today. So, it’s an ill wind, as they say – even if it’s a lazy one at the same time.

I said my farewells to Gamla Stan earlier, and walked across the bridge on the south side for once, towards an area called Slussen. This is where I made today’s sketch. When you get right down to it, Stockholm does a very nice line in spires, and I really liked this view, even if the bridge was in the middle of a building site – yes, that is a crane on the right hand side of the sketch. This was a very quick 25 minute job, since that wind seemed to be getting lazier all the time. In fact I never felt that I could stop moving for the rest of the morning. Well, not until lunchtime. I was heading vaguely back towards the bus terminal when there was a distinct waft of warm air from a turning in front of me, which is how I came to enter one of Stockholm’s biggest shopping malls. Really not my cup of Darjeeling when you get right down to it, but at least I managed to sit down for half an hour, and sample the Swedish delicacy of varmkorv med senap for lunch. That’s hot dog with mustard to you. 

So time marched onwards, and by about 2:30 I was down to my last 80 kroner – which judging by my experiences in Stockholm would maybe get me a cup of coffee in the airport if I was lucky. (it did – just). I’d already bought my bus ticket in the morning. I didn’t want to mess about when I arrived, so I took the Arlanda express train on Monday, but now, armed with my experiences of three days in Sweden I felt bold enough to take the bus. Well, that and the fact that it was precisely three times cheaper than the train, even though it only took twice as long. Now, when I arrived at the airport on Monday, I didn’t actually notice that there was more than one terminal. When I got on the bus I noticed that it was going to stop at terminal 5, then terminal 4, then terminals 3 and 2. What you’re supposed to do if you’re going from terminal 1 I have absolutely no idea. I also had absolutely no idea which terminal I was going to be flying from. Thankfully the bus had free wifi, and I have to say that Arlanda airport’s online information about departures is a hell of a lot more comprehensive than Bristol’s or Cardiff’s.

So here I am. I have maybe an hour and a half before we get on the plane and say adjo to Stockholm. I’ve enjoyed my time here, and I worked out earlier that it’s the most northerly city I’ve ever visited in mainland Europe. Have to say, mind you, that it certainly felt like it today. The sarky security guard in the airport took one look at my last line of defence jumper and said, “You have discovered that it is not summer in Sweden yet, I think.” Ho ho ho. Laugh, I thought I’d never start, and I didn’t. If you’ve been with me since Monday, thanks, I’ve enjoyed your company. Here’s to the next time.

Stockholm Wednesday 27th February

Good evening. So nice of you to join me again, at the end of my last full day in Stockholm. Well, you remember me saying yesterday about how sharp the winter sunshine is here? Not a problem, today, thanks. Still rather mild for the time of year, but it meant that the wind was that little bit sharper today, and you couldn’t warm up in the sunshine, because there wasn’t any.

I nearly made a bit of a fool of myself on the pendeltag into the city this morning. Even though it was well gone 9, the train was full, and I was standing throughout the ten minute journey. No problem with that, except that after Stockholms Sodra, the last stop before mine, I suddenly found myself crowded by two very large pushchairs. I was wedged up against the door on the left, while the right hand doors had been opening at all stations. I tried suggesting to the parents involved that they might like to let me out through the universal language of the raised eyebrow, but either I was ignored, or it means something quite different in Swedish. I was just checking how much of a leap it would be to mount my high horse, when the train started pulling in, and the platform was actually on my side.

So, then, working on my city to do checklist, by yesterday evening I’d ridden on trams, commuter trains, the T Bana (metro) and buses, but not yet boats. So I took care of that this morning with a couple of rides across the bay , island hopping. Hence the sketch of the ferry I’d just got off when I got to the Djurgarden. There’s still a ton of ice all around Stockholm, but it’s broken up into huge chunks which you just watch floating by as you slip across from one island to another. There’s worse ways to spend your time.

Museum of the day was the Historiske – the Swedish History Museum. The first thing which came to mind when I arrived about 10 minutes before it opened was that it must be the Swedish equivalent of half term this week, since there seemed to be tons of kids waiting in ones and twos with parents and presumably grandparents. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the Historiske. Highlights included the Gold Room – which is basically a room full of gold objects – like the Dutch the Swedes are a commendably literal people. I studied Old Norse as part of my English degree, way back in the mists of time all those decades ago, and as with any body of literature it really helps if you learn at least a little about the historical context. So I found some of the Viking artifacts fascinating. Not that the museum is only about Viking history – far from it, that’s only one small part of the story. To be honest, it was one of those places where you suddenly look at your watch and realise that two hours have gone by since you came in.

From there back then to my favourite part of the city, Gamla Stan, where I made my only watercolour sketch of this trip so far. Once again, it was a little bit of a frustrating day for the exhibitionist type of urban sketcher, considering that all of my sketches today had their observers again, and once again absolutely nobody passed comment on them. I made three of today’s sketches on the Gamla Stan, in a period of about an hour and a half, starting with the Riddarholmskirk , and finishing with the Riksdag entrance. By the time I’d finished I literally was so cold that I couldn’t feel my fingers.

Having said that, though, I’ve had proof that it is still mild for the time of year. When I first arrived at Alvsjo, where the hotel is, on Monday,

coming out of the Pendeltag station I saw a huge mound of dirty, gritty snow piled up in the centre of the square. Both yesterday and today, when I’ve emerged from the station at the end of the day there has been a huge puddle seeping away from the mound, which has noticeably shrunk since Monday.

Well, that just about wraps it up for this episode. Tomorrow I fly back in the later afternoon, so there’s still time for foolishness in the morning. Watch this space.

Stockholm Tuesday 26th February

Good evening, and welcome to the second episode of An English Fool Abroad With His Sketchbook, Stockholm Edition.

If you’ve been with me for a while you may recall some of the comments I made about the breakfast in my hotel in Amsterdam in November. That was an extra that I paid for. Breakfast is all part of the deal in my hotel here, and I was quite looking forward to seeing what I could get away, sorry, I'll read that again, seeing what was on offer this morning. Pretty much what you would expect, although the bread rolls were at least fresh. I did consider trying to walk out with some bits and pieces for a packed lunch, but the moment I stood up to go back to the goodies after finishing my second helping of everything, I felt as if all eyes in the room were upon me. I looked around, and indeed they were. So, as the saying goes, I made my excuses and left.

Traditionally I usually try to cross off the number one thing on my list on the first full day I spend in a city, and absolute number 1 on this trip was a visit to the Vasa Museum. I’ve known about the Vasa for quite a long time, but only because I once read the blurb all about it in an Airfix model catalogue. If you weren’t lucky enough to have done the same yourself, well, basically, the Vasa was a warship constructed in Stockholm between 1626 and 1628 at the orders of King Gustvus Adolphus of Sweden, who was at war with Poland-Lithuania at the time. On the day of it’s maiden voyage it got almost a mile before it started listing to one side, and then sank. Basically, although it looked fantastic, it was too narrow in the beam, and too tall, and didn’t have enough ballast. All of which might make you think that the ship’s architect might not have exactly been looking forward to the inquiry following the sinking. Actually, according to the film in the museum, nobody was blamed for the sinking at all. We can’t be certain how many people died, although the thinking is that it would have been about 30, of whom remains of 15 have been found. I found it rather gruesome that some of the bones are on display next to the ship – the words ‘insult’ and ‘injury’ come irresistibly to mind. Still, none of them have complained about it yet, so there you are.

Not going to lie – it took AGES to make the sketch you can hopefully see with this post. This is partly because it is so intricate, and also partly because the ship is bathed in what I like to think of as museum twilight. Which is fine, if it helps us preserve the ship for as long as possible, although I can’t help feeling the amount of flash photography going on all around it can’t be helping.

The Vasa was actually found in the late 50s, and finally raised in 1961. It’s a remarkable achievement, especially considering that I would imagine that the team were probably having to invent techniques as they went along. The ship itself is in a really remarkable state of preservation – although parts have been replaced, the fact is that the ship I saw today in the museum is actually 90% original.

I was at the Museum this morning slightly before opening time at 10 am, and when you’ve paid your money, and if you are ever lucky enough to visit, I defy you to walk in without saying ‘wow’ when you first see the ship. It is absolutely breathtaking.

Well, you may recall that yesterday I went to the National Museum to find that it was shut on Mondays. So the next call on my list was to the same National Museum. Those of you who are saying to yourself – he was only so determined to see it because it’s free are being very harsh (but fair). This was a bit of a revelation. The National Museum has a superb collection of paintings, and I spent a couple of hours there, and could easily have spent longer.

It was a beautiful day again today. The weather here has taken a little getting used to. I’d better try to explain that. Firstly, although for a lot of yesterday, and all day today, the city has been bathed in brilliant sunlight, the fact is that the sun is quite a bit lower in the sky this time of year, even at midday, than it is at home. What with it being winter as well, the light is, well, I hesitate to use the word ‘sharp’ but somehow it seems the most appropriate word to describe it. Also, there’s a gentle wind which blows fairly continuously, which doesn’t feel at all vicious, until you stop moving. If you’re in the sunlight you’re okay. If you’re out of it, though, you suddenly start to realise that you’re cold. Walking through the Gamla Stan old town again today, I found that I had to wear my gloves and hat because the high buildings and narrow streets were in shadow, and as they say in these parts , nobblingkold.

Nonetheless, in the sunshine it was warm enough to sit in the open and sketch the Radhusset – the Civic Hall, and look across the water – er – ice – to the Ryddarholm Island, and make a sketch of that as well. The sketches either aren’t any good, or the Stockholmers just aren’t very demonstrative people. Several of them stopped for a look while I was sketching as they passed by, but none of them made a comment.

Speaking of comments, I have to say that I finally got round to checking the exchange rate between GBP and Swedish Kroner, all of which confirmed what I already suspected, that, compared to the other cities I’ve been to in the last few years, Stockholm is expensive. Such is life. It hasn’t spoiled my enjoyment at all yet.

Well, that’s just about it for day two

Stockholm - Monday 25th February 2019

Well, hello, and thanks for tuning in to the first edition of An English Fool Abroad With His Sketchbook of 2019, Stockholm Edition.

I’ve wanted to visit Stockholm for a long time – believe it or not ever since I saw the huge photograph of Gamla Stan ( the island which has the old town on it)which they used to have in the restaurant in IKEA in Cardiff. Sad. It’s one of quite a few cities which calls itself the Venice of the North, and not without good reason. Still, we’ll come to that all in the fullness.

A 7:25 flight this morning from Bristol necessitated a very early start, but even so I still only arrived about 20 minutes before the plane started boarding. For once I have nothing unusual, funny or annoying to report about the flight. We boarded on time, and we left, well if not quite on time to the dot, at least not more than a few minutes late. Something for a first for EasyJet, I fancy.

Arlanda airport is about 20 minutes away from the centre of Stockholm using the Arlanda Express. Now, I think that I was in a bit of a funny mood when I got off the plane, because for some reason discovering that the Swedish word for lift is Hiss set me off on a fit of giggles which lasted halfway into the centre of the city. When I arrived at the Central Station my first priority was to get a 72 hour travel card. This necessitated – gulp – talking to people. And it was when I was buying my card from the tourist desk in Central Station that I first encountered the Swedish Hej. Hej- pronounced hey – is a pretty ubiquitous greeting in these parts. Which is fine, except it sounds like an accusation the first time you hear it. It sounds like it ought to be followed by – what the hell do you think you’re doing? – You do get used to it pretty quickly, though.

There was no necessity to go to the hotel right away, especially since the central station is rather obviously, right in the centre of Sweden, and therefore very handy for lots of interesting things to see and sketch. I made the 4 sketches you should be able to see with this post. Coming back to the point about Stockholm being nicknamed The Venice of the North, there’s a good reason, being that the city stretches across no fewer than 14 islands. I crossed to Gamla Stan, which literally means the old town. It’s an attractive place, no doubt about that. Going across to Gamla Stan also meant that I got to fulfil one of the required elements for any visit to a capital city, namely a ride on the metro. Stockholm’s is the T (for tunnel) Bana (for Bana). I only went the one stop back to the Central Station, and was about to go and find where the splendidly named Pendletags (commuter trains) departed from, when I saw a word which will always gladden my heart. Trams, and a helpful arrow. That’s how I ended up with a sketch of the tram, and yes, of course I went for a tram ride.

So, back to Central Station for the third time, this time I really did take the Pendeltag to Alvsjo, and was delighted to find that you can actually see the hotel from the station. So far so good. Inside the hotel the reception is up several flights of stairs. When I found it, I announced to the chap behind the desk that I would like my room please, he looked at my piece of paper with the booking reference, then looked at my passport, then looked at both again, and said,
“You are not Yennifer.” No flies on this guy, I thought to myself, but decided that sarcasm was probably not the best idea at this time. I explained that Yennifer, sorry, Jenniffer, is my daughter who made the booking. In her name.
“She is not coming?”
- Yes, me old china, she’s in me rucksack here – I made a point of not saying, and explained that Jenn had made the booking, and that’s why it is in her name. He wasn’t that happy, but got a lot happier when I offered to pay the full amount up front in cash.

After unloading the bag, and removing a couple of layers of clothing – look, I know that the forecast said that it is going to be unseasonably mild in Stockholm this week, but I wasn’t taking any chances – I took the pendletag (love that word) back into the centre. My planwas to take a walk to the National Museum and have a look and thus cross off one of the items from my to do list. Good idea. Or at least it would have been if it had not been stangd pa mandag. Yes, if you haven’t worked it out that means closed on Mondays.

By the time I’d walked back to the Central Station – again – the sun was sinking low, and a bit of a bitter wind had started to blow. Also, the 4am start this morning was beginning to take its toll. So I headed back to the hotel to conclude day one.