Circumspencing the Globe

Yesterday, I walked around Stockholm from morning till night.  It was rainy and overcast, and my first view of the city was from a bridge on the western edge.  Because of the gloomy weather and the many tall needle-like spires on the buildings in the distance, the city looked like the set of a Tim Burton film, and I half-expected to find the place populated by spindly animated characters.  But I found Swedes.  And that was good because I like Swedes.  They’re friendly and cosmopolitan.  During my walk from the bus depot to my hostel, for example, no sooner had I withdrawn a map than a guy approached me and asked if he could help.  Due to my professionally honed skepticism toward all beings human, I suspected he might have nefarious intentions–assault me with meatballs or something.  But his purpose was pure and he pointed me on my way.  That has typified my treatment here so far.

 Because it was Monday, most of the museums–of which there are oodles–were closed.  But that suited me fine.  I preferred to just meander and get a lay of the land.  I hope to continue that meandering today (Day 7) but go inside this time.

 I’m writing from my hostel room, which comes equipped with full internet access.  Check-out time is in about 5 minutes, so I’ll end for now by uploading a few photos.

 Haven’t gotten kicked out yet, so I’ll keep writing.  I had dinners last night in the bohemian part of town (Soldermalm) at a popular vegetarian restaurant on the bluffs overlooking the city.  I say “dinners” (plural) because it was a buffet!

Stockholm is big and bustling.  Interestingly, it’s comprised of 14 interconnected islands.  There’s a very long pedestrian street (Drottinggatan) on what I think is the big island (Norrmalm) with sleek, modern stores on either side.  I stopped in a music store, heard rap playing and saw many of the same artists popular in the States, in addition to the many Swedish bands CDs for sale.  There was also a special display for one particular 1970s musical sensation–you guessed it, Abba.

The small central island (Gamla Stan) is the most charming, containing the oldest buildings, narrow cobblestone walkways, and many tiny store fronts.  After dinner I stumbled upon a live band playing in a pub, fronted by a raspy-voiced guy in a wheelchair.  He sang English lyrics perfectly and chatted up the crowd in Swedish (presumably perfectly as well).

I better run before they sick the palace guards on me…

Tags: Stockholm, Sweden, Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 5:23 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.