Stockholm, Sweden

Historic Gamla Stan—the 1252 birthplace of Stockholm

Sunday-Monday, October 1-2, 2023: Stockholm

We arrived in Stockholm, Sweden after an overnight cruise from Tallinn, a short distance across the Baltic Sea, making us wonder why it would take so long? The reason became clear in the morning, before the sun was up. We watched from our veranda as the Rotterdam inched its way through very narrow passages with islands on either side.

It was amazing how close the land and islands were to the ship! There was also was a cruise ship behind us as well as one in front, carefully navigating the narrow channels. The captain opened the bow early so we could experience the Rotterdam’s navigation though incredibly tight waterways leading into Stockholm. We finally reached the pier with the Rotterdam swinging around in the middle of the narrow river, blocking traffic until it docked. Amazing!

The Rotterdam was staying in Stockholm for two days, allowing us more time to explore this Scandinavian jewel. We booked two shore excursions giving us a sampling of the more interesting sites surrounding the city and countryside.

Our first excursion took us through the city with a history narration by our guide as the bus made its way to Drottningholm Palace. Drottningholm is one of 11 palaces of King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia and their primary residence. The Crown Princess, Victoria, works with her father on a daily basis and is next in line for the throne as she is the first born despite having 2 brothers.

Drottningholm or the “Queen’s Islet”, is located about a 30 minute drive outside the city and is situated on Lovön, a small island, on Lake Mälaren. The first palace was constructed around 1580 for Queen Katarina Jagellonica. Overtime, the Palace gained a couple wings and other structures making it look quite similar to Versailles although on a much smaller scale.

We entered the grounds from the parking area through the Karusellplan, an English Park around the Palace with the front bordering the lake. Our guide led us through the Palace, noting that the King and Queen are in their wing of the Palace as the flag is flying. The Palace decor is ornate and there is a story in every room.

Although all the rooms had paintings of royalty and other important historic figures, the most striking was the painting of a dromedary with his handler holding the reins. The significance of this painting is that the Arab-looking man had been captured in one of the many wars raging on at the time. In his possession were coffee beans. Game changer for the Swedes!

Despite the fact that coffee beans cannot grow in Sweden, the Swedes have one of the highest coffee consumption rates per person in the world.

The tour ended with a walk to the back of the Palace where there was a fountain and lovely grounds surrounded by pathways. It is good to be King!

Looking from the Palace to the Hercules fountain

Although this tour was short, it gave us great information on royalty (the King doesn’t own anything; the State owns all the palaces and grounds) and it prepared us for a much longer tour on October 2.

Once we were back on the ship, we decided to walk to the Old Town for dinner based on recommendations from staff. We were initially disappointed when finally reaching the Stockholms Gästabud restaurant finding a long line waiting to get in. Backtracking a short ways, we went in to the Fem Små Hus, reported to be Sweden’s oldest restaurant. It didn’t look open, however the door was unlocked and in we went. Looking around and not seeing anyone, we noticed a sign indicating the restaurant was downstairs.

Aside from the location, it reminded us of the Five Flies in Amsterdam: 5 buildings make up the restaurant with another floor below us. It was an experience—the food was exceptionally tasty with a very good wine pairing.

We had an early excursion the next day—a 7am start! “Historic Stockholm, Sigtuna & the Vasa Museum” would last 7 hours and bring us back to the ship just before the “all aboard” at 2:30.

Our guide, Glynella, was organized and very knowledgeable with a great command of the English language. She is a retired marine biologist and enjoys leading tours around Stockholm, the place of her birth and where she currently lives. As we headed to our first stop, she pointed out the construction happening at the lock causing traffic detours. This lock is between Lake Mälaren, the largest lake in Sweden, and the Baltic Sea. The lock requires improvements every 100 years. Glynella explained that during the Ice Age, a massive sheet of ice more than a mile high covered much of the northern hemisphere. The weight of the ice forced the underlying land downward and compacted it. So, when the glaciers retreated 12,000 years ago, the land mass started to rise at a rate of about a half inch a year and will continue to do so for at least the next 10,000 years. The phenomena is called Post-glacial rebound. The locks are affected as is all of Stockholm and beyond. Buildings that were near the sea are now hundreds of feet away. Just a bit of science from our marine biologist!

Away from the construction and off the bus, we walked past the front of the Royal Palace where the King conducts business then up a broad, cobblestone plaza on the side of the palace and stopped in front of a monument to King Carl XIV. This is the beginning of Medieval Stockholm where the city began back in 1252. We admired another monument, commemorating a victory over the Danes in the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471.

This is a replica of the original wooden statue, currently located which shows St. George slaying a dragon. Impressive. It was familiar to us as we had passed it last evening as we walked to the restaurant, a street below. Walking away from the statue we headed further into medieval Stockholm, walking on uneven cobblestones and glancing down narrow alleyways. Truly time traveling!

We stopped in front of a copy of the oldest known image of early Stockholm where a few of the buildings are recognizable today.

Opening in front of our group was Stortorget, the large square of Old Stockholm on the island of Gamla Stan, surrounded by colorful buildings, including the Nobel Prize Museum.

An ancient fountain was spouting water, one that was used in medieval times. We walked to the area where a “typical” medieval neighborhood was located, just off the square. Tall buildings and narrow streets were typical; windows were not.

From the narrow street we walked to another square where St. Nicholas church is located, in the center of Gamla Stan, next to the rear of the Royal Palace.

We continued walking around Old Stockholm, heading back to the bus with an hour’s drive to Sigtuna as hour next adventure. Glynella gave us an opportunity for a “necessary stop” at the impressive Town Hall, built in the 19th century, then back on the bus for more time traveling to the Viking era.

Sigtuna is located on the shore of Lake Mälaren and was founded around 980 ago by King Olaf, the first Christian king of Sweden. It is a very small town with narrow streets and wooden houses but has interesting ruins from the 13th and 14th centuries.

Stones have been discovered here with Viking runes chiseled into them.

We explored a few church ruins, the first being St. Lars, built in the 12th century. There is an old cemetary here, predating the church, with a mass grave, discovered to contain 19 individuals who appeared to have been executed. A rune stone outside the St. Lars had been interpreted as saying: “Amund had the stone erected in memory of himself in his lifetime”. Nothing like self confidence! There were other stone church ruins in various stages of preservation. We happened upon a preschool gathering where the children were picnicking inside the structure.

The only remaining church that is still in use from the 13th Century, in the Romanesque and Gothic styles. It is thought to be the first brick church around Lake Mälaren. St. Mary’s has paintings from that era, discovered during renovation.

We enjoyed a hearty lunch and headed back to Stockholm to tour the Vasa Museum.

The Vasa Museum contains a painstakingly restored battleship that never fired a shot—it capsized and sank in Stockholm’s inner harbor in 1628. The massive ship lay undisturbed until 1961 when a Swedish team salvaged the great ship, finding it astonishingly well preserved.

It has been restored to its former glory and it awe inspiring. Glynella gave information on the ship’s symbols, the use of certain items and the way sailors lived on board.

The name of the ship is found on the Coat of Arms—a sheaf of wheat. King Gustave II Adolf was of the Vasa dynasty and commissioned the massive ship. People couldn’t read so images and symbols were important.