Molly's Time in Sweden Part 2
Our first week in Sweden was confusing, intimidating, and full of many surprises. Our second and third weeks were just about the same…only this time we were able to do more exploring around this historic city. It is easy to forget how young America is compared to other nations, but living here, a country that was founded in the late 14th century, puts history into perspective.
In the past two weeks, we visited some of Stockholm’s most popular tourist attractions. We saw an almost 400-year-old ship, a complete replica of pre-industrial Sweden, and the home of the royal family. But it’s not just the attractions that hold important history. The architecture, the food, and especially the people all bring Swedish culture to life. These pictures are just a small representation of what we’ve experienced—the emotion and atmosphere is something you have to feel for yourself.
Skansen
We’ve all been to museums, where important artifacts, documents, and relics are stored in glass cases with two to three sentence descriptions written on posters for your viewing pleasure. But, what if those antiques were instead made real? Skansen is Sweden’s first open air museum and zoo, where you can literally step inside buildings and farms from the 1800’s to see how people in Sweden lived before technology.
We happened to go on National Sweden Day, and not only was the staff dressed in conventional blue and yellow Swedish garb, but as were the guests. Despite all the interesting attractions like the traditional bread maker’s shop, the handcrafted clothes and shoes, and hand-painted artwork, we spent most of our time in the zoo area looking at seals, otters, bears, and other Scandinavian wildlife. While there, we also filmed a few things from the trip, including all the breathtaking views of Stockholm from atop the Skansen cliffs (forgive the shaky camera—I’m new at this).
The Vasa Museum
In the 1620’s King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden initiated an order to build a massive warship as part of his military expansion to fight Poland. The ship was so lavish and heavily armed that it became unstable during production. However, the King (who was in Poland at the time) ordered for her maiden voyage anyway. As the ship left the harbor it began to take in water and sank.
The ship lay at the bottom of the Stockholm harbor for 333 years, slowly deteriorating until scientist and archeologists recovered the wrecked ship from the water in the 1950s. Now, it stands perfectly preserved in one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions and museums.
Davis and I were in awe of the sheer size and ornate carvings of people and animals on the boat. You can’t physically go onto the ship, but it can be viewed from four levels in the museum. They even created a replica of the conference room and gun deck, complete with some of the actual canons recovered from the wreckage. Even though it sank early in the waters, its story wasn’t lost at sea forever—it was rewritten for the whole world to see and admire.
Kungliga Slottet
The only palace I’ve ever seen is the one in the Princess Diaries 2, but last week we were able to go to the actual Royal Palace of Sweden. I must emphasize that we don’t have the kind of architecture Europe does—America is too young to have baroque and gothic style buildings in its cities. The Royal Palace however, is the most elaborately designed structure I’ve ever seen.
You can only view certain parts of the palace, like the Church, the Royal Apartments, and the Treasury, but every inch of those areas is decorated with detailed paintings, gold molding, and important items of the royal family. Its splendor really is something to marvel at, and you become immersed in the hundreds of years of history trapped within its walls. Every girl dreams of being a princess, and for those short four hours of touring I kind of felt like one. Eat your heart out Mia Thermopolisis. Genovia ain’t got nothin’ on Sweden.
(Video Coming Soon)
