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Home  >  Blog  >  Mum’s Gone to Sweden: Sitting on the dock of the bay

Mum’s Gone to Sweden: Sitting on the dock of the bay

Trish Burgess Posted on07/08/201209/08/2016 Stockholm, Sweden 34 Comments
Strombron bridge, Stockholm
Rory on Strombron. The smaller boat on the left is a
very popular youth hostel. 

There’s an awful lot of water in Stockholm which makes for a breathtakingly beautiful city. Spread over many islands, with the Baltic Sea to the east and Lake Malaren to the west, the city stretches out into the open air, giving the visitor an invigorating sense of space.

Two minutes from our hotel and we could walk over Strombron bridge into the old town or choose Skeppsholmenbron to visit the island of Skeppsholmen. Nothing was very far away: a bustling vibrant city only metres away from parks, woodlands and fishing spots. I felt instantly at ease in the city: buildings are grand but not ostentatious, the streets are wide, pavements are clean, it looks prosperous. It is a capital city which doesn’t have to try hard to impress but it certainly looked its best in the warm sunshine which accompanied our stay.

The main square in Gamla Stan: Stortorget.

On our first morning in the capital we sauntered over to Gamla Stan, the Old Town, where, south of the Royal Palace, streets were narrower, cobbled and the whole feel was more akin to a city scene in Southern Europe. The main square, Stortorget, was an execution site in 1520 during the ‘Stockholm Bloodbath’. Now it is a place for relaxing, eating and drinking. The streets leading off Stortorget are packed full of craft and souvenir shops, together with a good selection of restaurants. Forgetting we were in Sweden and not Italy, we had a great lunch in Restaurant Michelangelo. The walls are decorated with scenes from the Sistine Chapel which is all very well but a little off-putting when you are happily chomping on a capricciosa and can see Adam’s salami dangling in your line of vision.

Stenbock Palace, Riddarholmen

Tagged onto the west side of Gamla Stan, over another bridge and you are in Riddarholmen. On a sunny July day, when many Swedes have left Stockholm to go on their own holidays, there are pockets of the city which are empty and it was a real joy to have these spots to ourselves. In fact, throughout the whole holiday it became a daily event to find a good bench to sit on. Having a family of three is, I have discovered, the optimal number for bench-sitting: plenty of room for all cheeks and the option  for one member of the party to shuffle along to one end if he or she is having a sulk. Mood swings linked to blood sugar levels were a common occurrence on our trip: a sit on a bench to slurp drinks and eat apples stolen from the breakfast buffet soon restored the equilibrium.

Returning back to the main city, via Riksgatan, we came across this sight:

Sculpture, Rag and Bone with blanket, Stockholm

“Ooh it’s one of those living statues” I said, pointing at the unmoving animal dressed in rags.
“Must be bloody clever if they can get a fox to stay still for that long”, replied husband, slowly shaking his head in disbelief.

This little bronze sculpture was called ‘Rag and Bone with Blanket’ and was created in 2009 by Welsh artist Laura Ford; part of a series where she used characters from Beatrix Potter to show how people can become disenfranchised from society. Mr Tod, the fox, represents homelessness.

It was a different animal altogether which caught our eye when, later that evening, we walked through the central park, Kungstradgardsgatan, and saw people outside TGI Friday’s restaurant.

“Why are all those people dressed as Scooby Doo?” asked Rory. “Is it a stag night or something?”

On closer inspection, it would seem the Scooby Doo impersonators were normal diners, wrapped up in orange/brown fleeces to keep warm. We were happy walking about without coats but the Swedes do like to eat outside if possible and like to stay toasty when doing so.

Well I guess that wraps up this mystery!

 

Wander Mum

Previous Article Mum’s Gone to Sweden: Stockholm Syndrome
Next Article Mum’s gone to Sweden: How to embarrass your teenage son on holiday

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34 Comments

  1. BavarianSojourn Reply
    07/08/2012 at 4:42 pm

    Poor Mr Tod… I love that you thought he was a person 🙂

    Stockholm looks beautiful, and seems a bit "bigger" than CPH in terms of building size etc. They do love to wrap themselves in blankets and eat outside these Scandinavians don't they?

  2. Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
    07/08/2012 at 4:52 pm

    I know, what an idiot!

    It does feel bigger than Copenhagen, maybe more spread out, but they are both equally beautiful cities in their own right.

    They like their CO2 producing patio heaters too, which made me smile as they are very big on being eco-friendly in other ways!

  3. Steve Reply
    07/08/2012 at 7:01 pm

    Any girls with dragon tattoos?

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      07/08/2012 at 8:27 pm

      I don't know. Couldn't see under their fleeces.

  4. Curry Queen Reply
    07/08/2012 at 7:32 pm

    It alll looks lovely, if unpronounceable! How are your Swedish language skills?!

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      07/08/2012 at 8:30 pm

      Couldn't speak very much apart from a few pleasantries, but their English was so fantastic, often with an American twang (all those movies and TV shows they watch with subtitles I imagine) that we didn't try very hard. We did manage to work out some written words; there was a certain logic to the structure of the words that made it much easier to translate than understand verbally.

  5. Very Bored in Catalunya Reply
    07/08/2012 at 8:35 pm

    How lovely of them to provide sulking benches! 😉 Stockholm looks lovely, were you checking off your Steig Larsson landmarks?

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      07/08/2012 at 8:41 pm

      I know, they had them all over Sweden: we used them frequently.

      To be honest, I couldn't remember any of the specific locations. Of course, if I were smart, I'd just tell you that I did and I could squeeze another blog post out of it ;-))

  6. MsCaroline Reply
    07/08/2012 at 10:17 pm

    Did you have any 'how many times can you say 'Skeppsholmenbron' without stuttering' contests? I think I would have been tempted.

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      08/08/2012 at 6:28 am

      I think whenever we needed to say that word we just said it differently, or pointed to the map! I think I called it skeppi bridge.

  7. About Last Weekend Reply
    07/08/2012 at 11:15 pm

    The Swedes are such a practical lot., gotta love them. That means then that you don't need any going out clothes cause you'll all just be doing a scooby dooby doo snuggy thing anyway. Makes for easy travel! Heading out to check out what else you did….

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      08/08/2012 at 6:33 am

      I was amazed at how tanned they were – beautiful brown legs in teeny shorts and that was just the blokes! So they must shake off the blankets some time!

  8. Expat mum Reply
    08/08/2012 at 12:15 am

    There's a big Swedish heritage here in Chicago and people will stay outside eating and BBQ'ing till it's almost winter – wrapped in blankets. How funny!

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      08/08/2012 at 6:39 am

      Ha, well there you go! I must try it at home but the temptation when it's a bit nippy is to just go inside.

  9. libby Reply
    08/08/2012 at 6:24 am

    Oh the blanket thing seals it for me…..I have to go there….not only does it look fabulous but you get to be wrapped up in a blanket too!

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      08/08/2012 at 6:42 am

      I think I have a photo of me wrapped up in a blankie at the last hotel. It wasn't even cold but I wanted to wear the same as everyone else.

  10. Sarah Reply
    08/08/2012 at 7:00 am

    Like the way you raided the brekkie bar too. I'm glad it's not just me. 🙂

    The colours of the buildings in the second pic are gorgeous. What a colourful city.

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      08/08/2012 at 8:39 am

      A least I don't make up a whole stock of sandwiches like you do, Sarah! 😉

      I was surprised at the colours of the buildings – it certainly wasn't a grey city.

  11. asturiandiary Reply
    09/08/2012 at 10:34 am

    You gotta love those Scooby Doo blankets. Do they sell them in Ikea or something? Great photos – looks like a beautiful city, with gorgeous skies and light.

    • Trish @ Mums Gone To... Reply
      09/08/2012 at 11:10 am

      I had better check out Ikea and find out. Elsewhere on the holiday we found them in a variety of colours, draped neatly over the chairs and they seem to co-ordinate with the decor.
      It was a beautiful city. Glad I was able to capture some of that in my snaps.

  12. Shobha Reply
    26/01/2016 at 10:16 am

    Ha! I would have thought they were a Scooby Doo convention too! I'd love to visit Stockholm – on our bucket list.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      26/01/2016 at 1:19 pm

      It's a great city – so much to explore. We had four nights and still could go back for more.

  13. Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com Reply
    26/01/2016 at 11:51 am

    Aha – blood sugar lows are a serious business when there's sighseeing to be done!I do like the architecture in Stockholm. All those tall slender houses. And I love the idea of a Scooby Doo coat for outdoor dining. We should import that – genius.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      26/01/2016 at 1:30 pm

      Blood sugar lows and post-breakfast toilet requirements – very common tourist afflictions.
      The old town had these tall slender houses, very like Amsterdam, but elsewhere in the city the buildings were often quite imposing (Italianate maybe?)

  14. MummyTravels Reply
    26/01/2016 at 12:13 pm

    Oh this sounds so lovely – water all around, old buildings, easy to wander, benches to sulk on and fancy dress blankets 😉 Poor old Mr Tod though (although my daughter is firmly on Peter Rabbit's side!) #citytripping

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      26/01/2016 at 1:36 pm

      It's a very airy city and the buildings are quite mixed – lots of modern buildings too and wide boulevards. I love the feeling of space in all the Nordic capitals – Oslo and Helsinki felt the same, especially with the water being such a significant factor.
      Can't beat a good sulky bench 🙂

  15. Christy Swagerty Reply
    26/01/2016 at 3:53 pm

    I haven't been to Stockholm yet, but now I have a really great friend from there and can't wait to go! I did notice the same huge blankets when I was in Western Sweden last year, but I was still cold eating outside. Love that they really do look like Scooby-Doos!! What an intriguing sculpture, now I'm thinking about all of Beatrix Potter's characters… 🙂 Great to read your post via #citytripping!

  16. Katja - globetotting Reply
    26/01/2016 at 4:56 pm

    Ha! I love the Scooby Doo comment!! I really do want to visit Stockholm, it looks so beautiful with so much to see. Having read your post I'd also really like to see Mr Tod, what a beautiful (and a little sad) sculpture. #citytripping

  17. Wander Mum Reply
    26/01/2016 at 9:42 pm

    Mr Tod really does look like one of those living statues… totally know what you mean! I've never been to Stockholm but am very keen to go! I love all the brightly coloured buildings and, of course, Scooby Doo blankets! Thanks for linking to #citytripping

  18. gina caro Reply
    27/01/2016 at 7:26 pm

    The buildings out there look great! Love all the different colours #CityTripping

  19. beatravelling Reply
    27/01/2016 at 7:26 pm

    Love Sthlm too! 🙂

  20. One Tiny Leap Reply
    01/02/2016 at 10:08 am

    Stockholm sounds so wonderful. I love the idea of the wrap-up blankets 🙂 It certainly makes for a great photo! #citytripping

  21. Jenography.net Reply
    01/02/2016 at 6:32 pm

    I've always wanted to visit Stockholm. Such a beautiful city!

  22. Pingback: Mum's gone to Sweden: The 'Absolut' spirit of Stockholm - Mum's Gone To ...

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