The occasional travellers: October 2023

All kinds of weather in Stockholm - we had everything from our first blustery rainfalls of the trip through to lovely sunny days.

Luckily Stockholm has a wide range of museums and lots to see, above and below ground. We played some 'subway golf', exploring the diverse and sometimes bizarre artwork in the 'world's longest art gallery' - the subway stations - and delved into the Swedish Medieval Museum, tucked in under Parliament. (Made even better by a water-side bar and sunny afternoon just outside the door.)

Took advantage of another couple of sunny patches to jump on a ferry for a trip winding through the twisty waterways around Stockholm; wander through the garden allotments near the harbour; and to spend a day at Skansen outdoor museum, which is a lovely combination of historic buildings and zoo.

We weren't always so lucky though. The wet weather gear got many soggy outings as we dashed from door to door in wind and rain. We arrived on the doorstep of Fotografiska, a photographic gallery right on the waterfront, like drowned rats - made worse by the major exhibition being the stunning fashion photography of Peter Lindbergh. Nothing like a bigger than life-size photo of a supermodel to make you feel glamorous 😀

Lou and I amped up the glamour again at the ABBA museum when we took a turn in a studio booth to 'record' our rendition of Mamma Mia. Not something we should ever repeat! but lots of fun.

The Vasa museum was spectacular in a very different way. The Vasa is the world's only preserved 17th century ship. It sank 20 mins out of port in 1628, and sat on the bottom of Stockholm harbour till 1961, when it was raised more or less in one piece. Would have been amazing to see. The whole enormous ship takes centre stage of the museum.

In the heart of the Old Town was the Nobel Museum, a very interesting look at all the Nobel Prize winners (apart from the Peace Prize, which we found out about in Oslo...), as well as good coffee, many cardamom buns, and some truly evil cakes.

Finished off the week with a day trip to the cathedral town of Uppsala, which was lovely (but also wet and chilly). The rainforest glasshouse in the botanic gardens was a welcome dose of warmth, with some very familiar plants providing a small reminder of home.