UPPSALA

Aug 31st - Sept 1st 2020

Stockholm Central Station.
 

The Central Railway station is modern, efficient and connects the rail system to the Metro (tunelbana). Several floors are underground and all well signposted. The statue outside is of Nils Ericsson, the engineer who developed the rail and canal systems. Not to be confused with Lars Ericsson the 19th century founder of the telephones organisation. 

Anyway, onwards by train to Uppsala, a city about 80km north of Stockholm.

Below: The interior of the double-decker train I took. The rail prices were comparatively cheap, £6 equivalent to Uppsala (about the only things in this country which are) and comfortable with lots of luggage room, tables and an excellent quick and free internet service.

This new crappy new Google Blogger system does not seemingly allow me to  write down the side of photos, so can only 'head or tail' them, therefore much space wasted. Hey ho!

Below: A cunning device which allows a wheelchair or wonky person to board the train and, by pushing a button, elevate the platform to get up the stairs, then rotate to wheel or stagger off. Very clever.

I think I have, by accident, just discovered how to write down the side of a photo. I doubt I will be able to replicate so making the most of it here.

It was a comfortable 40 min journey up north to Uppsala. The countryside is flat and densely forested. 

Below: The railway station at Uppsala. Another smart and shiny station.

Uppsala is a university city (40,000 students). It was/is considered the historical and spiritual heart of the country. It is a jolly city with lots of bars, restaurants and hotels;  presumably to cater for the licentious studentry. Actually, although the schools are all fully operational, university students are at present at home studying, or not, on the internet. It is divided north/south by the river Fyris. Laid out in a grid pattern it is easy to navigate and most things of interest are within easy walking distance. As with everywhere in this country this place is immaculately clean and tidy. I stayed the night at the CityStay Hotel which is central, comfortable and reasonably priced.

  

The University is one of the oldest and most esteemed in the world. I'm not sure what for; parties? The main university building is quite grand but used mainly for ceremonial occasions, with a few lecture halls, now deserted other than security guards. The city is scattered with outlying 'departments'.

Right: The magnificent entry hall.

On the first floor gallery there are several rather rude statues. I can only enter them in a long list below because this stupid 'new improved' system will not allow me to write alongside. 

Presumably they represent a politically correct 'diverse' theme, albeit very 'white'. They all have remarkably small willies, or perhaps I am blessed, but I don't think so.

Below: The gay boy.

Right: The flasher. Not sure what he is so proud of!

Left: The 'one armed' streaker.

Right: The child abductor

Gosh, I seem to be, on occasions, able to get text on the side, but not sure how I'm doing it.

Nearby is the Carolina Rediviva Bibliotek, the University library and museum. It is a large building with squillions of books (unsurprisingly) and some reading rooms which appeared reasonably well attended (below).........

......together with a museum housing ancient manuscripts and maps including illuminated Ethiopian texts and the first book ever printed in Sweden, which I'm sure is a real bodice-ripper. The star of the show is the Codex Argentus (AD 250) aka the Silver Bible (below) which is written in gold and silver ink on purple vellum. The most complete existing document written in the Gothic language (in which I am not entirely fluent).

Below: The Gothic Cathedral, Domkyrka, which dominates the city. Apparently it is Scandinavia's largest church. It is 119m (390 ft)  high.

As mentioned, I'm not really 'into' these grandiose and opulent houses of worship, but went in to have a look anyway. (at least it was free entry and beginning to rain!) 

No effort or expense was spared here. There are lots of little 'chapels' running down both sides dedicated to such luminaries as Gustav Vasa (the first King and after whom the ill-fated warship was named), and Carl von Linné (or Linnaeus) an eminent 18th century Uppsala biologist, zoologist, physician and, for all I know, record breaking pole-vaulter. His name features widely around this city.

Above: It certainly has an impressive 'pulpit" from which, no doubt, the God-fearing congregation were suitably damned for their sins.

There is, what looked like, an interesting place opposite; the Gustavian Museum, which advertised lots of weird and wonderful exhibits ie. stuffed animals and ancient oddities, including the 'anatomical theatre' where executed prisoners were dissected.

Unfortunately it was closed for renovations.

Then on to Uppsala Slott, the Castle, which sits on high ground overlooking the city. Another remnant of Gustav Vasa's reign in the 16th century. It burnt down in 1702, but rebuilt. It supposedly houses the State Rooms, but now is just offices and the main part closed to tourists (at least while I was here).

There are turrets at either end, and this is the back view. (I've accidently done it again and got text down the side!). Too long to get it all in one shot. One of the turrets is open to the public and houses a 'conceptual art' gallery on 4 floors. Again, free admission........

.....with some rather weird 'artworks', such as this portryal of 'Hell'..........

.......plus other strange exhibits with little information of what they represented.

Right: A gorilla in fishnet stockings?

Below: A rather poor representation of someone sitting on the window-ledge.

Then on through the Linnean Gardens which run down from the front of the castle.  They grow, according to my guide book, 10,000 plant species, and I certainly didn't bother to count them. There is a Tropical Greenhouse to one side (closed, 'cos I got there too late) and what looked like an interesting museum the 'Museum of Evolutions' nearby. Closed on Monday's, which day it was.

Right: The Linnean Gardens. There is a big house at the end, but I couldn't find out what it's purpose was. Maybe where the gardener lives.

It had now started to piss down with rain so back to the centre of town where I found the mandatory Irish Bar to dry off in.......

.......O'Connor's bar where I was served by a charming and very pretty (non-Irish) colleen. She took this photo so that's why she's not in it.

That was my day in Uppsala. Nothing terribly exciting but interesting enough and I got a feel for the place. No students and few tourists so it was all very quiet. I expect it is very different when it's humming. A decent supper and a quiet evening spent.

On by train tomorrow to the town of Tällberg, in the middle of the country, on Lake Siljan. Toot toot!

YET MORE STOCKHOLM

27th - 31st Aug 2020

The City Hall looking north-east from Evert Taubes Terrass.

Left: The little statue of Evert Taubes (1890-1976) on the corner of the terrace on the little islet of Riddarholmen, a bridge across from Gamla Stan. He was a renowned composer, author and singer of the Swedish troubadour variety. There is a free short ferry trip from the Terrass to the City Hall.

I wandered around the City Hall (Stadshuset) and intended to go on a conducted tour inside (I was told it has magnificent interiors), but I got there too late and missed the last tour, and it was closed.

Right: The nearby church of Riddarholmskyrkan. It is where Swedish royals have been entombed since 1290 and home of the armorial Seraphim knightly order. So there!

Left: The grand interior. Quite an impressive pulpit. 

I couldn't figure out where all that Royalty was buried. Under the floorboards presumably.

Right: Storkyrkan cathedral on Gamla Stan. It is Stockholm's cathedral and the one-time venue for Royal Weddings and Coronations. I don't know where they get hitched nowadays; being a very 'modern' monarchy probably in the local Registry Office. I'm not really 'into' churches but these are important landmarks.

Left: The city centre streets were busy. No arsing about with too much anti-social distancing in evidence and not a face-mask in sight. So refreshing!

Right:...and there were some big smart shops. The Åhlens multi-storey shopping centre on Klarabergsgatan was an impressive example. It had a vast array of outlets including, what I came to find out was like an oasis in the desert, a large 'Systembolaget'. More about that later.

Left: There were several street artists performing various acts. Some rather odd, but this little group sang jolly songs.

Now for some real culture. Back to Djurgården island and the ABBA museum.

They may not be to everyone's taste but they were, after all, the third best selling pop group in the 70's and 80's. Only The Beatles and Queen outsold them.

I have a friend who totally derides them but whose favourite 'heavy metal' band of that era, Throbbing Gristle, did not do nearly so well. (and with a name like that...!)

The famous four; L-R Benny, Anni-Frid, Agnetha and Bjorn. Named after their initials, Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha...ie. ABBA.

Anni-Frid was married to Benny, and Agnetha to Bjorn.

Their kick-start came when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'.

It is a large and amusing museum (reduced £23 entry for OAPs). It follows the band's fortunes from inception to their later life and has several 'interactive' stations where you can record yourself and play with various gadgets. All their personal histories are laid bare and so I am now an expert on ABBA.

There was a large and formidable team which looked after them including their astute manager, Stig Anderson. They had a marvellous 'sound' man whose name escapes me but famously smoked a pipe and told good jokes, apparently. He operated this sound 'mixer' (left). It looks incredibly complicated.

There were several displays of ABBA costumes. Being a total ignoramus concerning pop groups, I found it interesting to learn of the enormous administrative, logistic and planning effort which goes into organising and producing shows on tour. Very complex and tiring for all concerned.

At great risk of embarrassing myself; ABBA PLUS ONE (below). This went on for much longer and I really got into the swing of it, but they cut filming before I got into my stride.

I took a short ferry ride back to Gamla Stan, passing the little islet of Skeppsholmen where this rather splendid boat was moored.

Right: And got a good rearward view of the Stockholm Fun Fair which, as a potentially crowded venue, was temporarily closed. 

After spending two nights in my 'prison', comfortable though it was, I checked out. It was a longish walk and metro ride to the centre from there. I had found a decent, relatively inexpensive hotel in the city centre and within easy walking distance of the nearest metro (Tunelbana) and the Central Railway Station.

I passed (well stopped in at actually) a bar on the way to the new hotel. Left: The interesting and humorously misleading sign outside. NO cheap, let alone free, beer in this country! The main drawback of Sweden, in general, is the extortionate price of food and drink in bars and restaurants. A small 330ml bottle of beer normally sells at about £6 and a simple main course meal will set you back at least £20. No cheap 'pie 'n chips'.

No supermarkets sell alcohol. Fortunately I discovered the Government controlled 'Systembolaget' stores. They are large smart wine shops were you can actually buy wines, beer and spirits at reasonable prices (vis the one  at Ählens shopping centre, conveniently near my new hotel). They have limited opening hours and close at 2pm on Saturdays until 10am Monday. Useful info!

A bloke was standing outside proudly showing off his pride and joy, a Mustang car (right). I'm not into cars but I know someone who reads this is, so I thought I would mention it. He told me it uses a lot of petrol.

Left: My new accommodation, The Queen's Hotel on Drottninggatan. Very central and conveniently located. The reception staff were incredibly helpful, and rooms comfortable. A good find.

Right: Opposite was the Limerick Bar which was useful. Apart from India I have yet to find a country which does not have a good selection of 'Oirish Bears'. Charming staff in there but no Irish, although one barman was born in Scotland with a Scottish mother. 

That will do for Stockholm for the time being. I am next off 'up country' but will return for a few days to continue to explore this wonderful city. So much more to see, and I won't see half of it.

MORE STOCKHOLM

 27th - 30th Aug 2020

The Vasa. An unfortunate 17th century Swedish warship.

So much to see and do around this city. I started with a walk around the central island of Gamla Stan, the city's geographic and historic heart, with its old cobbled streets, souvenir shops, plus many bars and restaurants. 

Left: A typical pavement bar on Storforget (Square). It is normally packed with tourists but not so many in evidence at the moment...which suits me fine!

Right: The Postmuseum on Storforget. I didn't go in. It features lots of stamps and old postal carriages apparently, but is an example of the many very impressive buildings around the city. 

Left: Märten Trotzigs Gränd. Stockholms narrowest street. Obviously popular with graffiti artists.

On the north of the little island is the Kungliga Slottet, the Royal Palace. This pic (right) is just of the rear end of it. Built on the site of the burned down (in 1697) Kronor Castle, it took 57 years to complete and the first Royal Family moved in in 1754. With 608 rooms it is the world's largest royal palace still used for it's original purpose.

I went inside for a visit, but that comes later.

Left: A Royal Guard at one of the several sentry boxes around the Palace. Very smart.

Right: A statue on the eastern shoreline. I forget who of, but probably one of the Gustavs. The name Gustav features regularly in the  Swedish  monarchy.

The interesting thing to note about this statue, and without exception all the statues I saw (and there were many) is that, unlike any other city I have been to, there were no pigeons sitting on them. There were pigeons elsewhere, but they didn't sit on the statues! Have the cunning Swedes discovered some effective anti-pigeon 

coating for statues? If so our town in UK could do with some! Further investigation is required.







Wandering on just across a bridge north of Gamla Stan I passed the Riksdagshuset, the Swedish Parliament building (left). The frontage here conceals much more behind.

Right: A pit-stop at one of the many jolly bars along Strandväger, an elegant boulevard, towards the island of Djurgärdan on my way to the Vasa Museum. These Swedish street names and places are a bugger to spell and even more difficult to pronounce. I never got to grips with Swedish pronunciation except to say the word 'Hej' pronounced rather rudely and abruptly 'Hay' which means 'hello'.

Across another bridge to the island of Djurgården which is a beautiful park-like island, popular with walkers, joggers and picnickers, and features several very grand museums. The pedalos did not appear to have attracted too many pedallers.

It is all very well signposted. As said, there are more museums than you can shake a stick at here and it would take weeks to visit them all. 

Left: The Nordiska Museet, which is Sweden's largest cultural-history museum. A vast edifice. No time for that.......

So on to the Vasamuseet, a must for any passing tourist. This houses the old Swedish warship, the Vasa, named after Gustav Eriksson Vasa, King Gustav 1, who freed Sweden from the clutches of the Danes in 1523. In 1626, Sweden was again at war, along with Estonia and Finland, against Poland (haven't a clue why...maybe they had undercut the building trade). Gustavus Adolphus, King Gustav 11, commissioned a brand new 'top of the range' warship to be the prestigious emblem of the Swedish fleet. It featured an extra deck of guns and expensive foreign craftsmen were employed to carve an elaborate and impressive back end (transom?) plus other vividly painted carved decorations. Construction, starting in 1626, took over two years and the resulting product was a fearsomely impressive looking vessel, 69 metres long and 49 metres high and a work of art. Gustav must have been very proud of the finished article.

The lighting in this museum was very dim, as I discovered is the case in many other museums. Why? I suppose to add to the 'atmosphere', but it made it difficult to take any worthwhile photos. The pic at the top was taken from a postcard!

Left: The elaborate and once brightly coloured 'transom'.

Right: ......and a model of the ship, which was at least well lit.

Anyway, on 10th August 1628, with great pomp and ceremony and an admiring audience the ship , pride of the Swedish Crown, set sail with a company of about 400 sailors and soldiers, on it's maiden voyage from Stockholm harbour. It had gone a mere 1,200 metres when they turned to starboard and the ship rolled over and sank. I can only imagine the reaction of the onlookers and Gustav 11. I suspect heads rolled.

The problem was that they had added an extra gun deck and heightened the back end but had foolishly not considered to widen the beam (width) of the ship to compensate. It was top heavy. Many perished. Oh dear! Back to the drawing board. 

The ship lay at the bottom of the sea encased in mud for 333 years before, in 1961, it was raised in many bits and reconstructed. We were told that the resulting ship on display is 95% original. There are 4 floors to this museum dedicated to artefacts and videos relating to it's somewhat disappointing service life. "Yo ho ho and a bottle of schnapps" indeed.

Then on to the Viking Museum nearby. This was amusing, largely because a guide (free of charge) called Erik, gave a witty and informative tour to an informal group of us; me and four French youngsters. He was obviously a Viking enthusiast, very knowledgeable and had agreat sense of humour. 

Left: Erik , on left, and a Viking farmer.

There were lots of Viking things and dioramas on display, including this rune-stone which depicted the Viking alphabet, in 'runes'. I forgot to add my name in 'runic' in chalk. Someone has at the bottom, above the 'bottom', which spells 'butt'.

The term Viking comes from their language where 'Vik' meant 'bay' or 'inlet' from which they sailed. Vikin is a specific bay. As you know they came from present day Scandinavia around the 8th to 11th centuries and were hairy, great travellers and rather pro-active tourists. 

I was then given a 15 minute very high-tech underground 'buggy' ride through a Viking adventure journey with much realistic action scenery. Difficult to describe but impressive.

To note: entry to these museums, like much in Sweden, is not cheap! Vasa and Viking museums cost about £15 equivalent each, and that was with discount for being 'of a certain age'.

I am writing these posts back in (Covid-obsessed) UK, in retrospect, but have now at least managed to crack the Google difficulties; for the time being. Much more to follow when I get my arse in gear. 

TO STOCKHOLM

27th - 30th Aug 2020

Stockholm. Looking north across the Riddarfjärden to Gamla Stan. The Old City.

Back to reality. I was determined to escape the dictatorship we now live under in UK thanks to the 'Controlavirus' scaremongering and the paranoia this has generated. So, having read a bit about it, I decided to give Sweden a try where, I was informed, they take this situation somewhat more pragmatically. It can't be any worse than UK. Can it?

I flew to Stockholm Arlanda from London Heathrow courtesy of British Airways. Heathrow (Terminal 5) resembled a temple of the walking dead. Zombie-like creatures, both inside and outside the airport, were wearing face-masks or visors, or both…even in areas where it was not required to do so.

Right: Some of the walking dead.

I hasten to add I did not put on my flimsy snot-rag until entering the secure area where the wearing of them is compulsory. As quickly as I could I found a café in the departure lounge to sit down where, of course, you can take the damned things off. It is as if many of the population of this country now feel obliged to wear them even when not required or sensible to do so; or actively want to because they are scared witless bedwetters. Perhaps they just don’t want to ‘be different’ and risk attracting criticism. This is the unfortunate result of successful scaremongering and brainwashing as we should all know by now. As I hope is realised, and was previously promulgated by medical ‘experts', these ‘face coverings’ are of little or no effective protection against a virus, as opposed to bacteria. Indeed they can merely collect and spread them if not used correctly, but they do carry a political message..ie. 'be fearful'. 

I’ve done an interesting, if amateur, experiment to demonstrate their ineffectiveness involving a vapour cigarette! Exhale through the mask and see where the vapour goes. That's where any virus goes having previously collected  on the mask. Try it.

Left: The Wetherspoon’s edict at Heathrow T5 departures (I hope you can click on to enlarge). Have you ever seen anything so painfully bossy, fear inducing and patronising? I am fed up of being told to ‘stay safe’! I was in the army and got shot at regularly in various locations. They missed (you may be disappointed about that). 
Now it would be: Sergeant to his men “Right lads, fix bayonets! On the whistle over the top and let ‘em have it!”. Pte Wimp, “Sorry Sarge, can’t go until it’s considered safe to do so". I despair.

After being regaled over loudspeakers to maintain a ‘safe' 2 metre ‘social’ distance (regardless of wearing face-nappies) it was onto a packed BA Airbus where all seats were occupied and any social distancing was impossible. Lots of escapees like me I presume. We were sitting elbow to elbow. Face-nappies to remain on until they brought round the complimentary soft drinks and crisps whereupon the masks could be removed and flapped around. Then back on again. It is all so utterly illogical!

On arrival at Arlanda, Stockholm, it was inspiring to be confronted in the arrivals hall by ranks of security officers and other officials, all barefaced. That set the tone and some (not all by any means; many are now totally indoctrinated) incoming passengers followed suit. What a relief! There are no restrictions or papers to fill in on entering Sweden. Just a welcome and cursory passport check. Even my clanking bag of duty free passed uninspected (thankfully, because being aware of Swedish booze prices I had stocked up to the max and maybe beyond). From then on, by express train and Metro (or Tunnelbana) to my hotel, I saw no local wearing a mask. Stress levels and and anxiety were duly reduced.

I was to stay the first two nights at the Långholmen Hotell (right), an ex-prison on an island to the south west of the city centre. P.S. No misprint. Hotells here are spelt with two 'll's. Can't think why, but if that is what they want to do to waste ink that's fine by me.

Left: After checking in. 

By the way, I am having trouble with this blog and layout/font etc. Google has invented a new 'interface' which is crap and has caused much complaint from other users. So we were advised to revert to the old 'interface' which is now not performing as well as it used to. Such is technological advance.

Right: 'E' Wing in which my cell was located. There was an amazing lack of prison officers (or 'screws' as I believe they are known by inmates).
Very pleasant staff in the prison 'canteen' too which had a decent, if pricey, menu.

Left: My cell, which was surprisingly comfortable with flat-screen TV with many channels (including BBC 'Woke' World...Yuk!), en-suite bathroom and a soft bed.

Stockholm, as I discovered, consists of more water than land. Everything seems to be on various islands with channels running between them. It is a very charming sea/landscape and served by an efficient Metro, bus and tram service. I decided to take a 45 minute walk from prison to the Old City, Gamla Stan, which is more or less in the centre.

En-route I passed this lonely looking scooter dumped on the roadside. I thought nothing of it except that it will be nicked by someone before too long.

It's all about boats, and more boats, tied up to every available mooring place. Some small, some large and extravagant.......  

......some with weird characters stuck on them.

I was hoping to use the 'Hop on Hop off' ferry which takes you around the islands, but discovered it has been suspended due to the 'virus' because it can get overcrowded (I was told). Boring! 

Although the city is practically normal in nearly all respects I discoverd that some facilities and entertainments have been closed....for the duration.

Left: More discarded scooters. As I quickly found out these are dumped all over the city. There must be thousands of them. 

It is an excellent system wherby you download an 'App' on your phone (with credit card details) and if you want to use a scooter you simply pick one up, scan a panel on the scooter and off you go! I believe it costs about 2 Krone (20p) for a minute or maybe a distance. You then just leave it wherever you stop. Brilliant idea! Of course it couldn't work in UK due to some jobsworth regulations no doubt. Also, in true British fashion, they would probably be quickly stolen or dumped in the river. 

Another discovery; the Swedes are a very trusting and trustworthy race!

I have only just started this post, but having a few problems with the 'Blogger' interface so, until I can work it out, stopping here for the time being. Very frustrating!

LULOK ISLAND. PART 6. THE CAPITAL

1st - ? June 2020

A slight hiccup at this point..........to be continued......on release.....hopefully.