Thursday 16 September 2010

Stockholm Trip

I went to Stockholm the weekend before last to see the exhibition of royal wedding dresses at The Royal Armouries.  I have never been to Scandinavia before and I really liked Stockholm!  Here is a first view of the city.














The Old town - or Gamla Stan - was really pretty with lots of medieval cobbled streets to wander along and lots of lovely little shops.














The main square in Gamla Stan, Stortorget, was the scene of a bloody massacre in 1520 hence why the house you see on the left below is painted red - for the blood that was spilled!!

When we came out of the T-Bana metro station into Gamla Stan there was a nice flower seller and a fruit and vegetable stall - you may just be able to see the red lingonberries, top left in this picture, which are a native berry found in Sweden and which is used to make jams with.














The shops were selling lots of nice things, but it was very expensive!!  Here are some cute trolls and the traditional Dala Horse which I think is like a national emblem in Sweden.
More trolls and Dala horses.
Hand painted Dala Horses
Walking along the road in front of the Royal Palace were some lovely petunias in boxes hanging along the railings - they looked really pretty in the sunlight.
No trip to Stockholm would be complete for me without a visit to the small but very interesting Dance Museum - photos were not allowed but I did manage one of the bronze statue of the Russian ballerina Galina Ulánova (1910-1998) housed in the foyer of the building.  It was lovely.
The royal wedding dress exhibition was housed in The Royal Armouries - there were just 6 sets of royal wedding dress on display but they were beautiful - and wonderfully displayed - you went into the exhibition room in darkness and then sound and light came on and was used to tell you about the dresses - although we went to a swedish display, rather than wait an hour for an english one, so I could not understand much, but really I was just pleased to see these magnificent bridal gowns. 
The Royal Armouries houses a fabulous collection of clothing all beautifully preserved.  Here are a couple of photos I managed to take without flash so they do look more yellow than in reality - you can see more pictures on the Armouries website here (if you cannot read Swedish just let google translate it for you it is quite good!)
Front - Dress of Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte - she married King Charles XIII 7 July 1774.
Back - current Queen Sylvia's wedding dress from 1976.
Far left - Louisa of the Netherlands' dress - she married Charles XV 19 June 1850.
Centre back - Sofia Magdalena and Gustav III  married 4 November 1766.
In front of this you can see Oscar I's outfit from 19 June 1823 (the dress of his wife Josefina is hidden in this picture).
Front right - Fredrik Dorothea Wihlemina's dress she married King Gustav IV.

On the Sunday we went out to one of the futher parts of Stockholm to Djurgarden and there we happened upon the boat museum and we were able to see the Royal Barge, recently used at the royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria in June 2010 - the boat had been restored for the royal wedding and it looked really lovely!

Here is a close up of the "cabin" where the royal couple would be able to sit - it was very basic inside unlike the ornate exterior!

I hope you enjoyed my little trip around Stockhom!

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for the wonderful travelogue. It's a long time since I've been to Stockholm, but your pictures brought some lovely memories right back. The setting for the exhibition is fabulous, the rough stone walls are such a dramatic contrast to the opulent dresses!

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  2. I'm so happy you enjoyed this blog! The exhibition was tiny but it so cleverly done - hats off to the Swedes!

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  3. Yes, I enjoyed very much your travelogue and to get your impressions of the city that I'm familiar with. You captured to me well known views in your nice photos that I like a lot.

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  4. Looks like a nice adventure.... Every time I click on your site its guaranteed that I will learn something. Now I must put Stockholm on my list!

    Have a lovely week SA.

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  5. Thank you Holsby! I really enjoyed my trip to Stockholm.

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  6. Hello SMR - what a lovely comment thank you so much. I am sure you will love Stockholm if you get the chance to visit.
    You have a good week too! SAx

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  7. What a wonderful trip! I'd like to know which scarves you packed! Thank you for sharing, dear ScarfAddict.

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  8. Hello Birkinmary - now you mention it LOL I didn't take any with me on that particular trip! But usually I do take them! I think I must have packed in a big hurry!

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  9. Thanks a lot for beautiful blog. I had prepared for my first visit Stockholm so the your great travelogue came in the best time!

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  10. How lovely Tereza! I hope you enjoy your trip to Stockholm very much it is a lovely city - enjoy! SAx

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