Saturday 28th August
Sheerness, I.O.S. (That's Isle of Sheppey to you)
It's a bank holiday this weekend. The last public holiday till Christmas and traditionally the end of Summer. Hayley decided to make it a proper long weekend and took the Thursday, Friday and Tuesday off. My weekend will be slightly shorter (I'm only taking the additional Tuesday) but still a nice little break.
The flatmates are currently in possession of a vehicle (borrowed - not stolen) and so we all decided it was a good opportunity for a combined outing to the English countryside. Kent was the chosen target. A county of sufficient size we felt sure we could hit it. Well at least some of it. As long as the M25 didn't get in the way too much.
We headed in an easterly direction with a small detour to show everyone where I worked, then on to the M25 and north to head along the north coast of Kent. We visited, brielfy, the 'Historic' Medway Docks, their words not mine. However historic they were, we weren't sure they were worth a tenner each to find out. There was however the smallest submarine I have ever seen. On reflection it is possibly the only submarine I have witnessed, it was never the less comically small given it's stoic exterior.
We drove along the coast stopping to stroll around an estuary, where we saw a ship wreck and ate apples picked from trees growing along the shore. We then continued east driving through Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham before deciding to make Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey our final target.
Sheerness is a seaside town, and we visited this 'English beach' on what some (not me) might consider a typical summer's day. We strolled along the beach at skimmed stones in the water. To the casual observer it may have appeared that we were just throwing the stones in to the sea, but I can confirm there was a heartfelt attempt at skimming, even if this didn't follow through in the execution.
With tea-time fast approaching we decided we should have fish & chips for tea. So we headed back along the coast to Rochester for our dinner. After strolling the length of the town we eventually found a chippy and settled down in the castle grounds to eat.
Fearing the eternal purgatory that is the M25 we thought we'd better make a move so that we wouldn't be getting home too late. Amusingly enough, we managed to miss the junction for the M25 and didn't notice until we started seeing signs for the London suburb of Lewisham. This was not really a problem as we still got home around 9 o'clock we just thought it was funny we could miss something as big as a motorway.
Posted by Pliny the Obscure
Sunday 15th August
Hej då Stockholm
Our last day in Stockholm. Our flight wasn't until 18.30 so we thought we would explore a little more before heading to the airport. Of course, we had to make the most of the breakfast buffet. Nick again had pancakes, he was particularly keen since we haven't found a cafe serving pancakes in London. We both had a little of everything, I even risked the grilled tomatoes this morning! We then had to pack, if only bags would pack and unpack themselves!
We had decided we really should visit at least one museum on the trip. So we headed for Nordiska Museet (the Nordic Museum). Since you haven't really visited a country until you've used the tube (and because we were short of time and somewhat foot sore) we caught a train to Karlaplan, a beautiful park and fountain in Östermalm. From here it was a five minute walk to the museum.
The museum, originally intended to cover all the Nordic countries, now showcases exhibits only related to Sweden's cultural history. It covers the sixteenth century to the present day. The entrance fee includes an audio guide (available in English). The museum building is extremely impressive. It opens into an entrance hall that towers above the four storied high exhibition space. There were a number of intriguing exhibits. The first and the largest is a huge statue of Gustav Vasa, the sixteenth century king who drove out the Danes. It is made from wood from his ancestral home and was created by Carl Milles, one of Sweden's greatest sculptors. The statue dominates the museum and is worth a peak.
I found the next section of the museum the most fascinating. It was entitled Swedish homes and along with some set-piece rooms contained examples of Swedish furniture and textile design. It includes the famous Eva chair and examples of IKEA furniture! It also detailed the government provision which saw hundreds of thousands of homes built for people across Sweden. The fascinating thing about this was that everybody was eligible to apply, not just those who are more normally thought of as 'welfare recipients'. The seventies was clearly a particularly productive time for Swedish design and I was left with an overwhelming sense of orange and brown. There were of course earlier set pieces, the most interesting of which reflected winter life for the majority, the farmers, fishermen, traders and craftspeople. Warm clothing and housing were certainly the order of the day!
The tour continued through the photo gallery. The museum holds a large number of photographs with only around one hundred on display. These however, have been carefully selected to range across time, geography and groups. Perhaps, as always, the most poignant photos are those of the Sami people dressed up to pose in the nineteenth century, much like so many other indigenous peoples. There was a large display on table settings and party practices. Again, the most interesting exhibit was a simple wooden plate that had been used for many years and its history carved onto it after it broke in two.
This was followed by a section on Swedish traditions. Beginning oddly with death and ending with birth. The majority of the exhibition however, dealt with holidays and other traditions. Many of these, traditionally and understandably, centered around the sun. So for example midsummer's eve is lavishly celebrated. Nick and I were particularly interested in the information on June 6, the national day, a relatively new invention, that celebrates both the flag and the nation. The museum also celebrates some Swedish cultural icons, most notably August Strindberg. He was heavily involved in the museum in life and willed many of his manuscripts, letters and paintings to the museum on his death.
The final section of this floor deals with cloth, clothes and toys. There are displays showing designer clothing through time and rather oddly a huge display of shoes. These ranged from the functional, leather boots and sneakers, to the ornate. This is followed by dolls houses which show much of the fashion for interiors of the time of their construction. Though quite why there is a 'Dallas' House, modeled on the TV show was beyond me. The collection ends with a display room of hundreds of textiles and the ability to find out more via a computer programme detailing the museums collection.
Finally, we looked at a section on Sami handcrafts and then a section on the Sami people. This latter section, which was somewhat dated, was closing today for a complete overhaul and will reopen in 2006/07. We learnt a lot about Sami life, religion and culture. The indigenous people who range across Sweden, Finland and Norway share a number of similarities with other indigenous cultures. A new revitalised display will be well worth a visit.
From the museum we headed back into Gamla Stan for lunch and a little shopping. We sat in a cafe and ate Salmon and potatoes and looked out over the square. We sat and talked about how we wished we had more time in Sweden and how we would have to come back, perhaps in the winter. Most towns don't really look like their postcards, unless you squint and the light is just right, Stockholm looks like its postcard only better. We finished lunch and headed off to buy some mementos. I can tell you Mooses featured strongly (I bought a mug and some christmas decorations). We also bought Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, an American import, not destined for UK or anywhere else release, with commentary on every episode by the author. A nice little find we thought.
We again made the airport in plenty of time. We again had a delayed plane. We took off eventually, and waved a sad good-bye to Stockholm. Heathrow, filled with Brits returning from Spain and Portugal was a rude awakening. We made it home safely and uneventfully and settled back into our, very uncomfortable, bed. Not a bad thirtieth birthday present if I do say so myself. Happy Birthday Nick.
Posted by Hayley
Saturday 14th August
Alone in the Archipelago
Another early start this morning. We were determined to get out to a beach in the archipelago. As we wanted peace and quiet we had chosen Gällno (pronounced yell-na) the night before. This meant we needed to be at the dock for a 9.30am sailing that would get us to the island around 11.00am. There was of course time for breakfast and Nick indulged in pancakes, maple syrup, banana and bacon which he throughly enjoyed. The hotel kindly rustled us up a couple of beach towels and we headed out. We ended up on a boat called Cinderella II (apparently built before Cinderella I) which was not the boat we were actually aiming for but did sail at 9.30 and did go to Gällno.
The nice thing about going to Gällno was we had to sail quite some way into the archipelago. It is exactly how you imagine it, blue skies, blue water, green islands, small sandy beaches and huge rocks on which to sit. Some of the islands are tiny, some are larger. We saw a few of the more popular islands on the way as the boat called in at Vaxholm and Södra Grinda. The boat was very busy but progressively emptied as we stopped at the destinations. We arrived at Gällno as the sun peaked through the clouds and departed the boat, along with only about ten other people.
The island has only around thirty people living there year round but it is popular with boaties who anchor on the private beaches. The area, outside the land immediately around the dock which is farmed, is a nature reserve. This means it is open to anyone and can even be camped on for up to two nights without requiring permission from the ranger. It is reported to be home to deer and eider ducks. We didn't see either of these two species but we did see a large number of creepy crawlies, including dragon flies, beetles and hover flies. The island is also over run with berries, we think lingonberry and blueberry. It is completely legal to pick the berries and many people visit the islands specifically to do so.
Having arrived at the island we set off on the 1km walk to the shop, the only track available at this stage, from here it is another 200m to the youth hostel on the island, and then you reach the semi-civilised track that leads to the main docking bay from here you can wander much more widely and we were certainly keen to explore. The island is almost completely covered in forest with small sandy beaches around the edges. We walked through the forest for about an hour before heading to the coast to find a spot for lunch. We managed to find sunnyish rocks to sit on, we ate and dabbled our feet in the water.
As we could still see a summer house from here we headed further round the coast. We found a secluded beach and both went for a swim including a brief skinny dip! The water wasn't as cold as I expected however, it also wasn't as salty as I expected either. We are not sure if this is a characteristic of the Baltic Sea in general or just the part we were in. The water was clear and I enjoyed my quick dip. I was frozen when I got out but at least christened my new bikini. We wandered back around to some sunnier rocks to warm up. Nick decided he had heated up sufficiently to have a further dip. It was so relaxing to have a stretch of beach and rocks all to ourselves. Not really like Scorching Bay where solitude is hard to find in summer!
We walked back into 'town' to try and get an ice cream but both the shop and cafe had closed shop for the afternoon. So we headed back to the dock, pausing in a grassy field for afternoon tea (no not a farmer's field just an open area of grass, which I suspect had been used for the open air theatre earlier in the week). We caught the 16.35 ferry back to Stockholm. This time it was the boat we meant to catch. The ferry had very comfy seats and I even had a brief nap. We arrived back into Stockholm at 18.30 having both got a little colour in our cheeks.
We headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes then headed out for dinner through the rain. It was hard to believe we had been so lucky with the weather in the archipelago. Tonight we ate at The Ardberg Room. Nick decided to have Reindeer with cloudberry jus as we had earlier discussed taking the chance to try this Nordic delicacy. It was delicious, tasting a little like venison, and Nick would certainly order it again given the chance. I had steak and chips, eschewing fish for the first time since we arrived. Nick concluded the excellent meal with Crème Brûlée. We strolled home through the old town wishing we had a little longer in Stockholm.
Posted by Hayley
Friday 13th August
Downtown Gamla Stan
We decided on a more leisurely start to the day today. So following a slight sleep in we went downstairs for another huge breakfast. This morning I discovered that there were actually three types of egg available, soft boiled, hard boiled and scrambled. We also found smoothies, and pancakes made to order. We both ate our fill. It is really nice that I can eat something too instead of having to watch Nick eat and then retreat to the room for rice crackers!!
Having assessed out brochures and read the rough guide we decided to undertake a walking tour of Gamla Stan, the old town. We arrived quite early so having purchased tickets we wandered among the arts and crafts stores in the main tourist street.
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Partly because there were only four of us on the tour, a german couple and us, and only three of us spoke english! This meant we could ask a lot of questions and find a little out about our guide. The walk covered a large part of the old town including all the highlights. This meant we got to see the royal palace. The palace had been home to the royal family until fairly recently when the present King and Queen decided to move out of central Stockholm to Drottningholm to allow their children a more peaceful childhood. It is not the most beautiful palace in the world but it is certainly imposing and has a beautiful view out over the area. Next door is the 'Cathedral', it is not formally a cathedral but is accepted as such by the Swedes. The King and Queen were married there and all major state religious occasions are celebrated there.
The tour continued through the town proper. We walked through Stortorget square where the Bloodbath of 1520 took place. The bloodbath occurred after Christian II of Denmark (Christian the tyrant to the Swedes) invaded Sweden and took control. He invited many of the townspeople to the castle for a feast. Following days of feasting Christian locked all the guests in and began trials followed by executions in the square. Around 100 people (mostly nobility and clergy though some tradespeople and craftsmen too) were executed either by guillotine or hanging. Their remains were left in the square as an example for others, behave or lose your head! Christian's reign didn't last long it was overthrown by Gustav I in 1521.
One of the highlights of the tour was seeing the smallest statue in Stockholm. It is said if you rub his head you will return to Stockholm some day, Nick and I both enthusiastically rubbed his head!!! We also saw the statue of St George slaying the Dragon and a smaller statue to his right of the princess he saved. The tour also covered the town scales, examples of the medieval buildings in the area, the German Church, a rune stone and the narrowest lane in Stockholm, Sweden and most probably the world.
The tour ended back at Mynttorget where we learned that the Grand Hotel (which you can see from here) was the first hotel to have indoor plumbing, electricity and change the sheets after each guest! Gamla Stan is certainly enchanting and the streets away from the tourist throng of Västerlånggaten are quaint and lovely. It is hard to believe the area was a slum until tourist interest drove its regeneration over the last twenty years. It was a lovely walk and we felt we had got a real feel for the place.
We followed the tour with lunch in the main (bloodbath storied) square. This was one of the few places in Gamla Stan that public benches are provided. I guess the cafes would prefer you spent your kronor with them rather than bringing your own food!
Following lunch we headed for a tour of Sveriges Riksdaghuset (Swedish Parliament Building). This began in the impressive entrance hall. Although, formally the main entrance to the building it is now only used when the King visits to open parliament for the year. We learned that the Riksdaghuset was built in the early 20th century. Initially, the parliament consisted of two houses, one directly elected and one appointed. Over time the assemblies grew and the building became too small to host parliamentary sessions. The houses moved out to another building in central Stockholm. Eventually the houses were amalgamated into one directly elected house, a new debating chamber was built and parliament moved back in 1983.
We also learned about the similarities and differences between New Zealand and Swedish democracy. Although both systems share proportional representation and a single house the role of the Governor General in New Zealand is significantly stronger than the King's in Sweden. Additionally, Swedes get only one vote that is used to indicate a party preference, they can indicate who on the party list they wish to represent them but this is not compulsory and usually a vote is simply placed for the preferred party and MPs are elected based on their place in the party list. The building is a typical parliament building, very gaudy and ostentatious in the inside. we thought the art was an improvement on the Beehive's though! It was fascinating to see and learn about Swedish democracy.
Following the tour we decided to go for a wander in the Norrmalm district. This is a shopping district with big malls and department stores. we saw yet more cows on parade and decided we wouldn't hurry to buy clothes or shoes in Sweden. I decided that lunch hadn't been enough and so we set off to look for Hayley-friendly food. Eventually we located Gravad Lax (dill marinated salmon), a Scandinavian delicacy, in a local cafe. After all that walking we decided we needed to retreat to the hotel for a rest.
Earlier in the week we had spotted a very nice looking Sushi restaurant just across the road from the hotel. The city seems to be over run with sushi bars, partly we suspect because of all the fresh fish available. The food was very nice I had sushi, including salmon, salmon roe and tuna sushi and Nick had teriyaki salmon. He said it wasn't as good as mine but he was possibly just being polite!
Following dinner we went to the Ice Bar at the Nordic Sea hotel, our hotel's sister hotel. This is a bar made completely of ice including the counter, tables, walls and glasses. They lend you a silver cape and gloves to keep out the -5 degree temperature. We felt a little like eskimos and looked a lot like Yetis when we put the hat on. The additional clothes helped but it was still freezing. We (well Nick) drank Absolut Vodka and admired the two ice sculptures a cow (what else) and a beautiful twisting creation. We took plenty of photos and emerged after 35 minutes into what felt like a stiflingly hot night. We returned to our hotel for a dvd movie and sleep.
Posted by Hayley
Thursday 12th August
Birka on Björkö
The alarm went off today at 8.00 am. Not as early as yesterday, but still early enough to be an unwelcome surprise. We had to get up because we had decided to take a boat trip on Lake Mälaren that departed a 9.30 am. I was sure we were relatively close to the dock but we needed to fit in breakfast before we departed. It was just as well we had left plenty of time. It was a huge buffet breakfast. All types of fruit, cereal, yoghurt, dried bananas, raisins, hazelnuts, jams, cheeses, smoked ham, smoked turkey, olives, tomatoes, freshly baked bread, bacon, sausages, two types of eggs, fried tomatoes, mushrooms and pastries as well as tea, coffee, water and juice. We were certainly full after that lot. Nick may well eat our room rate in hazelnuts.
Having checked with the front desk that we were heading the right direction we set off for the day. Our chosen destination was Birka, formerly a Viking stronghold and part of a world heritage site. The site is now an active archaeological dig and much of what has been gathered about Viking village life has been discovered as a result of the work there. The boat trip gave us an excellent opportunity to look at various of the islands in the lake and hear a little about them. We learnt, for example, that the island of Kungshatt is so named, according to local legend, for a king who was forced to flee from the island by jumping from a tall cliff. He lost his hat, perhaps crown, in the fall and the island became the home of the hat. This is commemorated by a giant, bronze hat statue, somewhat bizarrely. Nick and I sat on the top desk for the cruise and soaked up the sun's rays. It is a very beautiful and very peaceful part of the world.
On arriving at the island, we headed for the museum. It is a very small museum but it houses a few artifacts excavated on the site and a number of scale model recreations. It also shows a short film detailing the work being undertaken on the island. Outside is a small Viking village reconstruction with ships and a smiths. We decided not to spend a few kroner to visit and were content to look out from the museum upon its actorly inhabitants. Really though, the weather was too nice to be inside. There was a midday English tour of the island which we joined. This provided further details on the burial mounds that cover the island (the biggest Viking graveyard discovered), the village, the garrison, the city walls and the dig. I was particularly interested to learn that nordic societies operated on a gift giving principle. You must accept an offered gift and in return you owed a debt of gratitude and service for the gift. Birka, it is believed, was a planned city as the dwellings are small and arranged in an extremely ordered way. It has been argued that this was a town designed to serve the 'King' who lived on the next door island and the level of defenses certainly reinforce this. However, a great deal of trade was carried out from the port, largely with Russia and the Ukraine. Much to the Roman Catholic Church's disgust, the small christian population of the island was Greek orthodox and eschewed the Roman Catholic faith. Birka was abandoned in the middle tenth century. Because there are no written records historians have been unable to determine why the village was left. It was never rebuilt. This is unusual, most Viking villages were rebuilt many times over vast periods of time. This makes Birka unique as archaeologists can study the village as it stood without later additions. It is also valuable because as the inhabitants, at least in parts, left in what seems to have been a hurry many belongings that would not normally be left are intact. Our tour was followed by a stop at an information 'Viking tent'. This was interesting, in that we learnt that Viking helmets were almost certainly not horned as modern depictions would have us believe. Horned helmets may have been used ceremonially but the horns would have been a liability in battle.
Nick and I sat for some time on the rocks atop the island and watched the beautiful lake, bird-life and nearby islands. We followed this with a walk through the main cemetery, Hamlanden. This is made up of 1600 graves. Most of these are mounds of soil and stones. Each grave holds one or two people, some possessions and often a favourite pet. We then followed a track around to Ansgar's Chapel. A chapel consecrated in 1930 in the name of a priest who, it was claimed, christianized Scandinavia. It has since been proved he didn't get far, only to Birka in fact, and wasn't very successful even there. There is also a cross for him at the highest point on the island. We then headed back to the jetty to board our returning boat. We weren't quite so lucky with the weather this time. There was a slight chill wind but we still made most of the journey above deck.
After a quick stop at the hotel, we headed into Gamla Stan, the old town, for dinner. We found, the not-very-Swedish sounding, Sally's Cafe. It turned out to be excellent. I had grilled salmon and potatoes followed by lime sorbet and Nick had Tournedos with sun-dried tomato créme, parmesan potato cake and crayfish (no not crayfish meat but a whole baby crayfish, head, legs and all) followed by chocolate truffle cake. We wandered back through the old town and past yet more painted cows tired and happy.
Posted by Hayley
Wednesday 11th August
Please proceed to gate...
Today we flew into Stockholm. We woke to an early alarm, 6.00 am to ensure we got to the airport in plenty of time. As is usually the case when you are prepared everything goes smoothly. So we arrived around three hours before the flight. We checked in and went through customs. Nick as is now routine set off the metal detector. So he had to be checked but all was fine.
Because we were so early I got a little bored so Nick invented some games to entertain me. First he sent me off to find the most expensive pen at the pen kiosk. That was easy, a £1,295 special edition pen took the prize. Next he sent me to the Whiskey shop to find the most expensive bottle. I found a £2,000 bottle, a £5,000 bottle, a £10,000 bottle and finally a 60-year old £22,000 bottle of whiskey!! That kept me entertained until we boarded the plane.
Unfortunately, the plane was delayed. Firstly because of a shortage of ground crew and secondly because departures were suspended for a Royal Flight. I'm not sure who it was but I am sure my holiday was more important than their flight!!
We landed in Stockholm only a little behind schedule. Immigration was a breeze and I didn't have to squidge my face to resemble the photo. Customs was one man with perfect English who told us our Ham Bagel wasn't a problem because it was British.
We had figured out that the quickest and easiest way into town was to catch the Arlanda Express. It turned out that it was very efficient and helpfully air conditioned as it was 30 degrees when we arrived. Even better was the fact that our hotel was thirty seconds walk from the exit. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was the giant cow in the lobby. It is part of the Cows on Parade exhibition currently going on on Stockholm. And like everything else in the hotel, you can buy it if you really like it!
We checked in (in English, Swedish being a little tricky for our addled brains) and proceeded to the room. It is a very nice room and has, what is possibly, the best bed in the world. It has no uncomfortable springs. Just a soft mattress with even softer pillows. If we had somewhere to put it we may just have to take them up on the offer to ship it anywhere in the world.
Having had a brief rest we decided to go for a wander. As we always do we went looking for the Tourist Information Bureau. Our map made the city look much bigger than it actually is, so we followed a rather circuitous route to get there but found it in the end. It is very central, so after collecting some brochures we had a quick look at the shops. Unusually for Nick he ran out of steam after only about half an hour. So we headed back to the hotel.
Having decided we really couldn't face going out again we switched on the TV and ordered room service (Hamburger for Nick, Tuna for me).We both had showers and then settled for a long nights sleep in our divine bed.
Posted by Hayley
Tuesday 10th August
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to Sweden we go
Just a quick note to say 'hello' to August and to let you all know we are off adventuring again. We fly out tomorrow morning, so we are Heathrow bound again. I am hoping nobody questions my passport as I don't really resemble the photo very much without out doing slightly smooshed facial expressions. On the bright side we got back some actual prints from our digital camera yesterday and they are really rather good. The colour seems pretty good in most of them and unless you really look you can't spot the digital 'extras' that are sometimes present. We will write more as the holiday progresses.
Posted by Hayley
