Here and There: A PhotoBlog

The streets of Gamla stan, Stockholm's old town, are paved with cobblestones. They're picturesque, but often hard to walk on.

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Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Objects used for quite functional purposes sometimes assume the character of works of art. Here are three sculptural examples from our cruises on the Stockholm Archipelago.

(click to enlarge) Two cranes painted as giraffes

(click to enlarge) Apartment complex built on the site of a former industrial district along the waterfront

(click to enlarge) The smokestack and lights of our cruise vessel to Drottningholm

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(click to enlarge) A cruise through the islands of the Stockholm Archipelago is a delightful way to spend a few hours, especially if the weather is good and the clouds are dramatic.

(click to enlarge) Another voyage through the archipelago, on our way to Drottningholm to see the royal palace.

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(click to enlarge) We took a cruise through the Stockholm Archipelago. These are reflections of our boat, seen as we were waiting to board.

(click to enlarge) Once on board, I noticed this charming little section of the harbor wall.

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(click to enlarge) The spotless subway

(click to enlarge) Underground shopping mall

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(click to enlarge) According to Wikipedia, "Strandvägen (Swedish for "Beach Street") is a boulevard on Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. Completed just in time for the Stockholm World's Fair 1897, it quickly became known as one of the most prestigious addresses in town."

(click to enlarge) An eye-catching detail on an apoteket (pharmacy) near Strandvägen.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 11:49 AM | Permalink

(click to enlarge) The Nordisk Museet, on the island Djurgarden across a causeway from the Stockholm waterfront, is a large and impressive museum of Swedish culture. As you enter, you are confronted by this large and impressive person. We never did learn who he is -- presumably some king from long ago.

(click to enlarge) The other end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 3:43 PM | Permalink

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From Wikipedia:

"Vasa ... was a Swedish warship that was built from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile (ca 2 km) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Vasa fell into obscurity after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century. She was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and, as of 2007, has attracted more than 25 million visitors.

"Vasa was built top-heavy and had insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see Vasa join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the privy council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out."

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 3:56 PM | Permalink

(click to enlarge) On our first afternoon in Stockholm we walked to the old town, Gamlastan, where we encountered the half-marathon in process. Judging from the number tags, there were well over 20,000 participants.

(click to enlarge) Of course, runners (and spectators) have to answer the call of nature occasionally. There were more porta-potties than we've ever seen in one place before. Here are just a few, under the watchful eye of King Carl Gustav II.

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Some Stockholm shop windows are intriguing.

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(click to enlarge) We were in Sweden (Stockholm and Uppsala) in September. I've always enjoyed the way they use old buildings for new purposes ...

(click to enlarge) ... and the sly humor that pokes its head up unexpectedly.

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Private pain, public revelry

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(click to enlarge) Statue of Adam Mickiewicz, considered, along with Pushkin, the greatest Slavic poet

(click to enlarge) Sculpture outside the Vilnius sports arena celebrating Lithuania's international success and renown in basketball

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(click to enlarge) A hoard of coins in the Trakai Castle Museum

(click to enlarge) Chairs lined up for a performance in the Trakai Castle courtyard

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According to the Lithuanian National Tourist Office, "Trakai is a fabulously picturesque little town on water. The former capital of Lithuania nestles between several lakes, 30km west of Vilnius. It is a must and a delight for every tourist to see its spectacular Island Castle on Lake Galvė. Initially a defensive castle, later a residence for Lithuania's grand dukes, today it is a popular museum of medieval Lithuania as well as being a well-used stage for concerts, festivals and films. The fairytale castle was rebuilt in the 1950s and is now known for being the only castle with a lake as its main defence in the whole of Eastern Europe."

(click to enlarge) Woman selling berries along the causeway to the castle

Posted by Victor Bloomfield at 1:19 PM | Permalink