The Archipelago and a Night at the Opera

Yesterday, the more scholarly among us went to the Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet) in Stockholm, which gave me a good excuse to do some exploring. I decided to take a cruise called "Archipelago Tour with guide" from Stockholm to Vaxholm and back. Notwithstanding it being a gray day, as a hardy Northwesterner, I decided to brave the elements for a three-hour tour. A three- hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Stockholm would be lost. The Stockholm would be lost.

If you don't understand that reference you, my friend, are not a baby boomer. 

As I went on board, I realized something that had not been made clear to me via the website. The boat is a floating restaurant and according to one crew member, passengers are not allowed to eat their own food on board. As a thrifty traveler, of course I had brought a sandwich, cookies, and fruit with me and did not intend to spend my money on some fancy dish I didn't really care about. So I asked another crew member and was told to go ahead and eat my lunch but not in the restaurant part of the boat.  Liking this answer better, I believed her and, since it was getting on towards lunch time, I quickly and somewhat surreptitiously downed my cheapskate lunch.

Our tiny ship

Across the street, Strandvagen, from the tour boat quay

At about 8 bells (that's noon for you landlubbers), we left the dock, or technically speaking, cast off. Slowly we did a 180 degree turn and headed out of the harbor. We went by so many islands and stately homes that I found it impossible to keep track of which of my photos were taken where. So I will just show you some of the best ones with the understanding that they are in Stockholm, Vaxholm, or someplace in between.

Here a few of the interesting things I learned on the tour, both from the tour guide's announcements and from his answers to questions I asked him directly.

I knew some of this already but Stockholm and the land around it has been rising due to glacial rebound (since the weight of the glaciers has been eliminated recently, i.e. ten thousand years ago). The rebound rate has, until very recently, been about a centimeter per year. Our guide took the opportunity to tell me how big a centimeter is, since I am only an ignorant American. Stockholm is built mostly on islands, partly in Lake Mäleran and partly in salt water. In the time of the Vikings, Lake Mäleran was a salt water inlet and extended all the way north to where Uppsala is today. In fairly recent history two sets of locks have been built in Stockholm due to the force of the current rushing out of Lake Mäleran which was making shipping difficult.

Oddly enough, the rebound has not caused any major earthquakes.

The Baltic Sea is considered to be brackish, i.e. not as salty as the open ocean.

There are 30000 islands in the archipelago with only 12000 people living on them. So, lots of excess islands.

The number of boats in Sweden is equivalent to 10% of the country's population.

Over time, Stockholm's defensive fortifications have had to be moved farther and farther out into the archipelago as military technology developed. Of course, these days they are pretty much useless.

Katerina Kyrka (I think) viewed from the boat while still moored. Love my zoom lens.

The Vasa Museum

Looks like a Norther European city, does it not?

A castle on the island of Djurgården

Telegraph Station on Telegrafberget

This started out as an optical telegraph in the late 18th century and was later converted to an electrical telegraph. Now, of course, it is neither.

A rich merchant's house

Summer houses

Some Fellow Travelers

Vaxholm

 I could have disembarked at Vaxholm and stayed until the next tour boat came through at 4:30 PM. I didn't do that as the opera we attended last night started at 7:00 PM and I would have been late.

The Vaxholm Fortress

The other (East) side of the fortress

Funny story: in the 1860s the Swedes updated the walls of this fortress and tested their work by firing at it using the latest naval gun technology.  The one shell they fired went through the wall and wreaked havoc inside. Since then, the fortress has been used for military administration and as a museum.

An inter-island taxi

Approaching the dock in Vaxholm

Beautiful houses on one of the islands

Another pretty house on one of the islands

The Swedish flag on our boat

Refreshingly, the Swedes are not into overt patriotism. I don't think I have seen a single Swedish national flag in Uppsala.

Lilacs blooming - for us, this is spring 2.0

Some of the zillion boats in Sweden

More fancy houses I think on Djurgården

This apparently is a retirement home

A strong-necked giraffe

This is part of a very elaborate amusement park

Swedes having fun

I wouldn't mind taking this ride

After safely disembarking or technically going ashore, from the three-hour tour, I made my way to Gamla Stan (Old Town for you non-Swedish speakers) to visit the Nobel Museum. I looked around a bit and watched some videos made by recent laureates. I especially liked the one by Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist. I then took an English-language tour focusing on Alfred Nobel, how Nobel winners are selected, and a few things about the 2014 laureates. Then I had dinner at the Bistro Nobel.

Meanwhile, back at the archives, the scholars were hard at work.

CJ and Ingrid caught by the photographer (Charlotte) unawares

The reading room at the archives

A manuscript from the late 17th century

Then it was on to the opera where I met CJ, Ingrid, Dan, and Charlotte for a performance of La Traviata. Just for the record, wallowing in Verdi's rich music is a good idea on any continent.

Key takeaways from the evening's entertainment:

1. Guys: dating a courtesan is not a good idea.

2. Fathers don't appreciate their sons dating courtesans

3. A world class soprano fills the hall with sound using no amplification of any kind

4. Love conquers all. Except fatal cases of consumption.

The Royal Swedish Opera or Kungliga Operan

The view from our seats - great view of the bass section!

How ornate can we get in the 19th century?

Finally, for all you guys, here are some cute Swedish cheerleaders in downtown Uppsala!