Our last port call in Stockholm, Sweden continued with perfect Indian Summer weather that remained with us throughout our entire trip! Stockholm was our second favorite port, running a close second with Denmark. It was a fabulous city!!!
Stockholm is Sweden's capital and largest city. It is comprised of 14 islands and is surrounded by waterways that reached out to a vast archipelago of 24,000 islands!
Stockholm's City Hall is the political center for about 200 politicians and civil servants, and averages about 400,000 visitors a year! The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Stockholm every year, and a banquet is held in its honor at the City Hall.
The City Hall's exterior windows that overlooked the inner courtyard were spectacular! Balconied windows were nestled within framed archway insets, as statues of famous Swedes held a place of honor in between each tall window.
One of the City Hall's impressive features was the Gold Room; a banquet hall which contained more than 18 million mosaic pieces made of glass and real gold.The north end wall depicted the "Queen of the Lake Malaren."
These tall upright candelabras blended well with the mosaic walls.
Within the City Hall's courytard was a statue of a "Dala Horse" - painted hand carved wooden horse that was the unofficial symbol of Sweden. It represented the livelihood of all the craftsmen that carved and painted these horses throughout the centuries, and continues today to be a favorite souvenir for all visitors.
Took note of the bicycle lane that was a common sighting in the Baltic countries. They were found all throughout the city, and ran parallel with the traffic lanes. Pedestrians had to be mindful when stepping onto these lanes because bicycles zipped through regularly and in droves!
I wish America had bicycle lanes. More people would bike if we had them!
Stockholm is home to over 100 museums! I loved the contemporary design of the museum above that was located across from the City Hall.
The National Museum contains the largest collection of Swedish artwork. Inside there are half a million paintings and art handiworks from the Middle Ages to present time.
I forgot which museum this was, but it was huge and it looked a lot like Denmark's Rosenborg Palace.
Speaking of palaces, this was the royal residence and official workplace of Sweden's monarch. Sweden's royals are more liberal than most. In 1980, Sweden was the first European country to pass the history-making "equal primogeniture law," which designates the passing of the monarchy to the eldest surviving child regardless of gender. The king's heir apparent is Crown Princess Victoria. This past June the heir apparent married her fitness trainer. Talk about a fairy tale ending for the princess and her "Cinderello!"
This was Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre's Acting School, which credits classic screen sirens Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman as the school's more famous alumni.
Loved these marvelous lamp posts!
Hedges from the city's royal park were immaculate and colorful.
This guy was monkeying around at the park. LOL. A benefit was going on at the time which brought a festive flair to the day, and to the park's surroundings.
And of course, Deb and I took FULL advantage of Stockholm's own pedestrian walk of fabulous shops. We shopped to our heart's content and continued to delight in more of Stockholm's diversions. Stay tune for more of our explorations....
