Stockholm, Sweden 5
Our hotel was far from the city center but only one block away from a subway station. Instead of walking like the other days, we took a subway to the city center. It was fast and very easy to use!
We took a walk around the city center. It was too early to visit shops or museums. Then we took a Uber to Bergianska trädgården. Located in the northern Stockholm, outside areas of the 18th century academic botanical garden are open 24 hours daily with free admission. Perfect for our morning walk!
The garden was situated right next to lake Brunnsviken. We had a nice view across the lake and greeted a duck.
Huge mushrooms! It looked they were chewed a bit. Are they edible?
There was a Japanese garden, consisting of a pond and a small island, with the plants that mostly originate from Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan and from Asian regions with a similar climate. According to the official botanical garden website, "With its carefully styled plants and judiciously placed stones, the garden is a tribute to the beauty of pure form. This garden is a year-round favourite, especially in winter, when the shadows of trees and boulders on the snow create another dimension in the garden." The snow-covered garden must be so beautiful.
I wanted to see giant water lily's leaves in the Victoria House but the house wouldn't open until 11 am. It was still around 10 am when we already walked around all over the garden. J said, Save it for next time, as usual.
We took a subway to go back to the city center. Stockholm subway system was clean and efficient!
Our destination was National Museum, Sweden's museum of art and design. It's located in central Stockholm, just across the water from the Royal Palace. We have seen the building many times but haven't had a chance to visit it until Day 5. I am glad we made it!
The museum's collections include more than 5,000 European paintings, drawings, sculptures, applied arts and design objects from the 16th century to today. They are presented chronologically. We naturally followed the timeline, starting with Tapestry, "The return of Vasco da Gama," designed and made by Jean Grenier, a Flemish artist, between 1500 and 1530.
A couple of works of the greatest artist of the Dutch Golden Age, Rembrandt were found in the 17th century gallery.
"The Lady with the Veil," the artist's wife Marie Suzanne Giroust, painted by Alexander Roslin, a Swedish artist and signed 1768 is one of the museum’s best-known paintings. In fact I knew the painting before seeing the original in person because I saw the image of the painting on the large poster at the entrance of the museum.
Impressionists and Post-Impressionists are always my favorite. I was glad to find some artworks by Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Morisot.
I liked the landscapes painted by Carl Fredrik Hill and Julia Beck, Swedish artists during the French Impressionism movement. It's very nice to learn Swedish artists, which I am not familiar with.
Made between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the dinner services in National Romanticism or Swedish Art Nouveau style were also lovely.
We happened to run into the mounted parade of the Royal Guard. They must be going back to the Cavalry Barrack after the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Royal Palace's courtyard. The ceremony is held around noon and 1 pm everyday during spring and summer. We didn't have a chance to see the ceremony but I heard that the ceremony usually gets so crowded with lots of spectators and you have to be there much earlier to secure the position to see it better. Watching the parade directly in front of me on the street would be perhaps better than struggling at the ceremony.
Lunch time! We dined at Wedholms Fisk, an elegant seafood restaurant near the harbor.
Three kinds of bread were served. I loved the dark bread. The crispy flat bread was flavorful, too. I ended up with having more bread than usual.
We both had chanterelle soup with grilled scallops as a starter. It was delightful!
My main was cured salmon with dill stewed potatoes. Wonderful. J had butter-fried perch with anchovies cream and chive. I believe he liked it very much. The restaurant was J's finding. Excellent, J!
We then headed to the Old Town to visit Storkyrkan, or Stockholm Cathedral. We walked through Stortorget, not only the main square but also the oldest square in the Old Town, dating back to the 15th century. The colorful facades at the square were picturesque, which makes me almost forget that the square was the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath in 1520, where nearly 100 Swedish nobles and leading citizens were executed (beheaded or hanged) by the order of King Christian II of Denmark over three days.
We arrived at the cathedral... No, it wasn't the cathedral but the German Church. It was also in the Old Town and had an impressive tower. Somehow I was confused and took J to a wrong church. Sorry J!
I checked the location of the cathedral online and led J there successfully this time. I remember we saw the pink building of the cathedral a few days ago. Built in 1279, Stockholm’s medieval Cathedral is primarily called Storkyrkan (The Great Church). The current Baroque appearance was the result of the renovation in the mid 17th century to match with the nearby palace which was rebuilt at that time after the previous one was burned down. Only small parts of the original structure remain today.
Those sculptures over the pulpit and the the royal pews were stunning!
However, probably the most famous and magnificent sculpture there was Saint George and the Dragon sculpture, created in 1489 by Bernt Notke, a German sculptor, painter, and engraver. The 15th century masterpiece was carved from oak wood, painted and gilded. The well-preserved details looked amazing!
Saint George, a knight arrived at a city that was terrorized by a dragon that demanded human sacrifices. He killed the dragon and saved the King's daughter who was being the intended victim. The sculpture dramatically depicts the highlight of the legend. Meanwhile, it's a metaphor for Swedish victory of the battle on Brunkeberg against the Danish in 1471. Saint George stands symbolically for Sten Sture, the Swedish imperial administrator who commissioned the sculpture; the dragon for the Danish King Christian I; and the King's daughter for the saved city Stockholm.
By the way, the bronze statue of Saint George and the Dragon in the Old Town that we saw a couple of times was a copy of this.
Fika time! We returned Café Schweizer and tried a Nötkrona, a Swedish pastry with a cookie base, almond filling, coated in caramel and hazelnuts, and a Katalan, a Swedish pastry with a cookie base, a raspberry filling and topped with raspberry icing. The former was fine but the latter didn't have much flavor. We also had a Biskvi again. Biskvi was the best of three in my opinion. I think J would agree with me.
To be continued...
