Travel Diary: Stockholm, Sweden

Sunday, September 27, 2:15 pm:

I suppose my lack of entries while in Stockholm is a sign that I've been quite busy. This is true. Between seeing the sights and going out at night, my daily schedule is much more jam-packed (well, relatively speaking, especially when compared to my time in Norway).

I'm currently sitting in Gamla Stan (Old Town) a charming and richly authentic medieval portion of the city. This is where Stockholm all started. During the 16th century, this was really the only part of Stockholm that existed.

I'm sitting on a bench in Stortorget, which was the central meeting place. The bench sits directly in front of a large and ornate water pump - likely the ancient, communal life source for the inhabitants of medieval Stockholm. Directly across from me is the Nobel Museum (as in Nobel Prize), but this grandiose establishment used to be the town hall. I'm face to face with the second floor central window from where penalites were once announced to criminals in front of an audience of revenge-hungry citizens. Somtimes a lawmaker would call for a public flogging, while other times, for the truly deplorable, a penalty of hanging or beheading would be imposed and then enacted immediately.

This square is also the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520, when Christian II, the reigning Danish king, fooled the Swedish nobility by gathering them for a feast, only to lock the palace doors, arrest each person and kill them each one by one in this very spot where I sit enjoying the view. It is from this event that King Christian II earned the nickname, Christian the Tyrant.

Nowadays, the only tyranny in these parts is the attempt of territorial domination by the hundreds of pigeons obnoxiously flapping their wings and begging for food.

Pigeons and grim history aside, this square truly is a sight to be seen. Stores and restaurants now line the streets where blacksmiths and printing presses likely once resided. Teenage girls and Chinese tourists wearing face masks are a common sight nowadays and there's no sign of anyone who might be anxiously awaiting a beheading.

The wind picks up speed and I've just heard a church bell, which usually indicates that I should wrap things up. My time in Stockholm has been wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by its active nightlife, effortless style of its inhabitants and its historical relevance available for exploration. It seems to me that Stockholm is not a city on the cutting edge; in fact it's more like they've already cut out the pattern, seen what works, and have followed it for years putting the people first and implementing progressive ideas in order to ensure the city's thriving welfare, cultural appeal and staying power.

Stockholm is definitely a city to visit. It's urban and fresh, thoughtful and cool. I would even go so far to say it's the best city in Scandinavia.