Stockholm

It’s taken a little while, now that we’re home, to complete this report and finalise this trip.  Part of the reason is the terrible tragedy in Eastern Ukraine where Malysian Airlines MH17 was shot down  by rocket fire with the terrible loss of 298 lives.  We were completely rocked by the news and both of us in tears as we watched the reports, partly because we had flown across western Ukraine, enroute from Stockholm to Doha, only a matter of 12 hours before this terrible tragedy.  Added to that, we have flown Malaysian a number of times and found them extremely good, but they don’t fly in or out of Stockholm.

As for Stockholm itself, we can only say, it is one of our favourite cities.  It is clean, safe, friendly and well laid out, with a rail system that works extremely well and lots of restaurants and bars with good food and friendly staff.  It is however, an expensive place to stay – accommodation is not cheap and the food and drinks are relatively expensive.  However, the city is lovely, buildings are well laid out and there are lots of parks and trees for public outdoor living.  It’s very easy to get around on the trains with a rail pass and many streets are pedestrian friendly, particularly in the old town, Gamla Stan.  Our apartment was in Gamla Stan, only 200 meters from the station and we had plenty of space, a good comfortable bed, washer and dryer and a large sitting room.  Our only problem, again, was carting suitcases up to the third floor.

Gamla Stan is the site of the old original, walled city, the Parliament and the Palace.  These buildings are quite spectacular and look out over the harbour, which itself is fantastic.  Newer areas on the mainland, have some wonderful buildings as well, but the harbour is the gem of the city.  Much of the city is built around the harbour and it’s very busy with water ferries, day-cruise boats and a little further out, cruise ships and Baltic Sea ferries from Finland and the Baltic states.

Added to all of this, of course, is the fact that we were there for a wedding, so we now have family living in the city (suburbs), so it’s highly likely that we’ll go back again.  My nephew Simon, married his Swedish Princess and they have a gorgeous daughter, Willow, who won everybody’s heart.  The wedding was held in a beautiful old church at Nykopping, about 100km south of Stockholm and the reception in an old converted barn, not far away.  Guests were bussed from Stockholm to the Mercure Hotel at Nykopping and we had a wonderful time at the wedding and reception,  with guests from 14 different countries.  Kim’s family are lovely people and were very friendly and inclusive and spent a lot of time ensuring all the guests had a great time.  One of the guests was a bit of a highlight, but we won’t go into that here – not appropriate.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Stockholm, take it – it’s a really wonderful place.

Kim and Simon

A bevy of Miller beauties

Can't say the same about the "Brothers in Arms"

Kim and Simon about to tie the knot

The deed is done - Mr & Mrs Simon Miller

A gorgeous couple - Congratulations

The brothers Miller

All the Miller ladies together

Max and Pa

Beautiful baby Willow

Simon manages to get through his speech

Kim enjoys another moment in the spotlight

We usually manage a "Brothers" shot!

The girls enjoy getting together

Copenhagen Recap

We’re now on the fast train from Copenhagen to Stockholm, after crossing “The Bridge” – the link between Denmark and Sweden and the subject of the TV series of the same name.  It’s pretty spectacular, although from the train, which runs underneath the road bridge, there’s little of the actual bridge to see.  There is lots of water, sailing boats and shipping and a series of wind farms in the ocean.  When we crossed from Germany into Denmark, the whole train was loaded onto a ferry and transported across along with passengers, cars, trucks and mobile homes.

We were a little disappointed with Copenhagen.  Whilst it’s a nice city with lots to see and a lot happening, it’s quite expensive and it’s a little grubby and there’s lots of graffiti.  It’s easy to get around on the buses and most of the city was quite accessible from our apartment, but even that was expensive and a little disappointing, except for its great position.  We understood that there was a double bed, but it turned out to be a large single and the bathroom was all of 2 sq. metres with a shower curtain within that which cut off the toilet from the rest, but the curtain wrapped itself around us whilst showering.  We’re hoping that the Stockholm apartment lives up to expectations.  We went for the price in Copenhagen (110 Euros per night or $170) not realising that they also charge a cleaning fee of 120 Euros at the end.  Poor value!

Only a couple of hours now ‘til Stockholm and we’re looking forward to catching up with all the family there.  The wedding we’re attending in my nephew Simon’s, marrying his Swedish sweetheart, Kim.  They’ll make a wonderful couple (they already are) and we wish them much happiness.

 Gilfion Fountain in the Citadel Park 

 The Little Mermaid - the symbol of Copenhagen

 Tesla being re-charged at a roadside site.  We've seen lots of Teslas in Europe, although I'm sure the Princess hasn't noticed them.  This is the Model S - the premium sedan.

 The Marble Church - built entirely from marble (obviously)

 Me and my old friend, Hans Christian Andersen.

Copenhagen

On the ferry from Germany to Denmark - train is loaded onto the ferry

Typical Copenhagen street

Everybody loves a parade - changing of the guard at the palace

Hordes of tourists load onto canal boats

New State Opera House

Amalienborg Palace - home of Crown Prince Frederick and Mary

Old Stock Exchange building - oldest in Europe

Statue of Christian V in Parliament grounds

Parliament House - Christiansborg Palace

Jazz festival playing to packed house on a lovely day

Rosenborg Castle - the old Royal Palace

Throne Room in Rosenborg Castle - preserved as a museum

Royal Crowns in the Treasury

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

Our apartment is in the Christianshavn area, only 15-20 minutes walk from the city area, so it’s very convenient.  Again we’re up 4 flights of stairs but the apartment is roomy and light with a little terrace over the street where we sit and have a drink each day.  The walk into the city is over a couple of canals lined with sailboats and is very picturesque, with lots of cafes and restaurants in the area.  The one drawback is the double bed pictured on the interweb is actually a king single, so we’re  struggling to get adequate sleep.

We did a 3 hour walking tour on day 1 which took us to many of the major sights around the city – the Town Hall, Opera House, Old Stock Exchange, Christiansborg Castle (Parliament House) and , Amalienborg Palace (official residence of the Royal family, including Mary), Copenhagen Cathedral and other significant sites.  Since then we’ve been back to visit a few of them in more detail and have also visited the Danish National Museum and the central city plaza.  In the city this week there is a Jazz Festival and there are a number of sites around the city where jazz bands from all over the world are playing free concerts every day and evening.  Today there were thousands of people in the city plaza sitting and listening to a great trad jazz group – bars serving beer and wine, icecream stalls and everybody having fun.  The beer’s pretty good too, although it’s served in half litre cups – a bit of a trap cause it’s NOT light beer.

The weather is fantastic and looks good for the rest of the week – clear skies and mid-20s.  This afternoon we visited Christiania – a hippy community which has declared itself a separate state and they have no law against smoking “strange substances”.    It’s a bit of an eerie feeling walking through streets where the smell is definitely not rotting fruit.  The hippies took over a disused military site many years ago and refused to move, so they’re still there and it’s become quite a tourist destination.   They sell all sorts of hand-made goods to help support the community and much of it is quite good.

Copenhagen is again, a cycle society – don’t get in their way, they get pretty annoyed.  Bicycles everywhere and dedicated cycle lanes on every street.  We’ve found the pedestrian areas in many parts of the city, a little grubby.  Cigarette butts everywhere – the great majority of Danes are smokers.  The city is nowhere near as ‘old’ as many that we’ve visited.  They had a number of fires that razed the city in the 1700s, before they started building in stone and brick, so the buildings are mostly later styles.  Some are quite spectacular – the Old Stock Exchange for instance, with its weird spire (intertwined serpents) and Our Saviour’s Church with a spiral staircase on the outside of the spire.  Quite amazing!  But it’s an expensive city where a lunchtime sandwich (typical Danish open sandwich) and a beer will set you back $30 to $40. 

Miniatur Wunderland