Stockholm, Part 1

I’ve been traveling for about three months now. I’ve met fascinating people and seen amazing things. Unfortunately, between my breakneck pace and the fact that I’m trying to work on a novel while traveling, I don’t have too much time for blogging. I’ve already filled an entire notebook, and I’ve nearly run out of space on my hard drive with all the pictures I’ve been taking. I certainly intend to tell some of those past stories as time permits. At the moment, it’s late; I’m heading to Germany tomorrow; and I need to be thinking about that novel. I don’t have time to tell the WHOLE story – but here’s a brief glimpse into my current location.

I arrived in Stockholm, Sweden on the morning of July 27th. Between work and packing, I’d only managed to get four hours of sleep the previous night. As such, I went through the day in a haze of exhaustion, encountering things that OBVIOUSLY had to be hallucinations. I saw lions prowling the streets, and shared sake with fox spirits begging for coins on street corners. Pirate ships set sail inside buildings. When I finally retired for the night, I wondered what I’d ACTUALLY seen that day. Luckily I’d taken a few pictures and had the chance to make sense of it in the morning.

I’ve been to a lot of pedestrian malls. Most have some sort of concrete posts to keep cars from driving on the pedestrian lanes. In Stockholm, this is a job for lions. There’s at least a dozen of these lions spread along the length of the street. If I was to write a story, they’d certainly come to life at night, hunting automobiles under the light of the moon. And hey, maybe they do. How else do you explain those toothmarks on your bumper?

Next comes my friend the fox spirit:

After some research, I discovered that this is actually a piece from the traveling exhibit of a Welsh artist named Laura Ford. More information can be found here:

http://www.artrabbit.com/all/events/event/3985/laura_ford_rag_and_bone

This homeless fox lives outside the government offices, not far from the palace. According to my hosts Rolf and Mattias, there was a vote as to where she should go; the thought was that sitting here, she reminds politicians of the ongoing issue of homelessness in Sweden.

And finally we have the pirate ship. Well, it turns out that it’s not a pirate ship at all, but it IS in a building.

Sadly, I’m not the photographer I’d need to be to convey just how impressive this is. The ship is Vasa, a warship built in the 17th century. It’s 230 feet long, and carried 64 cannons and a total compliment of 445 sailors and soldiers… and sank within the first few minutes of its maiden voyage, due to being top-heavy with insufficient ballast. In 1961 she was salvaged, with the hull remarkably intact considering how much time had passed; apparently the conditions of the local waters are perfect for preserving wood. Vasa really is a remarkable sight; aside from the sheer size of the ship, she’s covered with carvings and engravings. One of the funny things about the museum is that it talked about what a mighty warship Vasa was, and what a powerhouse she was, to which I can’t help but think “Yeah, for a few minutes…” Still, if you make it to Stockholm, check it out!

We saw quite a few other things during the day… the Riddarholmen church, the royal armory, a Swedish game store with an entire section of Swedish RPGs, the local Google offices, and much more. Oh, the tales I could tell, if only I had the time! But now, I need to get me some sleep.

Current Location: Upplands Vasbuy

Music of the Moment: “Glass”, Bat For Lashes