June 20: Stockholm

Our first order of business after breakfast was a 2-hour lecture on Sweden and what we would be seeing today on our group walk.  It is here in Stockholm that five of the six Nobel Prizes are given (the 6th, the Peace Prize,  is given in Oslo).  The Novel Prize is known throughout the world, and the founder of the prize, Alfred Nobel, was Swedish.  

Following the lecture, we walked to the city hall, which was built on orders of the city council.  An architectural design competition was held.  Construction took twelve years, from 1911-1923.  The main material is red brick.  It is an example of the National Romantic style, and massive Northern European bricks are paired with whimsical elements reminiscent of Venetian Gothic architecture, such as turrets adorned with golden statues, decorated balconies, wooden masts, and statues.  

The Blue Hall is notable as the dining hall where banquets are held after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony.  The organ in that hall is the largest in Scandinavia, and has over 10,000 pipes.  Above the Blue Hall is the Golden Hall, named after the decorated mosaics made of more than 18,000,000 tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history.  The SE corner of the building is dominated by a monumental tower topped with three crowns, the Swedish national symbol.  

After the town hall, Nancy was suffering some knee distress, so decided to come back to the hotel to see if she might remedy the situation.  I accompanied her, and after about an hour she was almost as good as new.  We picked up a lovely pastry and coffee at a nearby Swedish bakery, then walked to the nearby St. Klara Church.  

Our final farewell dinner took place at a very good, small restaurant that highlighted cod, small potatoes, beets, and panacotta for dessert.  We walked back through a wonderful, atmospherically lit landscape that I always call the “shank of the afternoon.”  The obligatory group picture was made several times, and then we dispersed.  Nancy leaves for Tampa tomorrow morning, and I am here until 5:30 pm tomorrow, when a taxi picks me up for a departure to London Heathrow, landing at about 10:35 pm.  I expect to be at my hotel, the Rockwell, at about 11:30 pm or so.  It is on Cromwell Road, close to the Earl’s Court and Gloucester St tube stations and the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Wish me luck, as I am on my own from now on.