Dancing Queens

(A multi-part recap of my recent Scandinavia trip.)

♪ You can dance, you can jive
Having the time of your life
Ooh, see that girl, watch that scene
Digging the dancing queen ♪

Day two in Stockholm - and it was time to experience some Swedish culture.  So Kim, Debbie and I made reservations to see the ABBA Museum.

We're with the band!

But first, breakfast - and coffee!  Although our hotel had laid out a huge buffet with all kinds of morning goodies, its coffee machine kept breaking down.  So Kim and I introduced Debbie to our new favorite Stockholm coffee shop that we'd discovered yesterday.  Full from breakfast, the large case full of baked goods didn't tempt me quite as much, but the coffee was still as good.

Time for another fika

After enjoying our lattes, Kim, Debbie and I took the long way back to our hotel, strolling though a lovely green parkway.  Then we hit a local grocery store for some bottled water.  It's always interesting to see what's on the shelves of the markets in other countries, so we spent some time just wandering around the aisles.

Lovely green park in Stockholm

Unbeknownst to us when we'd made our tour plans, today was the day of the Stockholm Marathon.  Our first clue was seeing a few of the participants in our hotel the previous evening chowing down pasta at dinner.  That morning I'd spotted a few runners in the hotel's breakfast room, their bib numbers pinned on shirts.  Heading back to the hotel, my friends and I encountered quite a few of them walking to the starting line.  The course wound through a good portion of the city, so we were a bit worried about getting held up by the race, and missing our ABBA Museum reservation time.

Church dome rises over the buildings

Alicia, the fourth member of our Ireland tour group, was due to arrive mid-morning and planned to join us at the ABBA Museum.  But upon returning to the hotel, a text from our friend informed us that she'd gotten lost at the Stockholm Central station and wasn't going to make it in time.  Alicia told us to go on without her, and promised to meet up later at the hotel.

The Stockholm Marathon happened to be today

Hoping to escape the race traffic, Kim, Debbie and I decided to leave a little early and avoid the waterfront area as much as possible.  According to Google Maps, the ABBA Museum was a 20-minute walk from the hotel.  Good thing Debbie had visited Stockholm before, she knew exactly the route to take!  It was like having our own personal guide.

Ready to see the ABBA Museum 

Off we three ladies went through downtown Stockholm.  Although quite a few streets were barricaded for the marathon, we saw zero runners.  Having participated in many of these races years ago (when I used to run) I suspected the marathon had started very early in the morning, and might already be finished.  Runners or not, my friends and I were happy to not be impeded by anything marathon-related and arrived at the ABBA Museum with time to spare. 

Posing with the band members

Sweden is best known for the home furnishing giant IKEA, Volvo cars, and the pop group ABBA.  Growing up in the 70s, their music was all over the airwaves.  You would've had to be living under a rock to not be aware of any ABBA songs.  Although never a rabid fan, I did enjoy their music.  (Even now, the song "Dancing Queen" always gets me grooving.)  ABBA's music was always upbeat with catchy melodies - a lot of happy, goofy fun.

Here we go!

So now my friends and I were about to experience ABBA - The Museum.  Debbie had visited this museum once before on a prior trip, so she prepared Kim and I for what we were about to experience.  And of course my Swiss cow, Lotti, wanted to come along and see what all the fanfare was about!

Some of the band's outrageous costumes

To control crowds, the museum only let a designated number of people inside every half hour.  My friends and I shuffled through a small rope maze behind a few other happy ABBA fans.  Reaching the front, we were directed towards a brilliantly colored stairway that descended towards all the displays.  ABBA here we come!

Can you see Kim and I in the mirror?

Debbie, Kim and I first passed by a display showing a sample of the outrageous stage costumes ABBA was known for.  Definitely pure 70s disco diva!  

These figures looked very lifelike!

One of the first rooms we entered contained the history of each band member.  The song "Waterloo" blasted through the sound system (causing many of the visitors to break into song.)  This was the tune that helped ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision song contest, creating their big breakthrough.  "Waterloo" was the band's first major hit and first number-one single in nine European countries.

A wall of all ABBA's records

I'm probably the only one who didn't know this but, I learned that "ABBA" was an acronym formed by the first letters of each band member's first name, Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid.

I didn't realize they'd recorded so many!

After the "Waterloo" room my friends and I meandered past recreations of the band's recording studio, and then more costume displays.  Rounding a corner put us into another room that contained copies of all the records produced by ABBA.  It was a huge wall that continued on and on.  

More interesting outfits

In 1976, the album Arrival catapulted the band into superstardom.  So many hits came from this one record - "Money, Money, Money," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," and the single that came to be known by everyone worldwide: "Dancing Queen."

This appeared to be the white and gold collection

Continuing through the museum, we came to a room filled with all gold records the ABBA had amassed over their career.  It was quite a sight!  In the middle of this room was a display of white and gold costumes worn by the band during one of their many tours.

Lotti and I didn't quite fit in

Debbie told Kim and I that there was a room in this museum where visitors could perform on stage accompanied by holograms of the band members.  Debbie said during her previous visit, it had been fun to watch the people who had dared to go up there, but at the time she was too chicken to do it herself.  But now she regretted not having the experience, and was interested in trying today.

And so after walking through the gold record room, we turned a corner, and ended up smack dab in the performance stage venue.  The viewing area was packed with people, all eager to see the next brave victim.  At first Kim, Debbie and I stood and watched other museum visitors go up on stage to sing and dance with the ABBA holograms.  It was well done, and actually fun to observe - the people on stage did quite well.  And the audience politely clapped after every performance.

They had a stage where you could sing and dance with holograms of ABBA

Debbie turned to me and said, "let's do it!"  It actually looked like a lot of fun, so I agreed.  (Besides, no one here knew me.)  Kim, not wanting anything to do with being on stage, quickly agreed to be our videographer.  After watching other participants gather around a nearby console, we figured out you had press a button on this console to start the process.  Kim took control and had us and pick one of two songs: "Mama Mia" or "Dancing Queen."  We decided on "Dancing Queen" and after pressing start, Debbie and I hustled to get on stage before the music began.

Oh my goodness, what a disaster!  There's a reason I chose engineering, and not entertainment for my profession.  I moved my arms and shuffled my legs, waving Lotti wildly in one hand (she wanted a chance to perform with ABBA too!)  About halfway through the song, I realized there was a teleprompter in front of the stage with lyrics and the band members were reflected below the stage, so you could follow their dance moves.  Debbie, on the other hand, unknowingly stood right behind one the holograms, and was hardly visible.  When the music finally stopped, we shuffled off the stage to dead silence.  Nobody in the audience clapped.  As we melted back into the crowd, Debbie loudly proclaimed "I guess we really sucked!"

A display of all the souvenirs

Kim was laughing so hard she was practically crying.  She said we did such a bad job, it was hilarious.  After watching another duo of museum visitors perform, Debbie said she wanted to do it again.  This time, she knew where to stand.  Even though my performance had left a lot to be desired, I'd had fun and agreed to accompany Debbie for a second try.  (And besides, no one here knew me!)

So back up we went, this time to try our hand at "Mama Mia."  Although I felt our second time went much better - Debbie stood in the right place, and we even synchronized a few dance moves with the band - when we were finished, again there was no applause from the audience.  I guess we just weren't cut out to be pop superstars!

Look at all those gold records

However Kim now had video proof of our dreadful performances.  When Debbie and I watched them later, I thought the funniest thing was the sound of Kim laughing hysterically.  I never did get a copy of either video, so they won't be shared on this blog post.  (Believe me, it's for the better!)  Oh well, I had fun dancing to ABBA on stage with Debbie and don't regret a thing!  Grooving with the ABBA holograms was one of the highlights from my time in Stockholm.

Photobomb!

After the rush of performing, it was time to check out the final rooms in the museum.  They contained information about what the four band members did with their careers post-ABBA.  All four musicians are still alive and well, and have gone on to do many more creative things, such as solo careers and producing other musicals, most notably Mama Mia!, the musical and the movie.

The gift shop had everything ABBA

Our final stop was the museum's extensive gift shop.  Any ABBA souvenir you wanted, they probably had and more.  Desiring a memento, I checked out a few t-shirts, but the place didn't have my size.  That was okay - I had taken plenty of photographs of the place and now had fond memories of my fun, but truly terrible musical performances at the ABBA Museum.

I couldn't help but hum "Dancing Queen" on my way out

As we exited the museum, I noticed a large sign proclaiming what must've been their motto - Walk in, Dance out.  I thought that fitting.  Everyone seemed to be in a good mood after visiting.  I know I was! That's the power of an ABBA song.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't help humming "Dancing Queen" to myself on the way out.

Kim and Debbie found a hot dog

Back out outside after spending two-plus hours enjoying all things ABBA, the world had changed.  The Stockholm Marathon course went right by the museum, and while things had been relatively quiet before we went inside, the street was now humming with activity.  We watched the lead group of runners pass by, all of them going incredibly fast for covering 26.2 total miles.

The Stockholm Marathon leaders

The area was full of people - spectators, officials, and volunteers all associated with the marathon.  After the lead pack, runners began streaming down the street.  My friends and I stood on the other side and watched a few of the participants go by.

Gate to Djurgården

Then we three ladies strolled past a large park called the Djurgården, or "animal garden" that was once the Swedish king's private hunting ground.  It looked like a great place to visit, however it was well past lunchtime and all three of us were getting hungry.  We'd gotten a text confirmation that Alicia had arrived at the hotel, so my friends and I decided to go back, collect our fourth group member, and find something to eat.

Lovely day on the water

Well, easier said than done.  As Kim, Debbie and I retracted our steps back through downtown Stockholm, the crowds grew larger, as did the number of marathon runners in the streets.  We avoided the marathon route as long as possible until arriving at one particular street that had to be crossed in order to return to our hotel.  The stream of runners here was so continuous that there was no way to get across at the moment.  There was nothing to do but wait for a break in the action.

Bridge photo op

After sitting and watching the marathon participants for a good 20 minutes, my friends and I began to finally spot gaps in the racers.  Seeing others darting their way through the course, we went for it.

We were delayed by the mass of marathoners

Back at the hotel, Debbie went up to her room and found Alicia fast asleep (she and Alicia had agreed to be roommates for this tour.)  Not wanting to wake her, Kim and I took Debbie to our new favorite Swedish meatball restaurant that we'd discovered yesterday for meatballs, round two!  And they were just as good the second time.

Swedish meatballs again!

After lunch, Debbie, Kim and I hung out in the hotel lobby, chatting and waiting for Alicia to wake up.  Since our Rick Steves tour officially began the next day, we began to meet some of the people who would be part of the tour.  First we met Roy and Nancy from Wyoming, who were a delight.  Then we ran into Rodney, our tour's lone Canadian, and he was very interesting to talk with.  Finally, just in time for dinner, Alicia emerged from her room and joined us.  It was great to see her.  Hooray - the band was back together again!

Evening drinks in a local pub

Debbie had a fondness for Irish pubs.  She also had a knack for finding them in whatever country she happened to be visiting.  After dinner, Debbie proposed we have a drink in the Irish pub she'd spotted on our way back from the ABBA museum.  Everyone agreed that was a fine idea, so down the street we ladies went, in search of the pub.

Alicia is here!

Reaching our Irish pub of choice, we found it packed to the gills with soccer fans watching an important match.  The doorman suggested another pub down the street, which he said would be much quieter.  My friends and I located this second choice establishment, no problem.  After securing a seat, Alicia and I went up to the bar to order drinks.  A man ahead of us in line turned around and asked "Are you Americans?"  Alicia and I replied "Yes, but how could you tell?"  The man commented that he'd heard us speaking English at our table.  Alicia and I ended up having a nice conversation with him and he in turn recommended a Danish lager.  Upon returning to our table, we found Debbie and Kim deep in conversation with the man's girlfriend.  As a matter of fact, Debbie and the woman were in the process of becoming Facebook friends.  We had a wonderful chat with both the man and his girlfriend - they were both Swedish, and lived here in Stockholm.  It was really great to converse with these locals.  Another highlight of my time in Stockholm (although I wish we'd thought to take a selfie with our new Swedish friends.)  

The Ireland travel ladies are back together again

It was fun to have our Ireland travel buddies reunited for another Rick Steves tour.  Tomorrow afternoon, we'd finally gather and meet our guide and fellow tour-mates.  But my friends and I still had the morning and most of the afternoon to see more of Stockholm.  Come back for my next post and see how we spent our third day. 

(Sadly we didn't return to the ABBA Museum......but I'll bet you're humming a bit of "Dancing Queen" now, aren't you?)