Onward to Denmark

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

Day three of my Rick Steves tour and it was time to bid Stockholm a fond farewell.  But before our group departed, there was one last place on the agenda to visit, Stockholm's impressive City Hall.

Time to get on the bus!

My friends and I, along with the rest of our tour-mates, packed our bags and boarded a waiting bus.  Stockholm's City Hall was too far of a walk, and we had a train to catch afterwards.

Stockholm's impressive City Hall

It was another gorgeous blue-sky day as our bus arrived at the parking area for Stockholm City Hall.  We queued behind a line of motor coaches all unloading tour groups.  This place was popular!

Artwork in the park next to city hall

Guide Nina led us towards a massive brick building.  Vines covered part of the outer walls and a tall tower anchored one end.  A beautiful park, meticulously landscaped and displaying several statues, occupied the space between City Hall and the waters of Lake Mälaren.  The building itself had a commanding location, sited on a corner of land bordered by a river and the lake.

 

The grand entrance

My tour-mates and I were led into City Hall's inner courtyard and gathered by the building entrance.  And what an entrance it was!  A wide, stone staircase led visitors to the doors.  Several sculptures inset into the building's brick facade adorned the space above.  Ornate ironwork decorated many of the adjacent windows.  Flowering bushes added a pop of color to the scene.

Gaping at the building while waiting to go in

It was here we waited for our tour to begin.  I didn't mind the wait - I was too busy gaping at the building and of course taking photos!

One of many sculptures inset into the brick facade

Built in 12 years, between 1911 and 1923, it took 8 million red bricks to construct Stockholm's immense City Hall building.  Normally used for construction of monasteries and churches, these distinctive red bricks were called "munktegel" (monk's brick.)

Lotti came too!

 Finally we were ushered inside and greeted by a familiar face who was to be our morning's guide - Håkan! He'd done such a great job on the previous day's city tour, everyone was delighted to see him again.

 

The Blue Hall

The first stop was a large room on the building's interior.  It looked like an enclosed courtyard.  Brick walls rose from all sides and the floor was a beautiful mosaic of gray-hued stone.  Ironically called the "Blue Hall," there wasn't any blue to be found.  Håkan explained that the original plans had called for the walls to be plastered and painted blue.  However, the architect changed his mind during construction when he saw the beautiful red bricks and couldn't bear to cover them.  However, this room had already been christened "Blue Hall," so the name stuck.

This room is where the Nobel Banquet is held

The "Blue Hall" has many functions, but the most famous is hosting the Nobel Prize Banquet.  This event takes place on December 10th every year.  With over 1,200 invited guests, it's the most sought after social invitation in Sweden.

The Upper level

Pretty much everyone has heard of the Nobel Prize.  Established by the will of Alfred Nobel, who made a fortune from inventing dynamite, the Nobel Foundation annually awards prizes in six fields:  Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.  On one of the walls surrounding the Blue Hall hung a large replica of the Nobel Prize Medal.

Replica of the Nobel Prize medal

After taking in the grandeur of the Blue Hall, Håkan led our group up a large staircase to the building's second level.

Up an impressive staircase

We walked through a hallway lined with pictures of many people.  Håkan said that these represented the craftsmen who worked on the City Hall building.  Instead of hanging pictures of politicians, the people of Stockholm honored the people who created this remarkable structure.  I'd say the Swedes had the right attitude towards their hard-working citizens.

City council chambers

Our next stop on the City Hall tour was inside the elaborate City Council Chamber.  The dominant color theme here was red - red upholstered chairs, red curtains, red carpet.  It was quite striking.

Håkan explains the Swedish government

The room's ceiling was also unique.  It was made up of large wooden beams elegantly painted with motifs that represented Stockholm.  Håkan said the ceiling beams were supposed to resemble either a Viking longhouse or an overturned Viking boat.

Ceiling decor

From Håkan we learned that the Stockholm City Council is made up of 101 members, all who also have regular day jobs.  Due to this, City Council meetings are held in the evenings.  That's why this room was empty during the day.  (However, my Swiss cow, Lotti was more than happy to step in for them!)

Lotti pretends to be a lawmaker

We then walked through a series of hallways, all showcasing different types of artwork.

A room full of tapestries

In one area, colorful tapestries lined the walls.

Selfie time!

Another was lined with frescos.  Elegant chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

More elegance

Our tour's grand finale was a visit to the "Golden Hall."  This was a huge ballroom covered with gold-hued mosaic tile.

The Golden Hall was the most amazing place

And oh, was it an amazing sight!  All four walls were covered floor-to-ceiling with intricate mosaics, made up of tiny tiles with glittering golden color woven in.  The mosaics all depicted events or persons from Swedish history.

The walls were made up of mosaics

Håkan took us along one of the walls, and explained several of the subjects depicted in the mosaics.

Håkan explains one of the mosaics

The mosaic below told the story of Gustav Adolph (sorry about the candles in the middle - it was the best shot I could get!)

Another stunning mosaic

This Golden Hall is used for the Nobel Prize Ball, which is held after the banquet.  Can you imagine dancing in such a beautiful place?  I'd love to be a fly on the wall during one of these yearly events.

The back wall of the Gold Room

As we were guided out of the Golden Hall and back out to the balcony overlooking the Blue Hall, Håkan mentioned that for the Swedes choosing to get married, Stockholm City Hall is a very popular place to tie the knot.  The City Hall hosts about 70 weddings on an average Saturday.

Looking down onto the Blue Room

Wow, that had to be the fanciest city hall I'd ever seen!  What an amazing building.  I was thankful our Rick Steves tour had managed to squeeze this visit into our final morning in Stockholm.

Outside City Hall

Our trip through Stockholm City Hall now finished, my tour-mates and I thanked Håkan again for his expert guidance and bid him a sad goodbye.  After exiting through the gift shop, we had about 10 minutes to peruse the outside park before it was time to leave.

Looking out towards the water

I'd enjoyed every bit of my four days in Stockholm.  It was a stunning city, very walkable, with many things to see and do.  The people was so friendly and mellow.  I could see why my friend Debbie said it was her very favorite city in Europe.  It was now mine too!

The building was just as impressive on the exterior

But now it was time to journey to our next destination, Copenhagen.  Instead of traveling by bus, our tour was utilizing the Swedish rail system.  After being deposited at Stockholm's train station, guide Nina said we had about 25 minutes to grab a sandwich and munchies before our scheduled departure.

All aboard!

Our train tickets were in the first class section.  Nina had randomly assigned everyone's places, so Kim and I were delighted to score forward-facing seats with a huge table.  

Train ride to Copenhagen

Our train to Malmö, Sweden was scheduled to take five hours.  Because of construction, the rail service wasn't able to continue into Copenhagen, so from Malmö we'd board another bus that would take us the rest of the way.  

Enjoying Danish treats

At first I thought "Ugh, five hours on a train, this will be so boring!"  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the journey quite enjoyable.  Unlike being sequestered in a bus, we were free to move about the train cars.  Everything was very spacious and quite comfortable.  Kim and I chatted, snacked, did puzzles (Kim) and listened to a podcast (me.)  To keep us happy, Nina passed out a few Danish treats.  Time passed quickly.

We made it!

Even though it had been a pleasant trip, I was quite happy when our train pulled into the Malmö station.

The train station restroom charged an "entrance fee"

After we all piled out and grabbed our luggage, Nina directed our tour group towards the station "WC."  Even though there had been restrooms on the train, quite a few us took advantage of these facilities.  (Since one never knew when or where the next restroom might be, my motto was "Go when you can.")  I was amused that the train station WC's charged a 10 kronor "entrance fee."  The term made me giggle.  They made it sound like you were getting in to someplace good, like a museum or amusement park. 

But the ladies room had a nice aquarium

The ladies room did have a nice aquarium hanging from one wall.  And the place was clean and well-stocked.  I guess these amenities were worth the price of admission!

Waiting in the Malmö train station

After everyone took care of business, we caught another bus that took us through Malmö's rush-hour traffic and across a long bridge spanning the Baltic Sea.  About halfway across the bridge, my phone pinged a "welcome to Denmark" message.  I'd arrived in my second Scandinavian country.  Being a quarter Danish (my grandmother's family emigrated to the US from Denmark) I was excited to be here.

Our hotel in Copenhagen

I wasn't the only person excited to be in Denmark.  Our tour guide Nina was Danish, and had grown up in Copenhagen.  You could sense the excitement and pride in her voice as she pointed out several Copenhagen landmarks on the way to our hotel.

We were right across the street from the Nyhavn Canal

Our hotel was located in the heart of the city, right across from the Nyhavn District.  The photographer in me was excited to see the colorful buildings of Nyhavn, old sailor's quarters now remodeled into trendy shops and restaurants.

Colorful buildings lined the canal

After getting settled into our rooms, Nina had the group assemble in the hotel courtyard for an orientation walk through town, where we'd eventually end up at the restaurant hosting tonight's dinner. 

The sandwich I'd scarfed down at 11:30 am on the train had long since left my stomach, so I was more than ready for dinner.  But it turned out to be quite a long trek to the restaurant.  First, we walked along Nyhavn Canal, to a large green park bookended by several important buildings.  

Lovely park in Copenhagen

One thing that immediately stood out to me about Copenhagen - the large number of bicycles.  They were everywhere!  Due to its lack of hills, the city made a great place to zip around on two wheels.  And zip those cyclists did - you didn't dare set foot in the bike lane or you might get run over!  Even stepping over the lane to cross a street had me swiveling my head in both directions. 

Hans Christian Anderson paid our group a visit

After the park, our group turned and walked along the Strøget, Copenhagen's famous wide pedestrian street lined with all types of retail stores.  Located in the center of Copenhagen's old city, it had the distinction of being one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe.  It continued for blocks and blocks!  The area was all very interesting, but my tummy was growling fiercely.  Where was that restaurant?

A rose for Nina

Finally Nina led us to a large open square surrounded by buildings.  She pointed to a small yellow building on one of the streetcorners, and said "This is our restaurant."  Hooray!  By now I was hungry enough to eat a horse.  But apparently the restaurant wasn't quite ready for our group.  So we stood in the center of the plaza, waiting to be invited inside.

Telling us the story of "The Little Mermaid"

It was then an older man dressed in a top hat and long black jacket approached our group, asking for Nina.  The man handed Nina a single rose and introduced himself as Hans Christian Anderson, the famous Danish children's author.  "Hans" directed our group to sit down on the steps of a nearby building and began to talk to us about several of his well-known fairy tales.

A toast -Skål!

Both Debbie and I were hugely disappointed that our meal had been delayed.  Although the actor playing Hans Christian Anderson did a great job and was totally in character, I would've enjoyed him more after dinner.  But there was nothing we could do - so I sat and listened to "Hans" tell the story of the "Little Mermaid," one of his most famous works.  And no, not the Disney version - his tale had a much different ending!

Finally after "Hans" had told stories for a long half hour, he passed out tiny cups and we all enjoyed a nip of akvavit (Danish schnapps.)  And I learned that in Scandinavia when one toasts, instead of saying "cheers" one instead shouts "Skål!"

Finally dinner!

Finally dinnertime!  Our tour group was ushered into the restaurant - hooray!  The wait staff immediately took our drink orders and placed a plate of shrimp in front of each person at my table.  By now so very hungry, I practically inhaled this appetizer.  Most folks had ordered salmon, but for some reason I'd chosen the pork tenderloin.  However I was so ravenous by that point that everything tasted great.  My friends and I shared the table with tour-mates Rodney, Howard, and Myrna, and our guide Nina.  After filling our bellies, we all enjoyed dessert and good conversation.

Lotti helping me with my beer

After dinner, Nina told the group we were free to make our way back to the hotel on our own.  Before setting out to see a bit more of Copenhagen, I had my friends pose outside the restaurant.  See how much happier we look when we've been fed!

My friends outside the restaurant

My friends and I wandered back along the Strøget, checking out the many different shops, some of which were still open.  On the bus earlier that day Nina had explained to us the Danish concept of "hygge" which is embraced by the Danes to describe a cozy, comfortable state.  It was apparently a big thing in Denmark, as I passed by a couple of "hygge" stores that specifically sold items catering to all things warm and fuzzy.

A shop that sold nothing but rubber ducks

Also, I discovered rubber ducks were popular items in Denmark.  We spotted several stores that sold nothing but the little duckies, of all shapes, sizes, and varieties.  

Evening drink at an Irish pub

As mentioned in a previous post, Debbie loves Irish pubs, and has a knack for finding them in every country she visits.  Tonight, she spotted one right along the Strøget and of course we had to drop in for a pint.  Kim and I were dismayed to find out that due to a Scandinavia-wide shortage, the place didn't have any Guinness!  What kind of Irish pub was this?  We settled upon some other type of red ale and enjoyed the raucous atmosphere before retracing our steps back to the hotel.

Time to get some shut-eye!  Nina had another full day planned tomorrow for our tour group, with a morning walking tour and evening trip to the famous Tivoli Gardens Amusement park.  Stay tuned for a full recap in my next post.