Royal Palace sprint in Stockholm
The snow has finally melted but they brought it back for the event. We swedes just can’t get enough of snow. Royal Palace sprint in Stockholm today. Part of the world cup and we get this prime view from our office window in Old town. Not bad?
There is a sad little Stockholm figure sitting just outside of Rosenbad (Prime Minister’s Office and the Government Chancellery in Sweden) right before the bridge leading to Gamla stan (the Old Town) and Riksdagshuset (the Parliament building). The first thought might be to look away but if you dare to rest your eyes on it for a moment you’ll soon realize it’s a sculpture.
Rag and bone with a blanket in Stockholm. Sculpture by Laura Ford.
Photo: Michel Alessandrini, (CC BY NC SA)
Hemlös räv (Homeless fox) is created by artist and sculptor Laura Ford and was bought by Stockholm konst in 2008. To decide where in Stockholm to place the sculpture, a vote organised by Situation Sthlm (a Stockholm-based newspaper which discusses homelessness, sold by homeless people) took place. During three weeks in May 2009, Situation Sthlm’s readers got to vote where to put the sculpture. The result was the street corner where Drottninggatan and Strömgatan meet, right in the vicinity of the most influential circles in Sweden. The little homeless fox sits there, night and day, like a constant reminder that there are still improvements to make in the Swedish welfare society.
Since I am a mother of a 3 year old and living in Stockholm I thought it might be an idea to share my favorite spots in my home town. When we visited Amsterdam last spring I realized how difficult it can be to find “child friendly places in the city” without guidance.
So, these are my – very subjective – personal favorites:
Aspuddsparken (note the hen hiding in the right corner).
1. Aspuddsparken. This park in the suburb Aspudden is a great place for a summer day. There are several playgrounds for different ages, a huge park and lots of sweet animals. There’s also a small self service café. This park is open all through the year and costs nothing to visit. http://www.aspuddsparken.se
2. Rum för barn (Room for Children). On the fourth floor at Kulturhuset (the Culture House), right in the city centre at Sergels Torg there is a fantastic creative room where children can read books, play, paint etc. It doesn’t cost anything to enter but it can be really crowded, especially in the weekends. http://www.kulturhuset.stockholm.se 
3. Junibacken. On the Island Djurgården, which is possible to reach by bus, a quick walk over the bridge or a short boat trip, you will find this beautiful story book house. Here the children can play in Pippi Longstocking’s house and meet all the characters from the classic Swedish childrens books. It’s fairly expensive to enter though and since it’s all indoors it can be rather crowed in the holidays and weekends. But it’s well worth a visit. Not least thanks to the amazing storybook train. http://www.junibacken.se
4. Naturhistoriska museet (The Swedish Museum for Natural History). This is a fantastic museum for the whole family. There are various exhibitions and often with a lot of interaction and try-it-yourself-activities. www.nrm.se
5. Rosendals trädgård (Rosendals Garden) on the island of Djurgården. This is an open garden, with the main purpose of presenting biodynamic (organic) garden cultivation. It’s not really intended for children but since there are lots of green grass and apple trees it’s a great “running around place”. There is also a fantastic café and bakery. It costs nothing to enter. http://www.rosendalstradgard.se/
Any tips to other places that I have missed are very welcome!
/Cecilia
Colour by Numbers at Telefonplan, Stockholm.
We don’t have that many hours of daylight in the Winter (the other way around in the summer though), but to compensate we’re the world champions of lightning! If you ever been to a Swedish home you’re very likely to see tealights, candles and number of lamps. And what about outside? Well actually you don’t have to worry about getting lost in the dark, so leave that flashlight at home. Streetlight 24/7 of course, but there are also innovative exceptions. At Telefonplan (“Telephone Square”) in the suburbs of Stockholm, where I live, there’s a creation that not only makes art out of light, but also let you alter it online! Telefonplan has been an innovative area for a long time. The area used to be the main location for one of Sweden’s largest companies Ericsson (widely known for the Sony Ericsson mobile phones). Now you find Konstfack or University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in the former factory premises.
You can actually use your mobile phone to control the lights in a permanent light installation in the tower at Telefonplan. The installation is called Colour by Numbers and is a collaboration between the architect Milo Lavén, the artist Erik Krikortz and the interaction designer Loove Broms. Check out that link and try to alter the tower. Not in Stockholm? For you’re convenience there is also a live cam.
In May this year, Jamie Oliver went to Stockholm to try out the Swedish cuisine.
In the first part Jamie visits an indoor food market, makes Gravad lax and after riding a speed boat through the Stockholm archipelago he ends up in the forest to pick blueberries and mushrooms.
In part two we get to see more coffee and cakes, and when Jamie bakes blueberry buns it’s easy to understand why Swedes love their fika.
After experiencing fermented herring in the third part of the program Jamie tries out the food at a Swedish canteen together with the Royal guards.
In the fourth and last part of the program, Jamie fishes for crayfish and get to experience a real Swedish crayfish party, hats and singing – the whole shebang!
Here you find Jamies recipes and at Sweden.se we have all the recipes you need to make the Swedish culinary classics.
…is Sweden.se’s very own outlet of individual opinion. We all work at the Swedish Institute in Stockholm, with our offices right next to the Royal Palace in the Old Town. But what is said here does not necessarily represent the views of the Swedish Institute.