Checking out Stockholm - Gamla Stan

Instead of spending Reunification in Berlin, I took off to Sweden for a long weekend. I packed in a number of things including two city walking tours in one day! Stockholm is divided into a number of areas (and 16 islands!), each with its own uniqueness. 

I started with the Old Town tour which is known as Gamla Stan. While the tour doesn't start here, it is where it really begins - Gustav Adolfs Torg square. This is considered the centre of Stockholm thus all distances are measured from this point.

The statue in the middle of the square is of Gustav II Adolfs who ruled Sweden from 1611 to 1632. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders of all time and is given credit for making Sweden a Great Power - particularly during the Thirty Years war. The square also houses the Opera House and a number of government ministries. 

Across the street is the Royal Palace which was our next stop. The palace is undergoing renovations so the photos are not very comprehensive.

Mostly the tour guide focused on the current royal family and that they all married commoners - best way is too be super rich. The one historical story he covered was that of Princess Margaret of Connaught, first wife of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf. Crown Princess Margareta had trouble  with her ears and during this time, while expecting her sixth child, she passed away from what is believed to be a stroke on 1 May 1920.  Prime Minister Hjalmar Branting who was holding his 1 May speech on Gärdet, and announced to the crowd: “Our Crown Princess is dead”. There are numerous stories about her haunting the area, including from the church instead the compound, and possibly something related to her husband never having children again but it seems these are just stories.

Past the castle in a small courtyard near the Finnish Church there is the smallest statue in Stockholm. Järnpojke or Iron Boy is sitting so he looks at the moon and apparently if you rub his head and leave something for him while making a wish, your wish will come true. In the winter they even put a scarf and toque on him.

Next stop on the tour was Stortorget square. It is the oldest square in Stockholm and probably he most famous. One of the buildings in the square has a cannonball in it which rumour has it dates back to the Stockholm Bloodbath in 1520, when it was fired at the Danish king Christian Tyrant. 

From there we winded our way through the smaller streets of the area to see some older homes which still keep their original looks and styles. We even went down the narrowest street in the city!

With not stop in between, it was off to Söder . . .