All Saints' Day at Skogskyrkogården

All Saints' Day is celebrated in Sweden this year on the 3rd of November and the best place to celebrate this holiday is at the beautiful Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogården). This cemetery, designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site... which denotes a place of special cultural or physical significance.

(c) Susanne Hallmann, Kyrkogårdsförvaltningen Stockholms stad

On this day many Swedes come to the cemetery to place lit candles on the graves of loved ones or light candles in general for loved ones who have passed. The Woodland Cemetery is a beautiful place year-round, but with all of the candles lit it becomes a magical place. On November 3rd they have longer opening hours: 10am to 8pm instead of 11am to 4pm for the rest of the week. There will also be choir and organ concerts in the Chapel of the Holy Cross (Heliga Korsets Kapell) between 3pm and 7pm. Just remember that it is a working cemetery and that you remain respectful of other visitors. Another tip... bring a flashlight if possible. The sun does set at around 3:50pm!

(c) Susanne Hallmann, Kyrkogårdsförvaltningen Stockholms stad

The cemetery is located on the southern outskirts of Stockholm and is easy to reach by subway. From the Rival Hotel you take the subway from Slussen, south in the direction of Farsta Strand. The cemetery has its own subway stop: Skogskyrkogård. Just follow the signs after exiting the station...

Drottningholm Palace

Drottningholm Palace!

My parents are currently visiting me and the other day I decided to take them to one of my favorite places to visit: Drottningholm Palace. Not only is the palace the current residence of the king and queen of Sweden, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site (one of three in Stockholm). The palace was built in the late 1600's and is a great example of European architecture of this period.

Interior of palace. Photo by: Alexis Daflos

While it is open for the public year-round, it is during the summer that one really should visit the palace. They have more generous opening hours (daily from May through September) during the summer and it is also the best time to explore the beautiful gardens surrounding the palace. The gardens are massive and contain both French & English influences, as well as fountains, sculptures, waterfalls, hedges and groves. On the grounds you will also find the Chinese Pavillion, built in 1753 by King Adolf Fredrik, and Drottningholm Theatre.

Part of the Chinese Pavillion complex

Another great reason to visit Drottningholm during the summer is the trip to the palace itself. Drottningholm Palace is located on an island in Lake Mälaren on the western outskirts of Stockholm. While you can get there from the city by a combination of subway and bus, the best way is by boat! The sightseeing company Strömma runs boat trips out to the palace all summer long. The boats (historic, turn of the century ships) depart from the pier adjacent to City Hall and the trip takes just under an hour.

Looking back at palace from the gardens

The boat ride takes you through the suburbs and countryside and is very relaxing & enjoyable, especially on a sunny day. On board you will find a restaurant and café. During the high season the boats depart every half hour which gives you the flexibility of spending the full day or just an afternoon at the palace. A round trip ticket costs 175 SEK and one can also purchase a combination ticket which includes entrance to the palace (320 SEK). If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, contact me and I can help you with booking tickets! Pictures taken by me, unless marked otherwise.

Strömma's boat to Drottningholm

Tourist Season is Gearing Up!

Just in time for the Easter Holidays... three sure signs that the tourist season will soon be upon us! The first sign comes tomorrow (March 30th) when the Strömma boat tour to Drottningholm Palace starts up for the season. The boat tours will be operating on Fridays to Sundays until April 27th, when they start operating on a daily basis. Drottningholm, the home of the Swedish king & queen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a great place to visit. The boat trip is half the fun and a wonderful way to see Stockholm.

Drottningholm. Photo by Gomer Swahn

The second sign... the start of the City Bike season (April 1st). A great and inexpensive way to see Stockholm! I will be writing more about this next week, but in the meantime you can check what I wrote last year. The Rival Hotel will be selling the card again this year (only to our hotel guests).

City Bikes

The third sign? Restaurants, bars and cafés all over Stockholm are opening up their outdoor seating areas. Apparently more restaurants than ever have applied for licenses to have outdoor seating this year! The Rival Hotel will be opening the Bistro balcony and Café outdoor seating on April 2nd... come snow, rain or sunshine! See you there!

Café Rival

Skogskyrkogården (Woodland Cemetery)

Skogskyrkogården is a large, forrested cemetery just south of Stockholm. You might be wondering why I would recommend visiting a cemetery while in Stockholm, but Skogskyrkogården is, in fact, a UNESCO World Heritage site (a place of significant natural or cultural value). Completed in 1920, the cemetery was designed by Swedish architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz blending architecture with the natural landscape to create a wonderfully tranquil enviroment. I love coming here in the autumn, taking a long walk through the grounds... admiring the architecture as well as the natural beauty. Be aware that it is a "working" cemetery and they have around 2,000 burials per year, so be respectful of any services in progress. Unfortunately, the visitors' center and guided tours are only open/available during the summer months. But this doesn't mean you can't explore on your own! You can download a visitors' guide (complete with map) from their website in pdf-form. Of special interest for many is the grave site of Swedish actress Greta Garbo. One of the most popular days to visit the cemetery is All Saints/Hallows Day, but, once again, remember to be respectful of the people there visiting family graves. It is quite easy to get to the cemetery from the Rival Hotel. Just take the subway from Slussen, green line going south in the direction of Farsta Strand. Exit at Skogskyrkogård station (about a 10 minute trip) and turn right as you leave the station. The entrance is 100 meters on the right hand side.
Gunnar Asplund, a representative of Swedish neo-classical architecture, is one of the most influential modernist Swedish architects. Besides Skogskyrkogård, another of his major works can be found in the city... The Stockholm Public Library. The library is located just north of the downtown area on Sveavägen. The closest subway station is Odenplan (green line).

Day Trip - Birka (Viking Town)

Rounding out my weekend as tour guide for my friend visiting from Wales... we took a trip to Birka for the day. Birka is considered to be Sweden's first town and was active (750-960 A.D.) in the Viking Age with a population of about 700 people at its height (around 3,000 graves have been found). Birka was an important trading center as seen by grave items found originating in the Middle-East and mainland Europe. Archaeologists don't know exactly why the town was abandoned, but, at about the same time, nearby Sigtuna rose in importance. Birka is located on the island of Björkö in lake Mälaren, about an hour and 45 minute boat ride inland from Stockholm. During the Viking Age the water level was much higher and Birka was directly connected to the Baltic Sea.

Today the island and archaeological site are on UNESCO's World Heritage list. If you go to Birka expecting to see the fabulous ruins of an ancient city like Machu Pichu, you will be disappointed. Birka was built mainly of wood and all that is left are the grave mounds and black earth and it takes a little imagination to envision what the town once looked like. Fortunately visitors are helped first by visiting the on-site museum where they have miniature replicas of what the town may have looked like as well as eager and knowledgable tour guides who take you through the grave fields and the site of where the town once stood. A recent addition to the site is a life size replica of part of the town, complete with working Vikings. It is made up of 4 or 5 dwellings, gardens and boats. The Vikings go about their business doing their daily chores including smithy work. One week in July they set up a Viking market as well. In my opinion it is the tour guides who make the trip extra special. They are all archaeology students and you can feel their passion for their work. There are hour long tours in both Swedish and English as well as a later tour designed for children. Speaking of which, this is a great trip to take children on! I sent a family of four from Germany there last week and it was a big hit. Otherwise I recommend this day trip for nature and history lovers alike...

Strömma is the company that runs the tours. They leave daily (mid May to mid September) from City Hall at 9:30am and you are back in town at 5pm (this gives you almost 4 hours on the island- enough time to take the tour, visit the museum and have lunch). There is a cafe on board the boat as well as a restaurant on the island. The cost of the tour is 295 SEK, half off for children between 6 and 11. Included in the price is the boat trips (with on board guide), museum entrance and guided tour of the island.