A Grand Tour

We became tourists today.  Helen purchased a 3-hour combination bus/boat ride around Stockholm called the Grand Tour from a local tour operator. We have enjoyed exploring our new Swedish homeland with evening and weekend “walk abouts,” but this tour was a convenient way to quickly expand our knowledge of Stockholm history and widen the range of city streets that we have explored.

Saturday’s weather was absolutely perfect. We ambled from our apartment to the tour’s starting point at Gustav Adolfs Torg (plaza) just north of the old city (Gamla Stan).  We arrived with plenty of time to spare, so we walked around the “tourist” heart of Gamla Stan.

We mixed with other tourists peering into shop windows and absorbing the charm of buildings constructed in the 1700 to 1800’s.  Narrow streets gave way to open squares.  Everywhere open air cafés competed for walking space.  European charm does not get any better.

It was then onto our bus, which  was equipped with headsets and options to select from up to eight languages to hear the recorded tour messages.  

We motored first to Södermalm, an old working class district that is now a hip and happening address.  It was then over to Kungsholmen, where in the 15^th century the church owned all the land, but is now a comfortable residential location.  We continued to Östermalm, home to the truly upscale and location of Stockholm’s cultural treasure, the Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern (Royal Dramatic Theater).  It was in this theater that Ingmar Bergman made his debut and Greta “I want to be alone” Garbo got her start.  The tour wound its way to Djurgården, the old royal hunting grounds, now a lush green parkland, before dropping us off to catch the boat.

Offered by the same tour company, we found the same headset and language selections on the boat.  We also discovered that the recorded tour message repeated some of the historic lore heard on the bus.  The boat pushed back into the waters of the Baltic Sea, but soon we passed through the lock system to Lake Mälaren where we motored about several of the 14 islands that make up Stockholm. 

Viewing Stockholm from the water gave us a new perspective. Seeing the stately and elegant homes along Strandvägen (Beach Road) in Östermalm from the water provided a more appreciative view of the grace of European architecture than seen from street level.  We also caught an image of “elderly Europe meets modern day Miami Vice” when  a brightly colored cigarette boat sped by. 

As we motored along shorelines, we saw Swedes enjoying kayaking, swimming, sunbathing and leisurely meals at water edge cafés. 
A wonderful day being in Stockholm.