i can hear your question. a train? this post isn’t about a train. no, it isn’t. but girl reporter is doing some catch-up blogging while this rollicking train is zipping me across sweden. one would think i would have written 20 posts already since i’ve been on the train for 4.5 hours, but alas i am slow. and there are such green luscious fields and little swedish houses to admire. fields of sheep, wildflowers growing beside the tracks. we pass village after village and they’re all beautiful. oh dear.
the countryside between stockholm and stromstad is not as i imagined. it feels like i tore a page out of a pippi long stocking book. one where she steals a horse and buggy and goes off on an adventure. stopping along the way to involve herself in various scenic mishaps.
or something.
like that.
but no dear reader, this post is about gamla stan, the old center of stockholm.
if you’ve ever googled stockholm chances are that you saw a photo of gamla stan. there are very few other images of stockholm unless you really dig and wade past the zillions of gamla stan shots.
since my metro back from drottningholme made a stop here i hopped off to see what i could see.
to look, as it were, for something i hadn’t already seen online.
i like it when that happens
i like it a lot.
there’s a reason it’s been photographed so much.
the narrow cobbled streets & the golden hued buildings are enchanting. no doubt about it.
and…once you maneuver off the main arteries that are clogged with tourists you can wind your way through the less traveled lanes.
which is what i did.
some hidden pockets of quiet so still you can almost feel the buildings inhaling and exhaling.
i think traveling to new places is all about finding those places that don’t feel like they’ve been trodden over by the masses. of course you know they have, but when you’re the only soul around that’s where the magic begins.
here we have stortorget square. easily THE most photographed part of gamla stan. no less lovely because of it.
i sat with the masses, drank a beer at an outdoor cafe, and took it all in.
then scampered off to see what i could see a bit further from the fray.
in a small residential garden i found this notice!
if you’re swedish do translate this poster for me. while i wait for you i shall make my own interpretation.
my handsome pet bird måsen has gone missing. he took off from the windowsill and i haven’t seen him since. i admire his decision to venture out into the wide world. should you see him please tell him i miss him terribly, but understand his decision to take flight. i would have done the same.
if i were a bird.
goodbye for now! my train is nearly at it’s destination and ingrid will be waiting to collect me in her boat!
i will report back soon with another dispatch.
yours truly
MAM
Almost as good as being there. Thank God you like to blog your travels!
I truly am enjoying all your scampering about. Now you are off for that adventure of swimming I presume? Do take pics as I can hardly wait. I bet the water will be cold……
Stockholm is so beautiful.
I’m enjoying all your photos Mary Ann
and say Hello to Ingrid from me 🙂
I am enjoying this trip so much.I wake up hoping to see something more from your eyes.but then I have enjoyed all your travels,more so because I cannot travel to these places myself,my last trip was to Newtown in Sydney , Australia a few years ago and I could only walk from lamppost to lamppost, puffing madly from my heart/lung condition and taking the sort of pictures you do.I enjoyed it so much but hills and stairs are no longer my friends so I travel with you in spirit,enjoying it all enormously!! Safe travels and Bon Voyage!! Love the hat and the scarf!!!
I’m having so much fun tagging along.
Hey hey.
My personal Swedish translator, who knows ALL the good swear words, says your sign reads: “Thanks for the help! I have flown away big hug from the seagull! See ya!” So MAM–you were damn close! You’re nearly fluent now! Hugs from Cortney.
The train ride was so wonderful. I love seeing the world through your eyes, thank you for your generosity.
Fabulous, wonderful and thank you,
thank you, thank you for sharing and making my day!
Hi MAM, as always, I am enjoying your posts. It is almost as good as being there. ALMOST! 😉 I love how so many of your photos are of the details in what you see. A door knocker, lace curtain in a window, signs….it reminds me of how I like to take pictures when I travel. I have a whole bunch of pictures of doors that I took in Italy and no two are exactly the same. I found the same thing to be true in France. No standard issue doors to be found …especially in the older parts of a town or village. One place we stayed in Amboise was actually named after the blue door in the front of the building. 😉 I keep saying I am going to do a photo display of nothing but doors and door knockers! Another project….LOL
Keep the posts coming. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Amsterdam when you posted a picture of the buildings in Stockholm. I think that is one of the coolest things about traveling…that once you’ve traveled a bit you can spot similarities in another place.
I am loving this! Thank you my intrepid explorer! Xo
Oh, the lace in the window curtain. I’m so glad that we stopped to take a closer look. Then the squiggles and scrolls of the ironwork and the painted on latch! You’re such a pleasure to travel with. A train and a boat? Heaven.
being a sponge and enjoying every post, as always you find the best nooks and crannies where ever you go and your photos easily fill in the blanks, thanks for sharing all of this with us. Have a blast with Ingrid!!!!
That first photo would make an excellent sketch. The color saturation is sublime. All those lovely door and numbers. Just beautiful. I’m really enjoying your trek in Sweden. But alas! to photos of the meals you had in this lovely city??? Please don’t tell me you didn’t eat.
Can’t wait to hear about the visit with Ingrid. This should be a party!
Such fun we (YOU) are having! This is my first trip to Sweden, too, and it is all new and all lovely. Continue of, Girl Reporter. I will check my decoder ring to see if there are any secret messages hidden in your latest post…..
XO
I am so enjoying your posts and being taken along for the boat ride at your side, but oh, I do love a train ride too!! Although in all the excitement, I thought Barbara said “3 clowns in a circle” in her comment above and I had to look at the pictures again to find the clowns. Oops! 😉 Looking forward to “our” visit with Ingrid!
I’m amazed you can get one post in while on vacation in such a scenic location, let alone several! But dearest MAM, I do THANK YOU for doing so. I am living vicariously through you right now, escaping my work day, almost every day, and traveling throughout Sweden through your eyes. The buildings, the flowers, the water and so much more. Soaking it all up with glee. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Fly free little birdie!! You might love that exquisite pink building….perfect perch for people watching. I am so enjoying girl reporter posts;)))))))
Missy from the bayou
Mary Ann…you need a phone app. I have one called Word Lens but mine just translates Spanish. Not sure if you can get it for other languages. You hold the phone up to a sign and it translates it right there. Though I’m sure you’re getting along quite fine without it anyway. Great post as always.
Great translation from the bird missing post. I don’t know Swedish, but Ingrid will tell you how close you were. Say Hello to Ingrid from me in Texas. Oh, wouldn’t the 3 crowns in a circle make a lovely stencil? Which is probably how it was done. Love the doors and door numbers.