I really hit the culture today. I went to the Historiska Museet or, as it is so well translated, The Museum of National Antiquities, for another field trip with the class. They have a whole lot of Sweden crammed into that building. It was a good time but it was tough trying to follow the field trip from last week to the actual site of the Vikings. After that I headed over to Kulturhuset with DCP, BMW, ATM. We checked out a weird Japanese photo exhibit by Nobuyoshi Araki and then the Jan Stenmark exhibit which was pretty glorious. Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes intense, sometimes dark, it was just very good. Completely in Swedish though which was tough for the non-Swedish speakers but we seemed to manage ok.
I’ve complained about some things about living in Stockholm like expensive groceries and the justice system but when it comes down to it, I’m loving living here. It’s amazing what the city has to offer. I don’t know if this is someplace I would want to live the rest of my life but it’s a hell of a ride right now. All this culture made me realize how great it is to live in a big city. I mean I went from a building with prehistoric artifacts in it to another building with Polaroid pictures of cats and lizards. It was incredible. Having so much at your fingertips is an amazing feeling and one which I haven’t really had before considering my past areas of residence. And the fact that Kulturhuset was free just really put the icing on the cake. Because, as my adventures in grocery shopping have demonstrated, I’m kind of cheap.
I’m not sure if cultural activities were considered when rating Stockholm the most livable city in the world but I have been incredibly impressed by what Stockholm has to offer. Enough museums to fill a couple of month’s worth of your time (I think about 80), photo exhibits (both indoor and out), art exhibit (again, both indoor and out), I mean hell, today they even hauled in a bunch of snow and had snowboarders riding rails in the middle of town at Sergels Torg. That’s just an incredible mixture of activities to choose from. If you’re willing to explore a little, it’s hard not to find something to do.
For those of you who haven’t done so yet, check out Kulturhuset right by Sergels Torg. It’s free and has quite a few exhibits right now. If anyone else in the Stockholm area has some ideas for free or inexpensive activities like this I’d love to hear them!
Hello there, I've been reading your posts for awhile now but haven't said hello because I was too lazy to sign up with Google. *wry smile*
ReplyDeleteNow I have, and now I can officially say HELLO! Welcome back to Sweden? I've been here 5 years myself and I'm still getting to know the culture / the people, the festivals (my favourite!). I hail from Singapore. *smile*
Cheers,
Cheryl Marie Cordeiro
there's this stockholm tourist card that gives you access to lots of tourist spots and museums within a week or something like that. i don't remember how much but it was really worth it. but i would recommend doing this during the summer. i guess you've been to this Vasa ship museum? That one is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking the blog out! Be sure to leave some comments and let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteI love the Stockholm card idea. I've heard about it but never actually talked to someone who has used it. I think you're right though. That might be something worth saving for the summer.