Sweden Travel - Stockholm

... Ah, but we have already found it... for the city of Stockholm is spread over many islands as well as a section of the mainland. How many islands... I do not know.
I'm not entirely sure anyone can say for certain. I have been told 13. And 14.
And 20. And other figures all the way up to 50 islands, which may seem to be stretching it a bit, but looked at in a certain way, may be closest to the truth. Stockholm is one end of an archipelago of more than 20,000 islands and smaller pieces of land called skerries that march all the way to the Baltic Sea.

But no matter. It's all quite friendly, and much of the dry land is tied together by bridges and tunnels. After a while you will hardly notice where one island ends and another begins. It is all the beautiful European city of Stockholm.

Stockholm competes with Amsterdam for the title of Venice of the North, but it is singular in its desire to be known as The Queen of Malaren (it is situated on Lake Maleren's estuary). 2002 celebrates the 750th anniversary of the city, busy all year long with various events and festivals. Every year, July sees the Stockholm Summer Games, with tens of thousands of young people competing in every sport imaginable. You can watch everything from swimming races to basketball games, ultimate frisbee duels to miniature golf competitions, in venues from the Olympic Stadium to the new Eriksdalsbadet
Swimming Center.

If you wonder why this winter wonderland has such a hot sports season in summer, you will be surprised to find that summertime can be quite temperate (at least by Nordic standards) and there is a portion of the season known for its White Nights, when the sun shines all night long, or nearly all night.

In late summer, there is the Water Festival, which usually lasts about 10 days and features more than a thousand events. Old Town Stockholm hosts a special festival shopping area with street restaurants and outdoor movies. At night, fireworks emblazon the sky with man-made aurora borealis. All this is under the control of the City Council, which is a direct decendant of the old 'advisory council' of the 13th century, called the Magistraten, that ruled Stockholm along with a Sheriff appointed by the King.

Perhaps the combination of summer sun frenzy and winter weather that is best suited for indoor activities is responsible for the incredible proliferation of museums in Stockholm, and a very delightful amusement park called Skansen.

More about Skansen later. Right now, let's talk museums.
Here are just a few, along with their websites.
(pics below also include the
Rosenbad Cabinet building
and "Noble House")

Nordic Museum was created to portray the "collective memory of the Swedish people".

Vasa Museum is one of the finest maritime museums in the world. Some think it the finest, but you can judge for yourself. This is where the Vasa Royal Warship from the 17th century is showcased. It sank in Stockholm Harbor on its maiden voyage.

Liljevalchs Art Gallery on Djurgarden island, is just one of Sweden's highly acclaimed galleries. This is where Picasso and Matisse were introduced to Sweden before WWII.

... and there are SO many more. More than 12 dozen, by actual count. The National Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Natural History, the Postal Service Museum, the Medical History Museum, the Science and Technology Museum. The list goes on and on.

And so shall we... to more of Stockholm.
Click here and we will continue our tour of Sweden.

Or if you would like to see what kind of travel packages
you can currently get for Sweden and Scandinavia, Click here for Rail Europe. They have been serving the American market since 1934. They have helped more than 1 million american travelers a year spend 215,000,000.00 US Dollars on their plans. I can not recommend them highly enough. They are the best.

Sweden travel on informationeurope.com to Stockholm is a scandinavian treat. But to actually travel the real Sweden, just click the excellent Sweden travel links above. They are your entry to the delights of Stockholm and all of Sweden.

And for very inexpensive car rentals all over Europe, I think the best source is Carrentals.co.uk. They have over 4,000 rental car hire locations worldwide.

Visit our Europe Travel webstore featuring Love To Travel gear for
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Euro-Rail.org    AirfaresToEurope.com    TravelEurope.biz    VacationInEurope.com    Europe-Train.org    Eurostar-TGV.com   

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