Stockholm City Hall
This morning Sara and I toured the Stockholm City Hall. The City Hall was built 100 years ago and still houses the offices for Stockholm’s city government. They have a city government, a regional government and a national government.
The tower at the corner of the building is 106 meters tall. Why 106 meters you ask? The city hall tower in Copenhagen is 105 meters tall. The Swedes had to have a city hall tower that was taller than the Danish city hall tower. The Swedes and the Danes have had this pervasive rivalry that goes back almost forever.
In 1397 the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were concerned that Germany was becoming a power to fear and decided that they would be better able to protect themselves against Germany’s growing power if they formed an alliance. They formed the Kalmar Union putting these three countries under one king. That king wound up being the Danish king and the Swedes quickly realized that they did not like being ruled by a Danish king. The Kalmar Union lasted about 125 years. In 1523 the Union dissolved but the rivalry between Sweden and Denmark has remained to this day.
St. Stephen slaying the dragon.
This story and this statue is another example of the Swedish/Danish rivalry. St. Stephan represents Sweden. The dragon represents nasty vile Denmark. St. Stephan slays the dragon and becomes a Swedish folk hero. I was not kidding when I said that this is a serious long standing rivalry!
The gold hall in the City Hall.
The City Hall is a beautifully designed building with clean lines and tasteful ornamentation. Until you get to the Gold Room. This room looks like something you would see in Aladdin’s Castle. All four walls are covered floor to ceiling with mosaics depicting the history of Stockholm and Sweden. To say it is busy would be an understatement. The mosaic tiles are a glass sandwich with gold leaf in the middle. There are 1.8 million tiles on the walls in this room. It is beautiful but so busy that you wonder what they were thinking when they designed this room.
Statue of a boy holding a carp at the City Hall. Carp seem to be a popular fish in Scandinavia.
Free Tour of Old Town Stockholm
Sara likes to use Free Tours when she goes to a new city. Students at one of the local universities usually lead these tours and I think it is a great way to get a cheap and quick overview and history of the city. The tours last about 2 hours and you tip the guide at the end of the tour. On Tuesday we did a tour of Stockholm from about 1800 to present day and today we did an Old City Tour.
The German Church.
German merchants have always had a large and economically important presence in Stockholm. The German merchants wanted a church where they could worship in their own language. The Swedish king gave them permission to build this church and to this day all services at this church are in German.
Fire insurance medallion. Fire was an ever present danger in every medieval city. Stockholm developed a public/private form of fire insurance. If you bought a fire insurance policy you git one of these medallions that you could put on your outside wall. If a fire broke out in your neighborhood, the firemen would save your house first. Brilliant!
For some reason there are a lot of Subway sandwich shops in Old Town Stockholm. Also, hamburger restaurants are a big thing.
Dinner
This is where we had our final tasting dinner and wine pairing of the trip.
Courses and wines in order of presentaion
Poached egg with Brussel sprouts in a celery broth paired with a dry crisp Riesling.
Creamed horseradish with black potato paper paired with a Hungarian white wine.
Cold smoked and slightly brined rainbow trout with a cheeky Pinot Noire.
Apple stuffed with duck live pate and a smoked duck breast in a mackerel broth covered with braised cabbage leaves accompanied by a very dry Spanish Grenache.
Veal in tar sauce with a truffle reduction. Yes it was a road tar sauce. I had to quiz the chef on this one. He said it is a traditional Finnish sauce and it was delicious. The chef warned me to tell everyone not to try a tar sauce at home. It should only be attempted by a professional. This course was paired with a Loire Valley Chenin Blanc
Raspberry sorbet with a white chocolate sauce.
And finally, lemon and sorrel ice cream with sugar crystals.
What a delicious and memorable meal. I will remember this meal fondly as I eat gruel on the Camino.
Goodnight from Stockholm.
Tomorrow evening Sara flies to Amsterdam and then on Saturday morning she flies back home to Houston.
Tomorrow evening I fly to Paris and then Saturday morning I take the train to St. Jean. I will take care of a number of logistical issues in St. Jean on Sunday and Monday and first thing Tuesday morning I start my Camino.
Good night from Stockholm.
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 