Day Two - Gamla Stan & Midsummer's Eve

It was a clear and warm day, perfect for walking around Gamla Stan (The Old City), which dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, and archaic architecture. It also houses the Royal Palace, which is currently the official residence of the Swedish Monarch.

Streets of Gamla Stan (Click to Enlarge)	Royal Palace (Click to Enlarge)	Royal Soldiers (Click to Enlarge)

It was Midsummer's Eve, which is followed naturally by Midsummer's Day, an important holiday weekend in Sweden. They are celebrated on the Friday and Saturday between June 19 and 26, with the main festivities taking place on the Friday. Traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole, which is first decorated with greens and flowers. In Gamla Stan, a military parade takes place with a band and soldiers roaming the city streets.

House of Parliment (Click to Enlarge)	Stockholm Cathedral (Click to Enlarge)	Stockholm Skyline (Click to Enlarge)

I noticed a bar that was replete with Boston sports memorabilia and stopped in to investigate. It is called O'Leary's and is the result of the owner, a Swede, meeting a Bostoner named Ann O'Leary while working in the US. They married and launched a chain of American sports bars throughout Scandinavia. The food was usual bar fare, nothing special. But this particular location had a lot of character. Later I would come across some more generic versions.

After exploring a while longer, I came upon a tiny little pub called Wirströms, where I watched the Italy - Sweden soccer match. The locals left defeated.

Iranian Protesters (Click to Enlarge)

One of the smaller islands next to Gamla Stan is Skeppsholmen. It was primarily a military stronhghold in the past, being located at the gateway to the Baltic sea. Today it holds many museums, a large theater group, and the af Chapman, which is an old sailing ship, now used as a youth hostel. It took less than an hour to walk around the entire island.

On my way back down to Södermalm, I walked upon a group of Iranian Nationals who were protesting the fraudulant election in Iran. As I stood and watched, one of the leaders came over and introduced himself. He was very curious to learn of an American's view of Iran in general and also its current political situation. We spoke for about 45 minutes and had a great conversation. I wished him luck and continued on.

I finished the day with prawn skewers and a few pints back at Patrick's.

 

Day Three