Sweden Day 2 - Stockholm City | Gamla Stans

Assalamualaikum. Halla.

Previous post (here).

From Skansen, I hopped on the tram. Next destination would be fika-session at a cafe in Skeppsbro. While on the tram, terus menyesal dengan kebijakkan sendiri when I saw all those beautiful classical buildings along the way. Dari malas menapak, terus semangat mau ukur jalan. Apa barang naik tram. Katakau! Walhal sendiri yang poyo melaung konsep guna travel card sampai lebam. 

And so, I hopped off at one of the tram station. Pastu walkertapaki back to where the harbor started. Suka hati aku tentukan mana awal & hujung harbor. Alhamdulillah for the last minute changed of plan. Else memang regret sampai ke sudah.

24 December - Stockholm

These kinda building always 'bring' me back to Medieval time (acah kau pernah hidup zaman tu kan Bie)

As I've said in my previous entry. Stockholm is surrounded with islands. Pusing mana pun, you'll still see water

Djurgardsbron

 

Puas hati nampak bot with Stockholm carving on its body. This was along Koggbron harbor

Koggbron harbor

From Koggbron, I walked to Kungstragarden; passing by Berzelii Park & endless row of old buildings which some have refurbished into hotels / shops. Masa ni memang jalan tiada tujuan. Ikut kata hati gitu. Janji sampai Skeppbro bageri. 

Berzelii Park

Royal Swedish Opera building from afar

View of the Royal Palace from the main road

Where I planned to have my fika-session that very evening

Kecewa melantun bila teringat that evening was Christmas Eve; meaning almost all cafes & shops tutup awal. Betul punya bijak kan planning aku for that day. Berbulan planning mau layan Swedish coffee & their famous pastries at this cafe, akhirnya ke lautan dalam impian & anganan aku. Cafe ni memang ramai yang suggest. Among the top suggested cafe for fika. Kesudahannya, aku 'berFika' depan cafe yang tutup. Sobs! 

Sempatlah sebenarnya aku intai this cafe via the window. Pun masih menaruh harapan it is still open sebab terang benderang cafe tu. Rupanya memang sengaja diorang biarkan lights on. Semangat perayaan, perhaps? 

Untuk mengubat hati kecewa, singgah lah bergambar depan Christmas tree tertinggi di dunia. Located just few steps away from Skeppsbro bageri. 

Memang tinggi, and that's a real tree ya'll. Decoration lights diorang guna pun besar lah juga, to compliment ketinggian pokok

Public washroom. Masa ni nampak ada 2 minah Chinese tengah gigih figure out how to use this washroom. I took this picture right after they went in

From here, I walked cross the street to get to Gamla Stan. Memang mood melankoli jak petang tu. Sun set at 3pm (Maghrib oii), pastu weather pun al-muram. Dengan aku sudah start restless. Memang automatik rasa gitu bila dunia mula menggelap. Might be the sign of aging. Cepat betul restless bila dunia start gelap. Dulu-dulu puas jadi burung hantu kali ah. Lalalala~~

Entering Gamla Stans via this small alley

Annyeong Gamla Stan! It took ages for me to realized my dream to set upon your very land. Alhamdulillah, Allah granted me the opportunity eventually. At the right time it was 

Pastry shop. Meriah kan berlampu-lampu. Alas, it was already closed 

Hence, cuci mata via the window jaklah. Kejam ok display pastries gini. Sobs!

That very alley where JHope of BTS pose for their photoshoot

Yes, you read that right. Hakak jiwa KPop apakan daya itulah fakta sila hadam ketat-ketat biar rasa loya di tekak. One of the main reasons mau menjejak bumi Stockholm ni pun sebab anak-anak berudu tu lah. Diorang tu muda lagi so istilah anak hikan sangat tidak sesuai.

So, bila sampai Gamla Stan tu haruslah menjejak tapaki diorang. Orang bilang, berada di bumi yang sama walau beda waktu. Asyik! Nasiblah pi sana solo, jadi layan royan sendiri-sendiri. Bagus juga kan, tu antara hikmahnya berjalan solo. Ndaklah travel partner sakit jiwa layan royan aku. But this definitely not applicable to my Jemahs. Diorang tu relapaksa jak kalau diangkut benda gini. Janji dapat tempat jejak orang, semua dilayan harus. Eh over pula bebelan Si Err. 

Not getting any souvenir that day. Benda gini kena ada mood baru aku membeli

Storkyrkan; the oldest church (still in service) in Stockholm

Oh yeah, this. Antara paling awal masuk list-to-go

Reason being? Jimin (my favourite anak berudu) took his photo at this very kedai few years ago for their photoshoot. Being an (ahem) avid fan of his, haruslah sis ndak lepas peluang kan. Luckily this was among the very few shop that closed a bit late that day. Memang berjodohan betul.

Ambil feel sebelum masuk dalam kedai. Maka perut sudah berkeroncong minta diisi time ni

Yumms! Drool even before entering the shop. Benda gini memang favourite aku

That waffle was bake ONLY upon order. So makan panas-panas, top up with a scoop of butterscotch choc ice cream...memang nikmat dunia! I had 2 servings of this by the way

Stortorget

Alhamdulillah, finally I stood before these buildings. This is the oldest public square in Gamla Stan. And Gamla Stan is itself an old town in Central Stockholm. Area ni famous for its Chrismas Market. But the market ended; days before my arrival. Jadinya bila aku di sana, nampak hut kosong jaklah. Hence I didn't get to take picture of them in full frame. Else boleh tunjuk bangunan ni sebenarnya slooping ke kanan. 

After wandering around for a bit while, it's time to go back to my room. Bumi Stockholm semakin gelap, orang semakin kurang di Gamla Stan. This time I decided to take the bus 'home'. Nasiblah ndak payah menapak jauh as the bus stop is just around the corner. 

Untuk yang plan mau menjejak Gamla Stan, bersiap sedia with good footwear. And fit legs. The area is all about cobblestones pavement. Memang mencabar jugalah mau balancekan diri sambil berjalan. Tapi tu jugalah reason as to why this road still bertahan up till today. 

Petang tu sampai bilik, terus mandi. Then bersiap ala kadar untuk beli dinner di 7E seberang hostel jak. Masa ni sudah malas bawa phone bagai so tiadalah gambar kenangan terabdikan. Pi beli dinner jak pun katanye, pastu sekarang menyesal pula tiada gambar berjalan terlajak peta sebelum sampai 7E tu. 

Lepas dinner ala kadar, tiba masa untuk recharge diri. Rasanya malam tu tiada kejadian kapal karam. Atau adakah lagi kuat semboyan kapal aku dari malam sebelum tu & aku tidur mati ndak sedar diri. Pasrah jaklah dormmates lain. 

Till next entry, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Sweden Day 2 - Skansen Open-air Museum, Stockholm

Assalamualaikum. Halla!

Previous post (here).

And I'm back! Been trying to continue updating this post but to no avail. Too hooked up with so many things e.g shopee, Kdrama, house chores, pinterest yadda yadda. Oh my what MCO has done to me. Alasan!

Anyway, I honestly don't know how did my shopee cart has more than 100 items in it (various sellers of course). Last time I checked, I only 'want' to buy few things there. Seems fishy, yes? 

Ok, lets just continue where I last stopped. Membebel sangat kaedah intro kau kan Bie.

24 December - Stockholm

Finally berjaya berdiri depan ticket booths. Aku create route 'bersimpang-siur' di awal pagi. Memang mamai itu adalah aku kalau di awal pagi. Lambat sikit mau warm up.

Sudah sampai depan gate Skansen teruslah pi ticket booth. Masa tu memang sudah tahu, on Christmas Eve entrance ticket adalah half price. Mula tu gembiralah kan sebab jimat duit tiket. Sekali dapat tahu almost all of the houses aren't open for visitors, terus rasa rugi bertingkat-tingkat. Live performances which was my main reason of visiting this museum was also close. Later I found out, the museum will resume its normal activity on Christmas Day. Oh my, such late information I received. So, most of the gambar I took memang dari luar bangunan sajo. And some peeking via the window glass. Tu pun banyak flare (tiber kesah pasal flare). 

Not wanting to drag further my kecewa-ness, I went exploring the museum as planned. To get to the main open-museum area, one has to take the escalator up. Not sure if there's any elevator though.

There is another entrance to enter the museum (back door entrance). One of the blogger I know entered the museum via this door. Check out her entry ---> here.

Mini replica of the open-air museum. It's massive & nope. I didn't tour the whole area. I purposely skipped some areas (barns, farmhouses to name a few)

The escalator that will take visitor up/down; to/from the museum

First historical building I encountered before taking the escalator up. This pastry cafe lies at the foot of the Skansen escalator. Was built in 1816 & served as summer residence until 1852. Later a pastry cook acquired it, he opened a Swiss cafe here. In 1872, a so-called Parisian saloon was added. 

Note the Skittle Alley on the left side of this cafe. Skittles were very popular in Sweden in the 19th Century. Commonly built for inns, pubs, factories & country houses.

The Gubbhyllan

One of the painting I saw once I reached the top. There is this one small hall displaying pictures, paintings, and items of past Sweden

Among the first building in the town square (city squares) that I saw upon exiting the exhibition hall

Stockholm was somewhat gloomy throughout my visit. Didn't catch a single sunlight while I was there

Would have been exciting experience if I get to watch the skilled glassblower do their things. But hey, I'm still grateful for being given the chance to jejak here

 

Stora Gungan Tavern; is a restaurant situated just above the escalator in the city quarters. 

Simple wooden building; painted in the traditional Swedish red was erected by a waterfall in 1897. The factory was electrified during the 1910s.

Furniture Factory, comes from Virseum in Smaland, Sweden

Showmaker's Workshop from the 1870s consists of a single room; served both as a workshop & a dwelling. 

The most shop I so wanted to go. The Bageriet a.k.a The Bakery. Those who know me, know how much I love pastries & cakes. Sebelum trip siap planning mau beli as many pastries as I could buy. Alas, bakery tutup. Ambil gambar building jaklah.

This is a bakery from the 1870s. The gilded wooden sign hanging above the door is a traditional sign for bakery shop during that time. 

The Tannery; home to three day laborers. Animals skins were once treated here to make leather & hides

Arbetarbostaden; the workman's home

Visitor could take the stairs (access from backyard) to the first floor to see how a factory-worker's family lived at the end of 19th Century. Yes, I didn't get to climb the stairs let alone able to take a peek via the window / door because it's closed. Hahaha. 

Backyard of the workman's home. These logs used for the brick stove; where food was cooked which also heated the room

The Printing office. Back of this office was the printer's family house consists of a kitchen, drawing room & living room. 

Tottie Residence; represents a wealthy merchant's 18th Century town residence.

Ironmonger (hardware shop) & to the right side is the co-op (yellow door)

Not sure what this is. A fuel station perhaps?

The Ironmonger's House. The ONLY house that was open for visitor on that day because they want to show visitors how people in 19th Century decorated their house for Christmas. 

Because it was the only house open for visiting, it was a bit crowded when I entered. Didn't get to stay long as I have to give way to other visitors as well. Lucky enough I was a bit early (and alone), I don't have to squeeze myself in the crowd & queued to go in.

Just like the ones in Nenek's (old) house back home

Up till now, masih kagum with such kegigihan. Which one would they do first. 

Lodgings for those who works at the mansion (manor). 

Rose Garden created in 1964. As I was there during the winter, memang nan hado rose lah kan. Wilted sudah semua.

Saw this at the playground. Doesn't quite know what it is for

One of the farmstead 

Glasshouse

Bollnas' Square; central part of Skansen. Where the live performances are usually held. Christmas Market was hold during winter, but only few were opens when I was there. I guess they're all at home; preparing for Christmas Eve's dinner

I didn't get to buy anything here; let alone eat / drink because I brilliantly forgot to withdraw my money at the ATM machine (located at the exhibition hall). I thought they would accept card (like normal shops) but they didn't. What did I expect. Maka, telan liur sendiri tengok orang hirup hot choco di kedinginan. Sobs.

Carp & Swans Pond

Tried my luck (again) asking the vendor if they accept card. No, they don't. Maka lagi sekali, telan liur tengok salmon grilled super juicy. 

Sebabkan tiada cash (sedih betul bunyi dia kan), I continued my exploration. Sambil marah diri sendiri kerana telah menjadi extra bijak. Kenapalah boleh lupa withdraw duit!!

Malas layan endless kecewa-of-the-day, I entered the Seglora Church. This church was due for demolition but it was saved & moved to Skansen in 1916. This is still an active church where services along with weddings & christenings are held here. 

Built of local material; painted with mixture of tar & traditional red paint

Women (left) & men (right) sat on opposite sites of the aisle. This custom lived on in the countryside into the 20th Century

Hallestad Belfry; one of the tallest in Sweden. Earlier the belfries were commonly built of wood but this was forbidden in the middle of 18th Century to save timber & reduce the risk of fire

One of the pavilion near the mansion

One for the album

Wooden windmill

The old saving bank; intended for the working classes & had pronounced social aims. This bank was manned by volunteers. It is housed in a building; 2 rooms behind the bank were for the manager's office & dwelling. 

Old Saving Bank (Sparbanken)

Public washroom just outside the museum (left side). This one isn't free

I descended to the main entrance area with the escalator I took earlier. Before tu, sempatlah withdraw duit sikit. Walau sudah terlambat. Gah!

The end of my Skansen exploration. Took so many photos so I have to be selected on what to upload here. Ni pun sudah terover banyak tayang sini. Tabahlah mata. 

From Skansen, I took the tram to the city center. Was worn out to walk. Tram it was; lagipun kan ada 72-hour travel card tu. Jadi sila jangan membazir (konsep guna sampai lebam).

To those who plan to visit Skansen Open-air Museum & still have the energy to wander around; here are some of the places of interest near the museum (walking distance away). I did not plan to visit any of them hence I straightaway hopped on the tram. 

Abba Museum - collection of the pop's group memorabilia & interactive exhibits

The Viking Museum - displaying wooden, 9th Century Viking ships, and artifacts recovered from burial tombs 

Nordiska Museet - charting Swedish cultural history

Honestly, if I were to repeat Stockholm one day (insha Allah) I would love to go to The Viking Museum. I read lots of interesting stories about this museum ONLY after I left Stockholm. A total regret I must say. But who knows, I might come back with The Jemahs soon. 

So, this is the story of my half-day visit to Skansen open-air Museum. The oldest in the world. As I've said multiple times here, I went there on the Christmas Eve. I paid a half-priced ticket (110 kr), but got to enter ONLY few of the houses/farmsteads because most were closed. Yang lain, peeking via the window / half-opened door. 

Till next entry, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim