Gothenburg

Monday, 14 June

Today is our last day in Gothenburg and we boarded a tram to go to Haga an old part of town with some of the few remaining timber houses and we walked around the cobble stoned streets before climbing Skansberget hill to Skansen Kronan, a fort built in 1687 which commanded a view of all around old Gothenburg and would provide an early warning of any approaching enemy.

From the hill we could see Oscar Fredrik Church built in the Gothic style in 1893 so we walked to it and we were able to visit and view the lovely stained glass windows and Triptych behind the altar also the Rose Window and organ in the west end of the Church.

Back on the tram we headed back towards the city centre and alighted at the Gustavi Cathedral which is more in keeping with the plain style of Lutheran Churches. The midday Eucharist had just commenced and although we didn’t understand the words the format of the service was very familiar. As it was lunch time we returned to the hostel to eat and we are more impressed with the frequent tram service and at each stop there is an electronic timetable which displays the number of minutes before the arrival for the next two trams or buses of each line which use the stop. At some stops there may be four different tram routes and two buses passing through; this makes it very easy to travel around town.

After lunch another tram ride to the Gothenburg Botanical Gardens which was commenced in 1910 and has a total area of 175 hectares, the largest part is a nature reserve and arboretum and the garden proper covers 40 hectares and contains 12,000 different species. At the top of the garden there is a rocky outcrop and this has been used to good effect with a waterfall cascading down and 5,000 species of plants in amongst the rocks. If you are prepared to scramble up the rocks they provide a good view over Gothenburg.

More formal parts of the gardens include a kitchen garden, an herb garden; an area planted with perennial plants, a very large rhododendron valley with thousands of plants, unfortunately many are past their best display. Another area has a Japanese glade with the usual water and rock arrangements associated with Japanese gardens. All these areas are connected with woodlands and wildflowers and other plants growing under the trees.

These gardens would be one of the best that we have visited anywhere in the world.

Back on the tram to the hostel to prepare for our early morning flight tomorrow to Edinburgh.

Gothenburg

Sunday, 13 June

We caught a tram and walked to the ferry terminal to travel across the harbour to visit the “Gothenburg” a sailing ship which is a replica of the East Indies Company ship that sank in 1794, only to find it has sailed to Stockholm to take part in the festivities to celebrate the wedding of the Crown Princess next Saturday. We decided to stay on the ferry and travelled up to the centre of town and walked around for a while before deciding to return to the hostel for lunch as the weather had changed and we decided it was too cold to eat in a park.

As in Stockholm we purchased a travel card which in Gothenburg gives us unlimited travel for 72 hours from the time of purchase, on the trams, buses and ferries, at a cost of around $21. A single ticket that allows travel for 90 minutes costs just over $4 so we thought that the three day ticket represented good value.

The more we travel the more we realize what a poor transport system Melbourne has, Stockholm with two million people has several train lines, three underground lines with two of them branching to seven different terminals, more than twenty bus routes and also ferries and even on Sundays you don’t have to wait more than fifteen minutes for a bus and ten minutes on the underground. Gothenburg with only half a million people has thirteen tram routes and many more bus routes and the frequency is as good as in Stockholm. Both cities also have an excellent card system for paying fares and the trams, we haven’t ridden on a bus in Gothenburg, allow you to pay with coins or a credit card in a machine and in both cities you can also pay a fare by dialling a number on your mobile phone and you receive an SMS ticket. This system is also available in Helsinki.

After lunch we travelled back in the city to visit the City Museum, which has displays from pre-history through the Viking era and on through the 17^th to the 20^th Centuries, including information on the imports brought in by the East Indies Company, in whose building the museum is now located. Entry to the museum was $6.50 and the ticket provides entry to four museums in the city until the end of 2010, the only problem is that all museums are closed tomorrow, Monday, and we leave on Tuesday morning.

Now to plan tomorrow with most exhibitions and museums closed, perhaps we can walk around the oldest part of town and some parks if the weather isn’t too cold.

Gota Canal Boat Trip. Stockholm to Gothenburg

Wednesday, 9 June

An early start and a short taxi ride to the wharf to board the MS Juno, a canal boat built in 1874, for a 3night (4 day) trip via the Gota Canal and lakes to Gothenburg.

The boat departed Stockholm at 9:00 am and within half an hour we passed through the first lock, we are unsure of the total number of locks there are in total but on the canal there are 58 locks. After passing through the lock we entered Lake Malaren and an hour later passed Drottningholm Castle, the home of the Swedish Royal family.

At lunch time we entered the 135 m. long Sodertalje lock, the largest in Stockholm and when we left the lock we were in the Baltic Sea but because of the hundreds of islands it was difficult to believe that it was a sea as it just seemed like a series of lakes.

Around 4:00 pm we moored at a little town of Trosa which was established in the 14^th Century as a fishing village and in 1719 all the buildings but the village church were burnt down by the Russian invaders, who occupied the area for many years. The oldest building in the town was built in 1790 and was originally the Russian Police Station. We spent a pleasant two hours wandering around the town before returning to the boat for dinner.

Even though we hadn’t done very much during the day we returned to our cabin, as did most passengers, for an early night. When I say cabin, I use the term loosely, matchbox may be the more correct term, the door opens on to the deck with around 1 ½ m. to the railing and the cabin is a little under 2 m. deep and even less wide, (around 6 ft. x 5 ft.). Like a train sleeping compartment the top bunk folds up during the day and there is a little hand basin with a cupboard underneath and a wardrobe which is around 150 mm deep so we could just fit our two Polar Fleeces inside. Our case has to stand on the floor in front of the basin and the other one is in a store room.

To quote the “Welcome Aboard” letter, “At times life on board may seem somewhat cramped but part of the charm is being able to travel in the same way as in the 1800s. Having travelled as Hans Christian Anderson did is part of the adventure of travelling on the Gota Canal.” What the boat lacks in size it more than makes up with the food, a gourmet menu, although with only one choice per course, as the galley is on the deck below the dining room and is about the same size of our cabin. Considering the condition the chef has to work under the meals are excellent.

Thursday, 10 June

I woke at 1:00 am and realized that the ship’s engine had stopped and we were moored at a little stone jetty at little town of, Mem where on the 26^th Sept. 1832 the Goto Canal was inaugurated by King Karl XIV Johan.

Several people in Sweden had proposed building a canal across the country joining several lakes and making it possible to travel from east to west by water, a naval officer Baltzar van Platen took up the idea and the English engineer and canal builder, Thomas Telford, was invited by the Swedish King to advise on the proposed project. In 1810 the project commenced and required the digging of the canal and construction of 58 locks which allow boats to rise to 91.8 m. above sea level before descending back to the sea. The canal covers 90 km. all of which was dug by hand which explains why it is so narrow in parts, particularly the locks where the boats have only centimetres of clearance.

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A little after 4:00 am, I was aware that the boat was moving and I went out on the deck to see a crew member closing the lock gate behind us, the first of 58. During the morning we passed through many locks which allowed us to go ashore and walk beside the boat, a one stage the boat passed through five locks in less than a kilometre and at the last lock we met the MS Diana, also owned by the company, waiting in a slightly enlarged basin that would allow us to pass, the two boats were so close that the crew had to walk along the deck hanging fenders over the side to prevent the boats from scraping.

As well as passing many locks we also encountered a number of low bridges which also had to be opened. Some tilted upwards, some in one piece others in two, others slid back along the road and some pivoted on their centre The most interesting bridge was a rail bridge and while waiting a train passed over just in front of the boats bow and then the bridge tilted upwards in two parts and the overhead power lines on each section sagged down to the ground, there must have been a small gap in the middle of the lines that allowed them to separate.

After lunch we arrived at the bottom of the Carl-Johan lock staircase at Berg, the longest on the canal with seven connected locks and fifteen in total. After lunch we left the boat to walk to the Vreta Kloster Church which was established in 1110 together with a Nunnery. In the 1100s three kings were buried in this Church and their tombs are marked with golden crowns suspended over them. There is also the bronze coffin of Field Marshal Robert Douglas and also his descendants. Douglas fought for Sweden in the Thirty Year War and was rewarded with a large estate and over the years the family has contributed to the Church and town.

In the 1500s with the reformation and conversion of Sweden to the Lutheran Church, the king dissolved the convents and monasteries but allowed the nuns to remain here until the last one died in 1580. Recently excavations have revealed a Baptistery which is believed to have been built before the Church and which was used for full immersion baptisms.

Walking back to the boat we reboarded just before it entered the final lock and on leaving the lock we had to move towards the bank to pass a boat heading in the other direction. OOPS!! We’ve run aground. After a lot of revving the engine and a lot of groaning and scraping of the boat we were refloated and continued on our quiet way.

Shortly after running aground we came to a sharp bend in the canal known as “Helmsman’s Horror and built on a little spit on the bend was an elevated building, like a large gazebo, which was built in 1872. We soon found out how the bend got its name, as while trying to negotiate the bend we had the bow against one bank and the stern against the other and the keel had grounded again. It took about twenty minutes and a lot of forward and reverse jiggling to finally negotiate the bend and about 200 m. on we came to a lock which is one of two hand operated locks on the canal. At this stage we were running three hours behind on our schedule and our planned visit to a museum at Motala, our overnight stop was cancelled as we weren’t going to arrive until after midnight.

During the day the canal passed of two major roads on an aqueduct, one built in 1970 and the other in 1993. It was quite strange to sit in the boat and watch cars pass underneath.

Friday, 11 June

We left Motola at around 5:30 am and shortly after leaving we entered Lake Vattern, Sweden’s second largest lake, we were now 89 m. above sea level.

On a bank of the lake is Karlsborg Fortress, the construction was initiated by Balzar von Platen in 1819 to counter the threat from the Russians, construction was expected to take ten years but when it was finished ninety years later modern weapons had rendered it useless. We entered the fortress and were taken for a tour through the lower gun emplacement which has a very realistic sound and light show simulating an attack on the fortress, even to the floor shaking when a “shell hit the wall”. Further on we were taken through the old officers quarters, set up as they were a hundred years ago, one of the conditions of having quarters in the fortress was that they had to have a cannon in their living room and their wife was responsible for its maintenance. It must have been a talking point in those days.

Leaving the lake we re-entered the canal and arriving at the lock at Forsvik we were greeted by members of the Kindbom family with some religious songs and messages, the family patriarch commenced his preaching in 1930 and his family have continued the tradition. We soon entered a narrow section of the canal passing through woods and in 1930-33 a new section had been dug out to replace a sharp bend but we still had to put mooring ropes around a bollard on the bank to help us swing around the bend. Beside the unused portion of the canal is an obelisk marking the highest point in the canal, 91.5 m. above sea level. From this part of the canal we entered a small lake and later in summer it must be a beautiful sight as all around the shore it is lined with yellow flowered water lilies. Back in the canal we came to a second hand operated lock which marked the commencement of our down hill travel to Gothenburg.

Along the canal we passed a narrow section with a tiny hand operated ferry, the Lina, carrying people across, a distance of about 10 m. and further along the canal was another railway bridge and we had to wait for a train to pass over before it could be opened.

At Hajstorp there was a series of four locks so we went ashore and walked 1 ½ km to the last lock and had to wait for half an hour for the boat to catch up. After the Captain’s dinner we arrived at a series of eight locks and went ashore to visit a museum which contained a lot of memorabilia from the canal construction, maps, plans and tools and the interiors from several old ships. It took 58,000 people to dig the canal by hand using metal tipped wooden shovels and wheel barrows.

After leaving Sjotorp we entered Lake Vanern, Sweden’s largest lake which is 130 m. deep and the third largest lake in Europe after Russia’s Ladoga and Onega which we travelled through on our Russian cruise. We were to cruise through this lake overnight and were due to arrive at the other side around 7:00 am. During the night we encountered strong winds and large waves and at times the boat was rocking so much, I thought I was going to fall out of my bunk. At 4:00 am there was water washing along the deck outside our cabin door and at breakfast several people didn’t make an appearance.

Saturday, 12 June

At Trollhattan we went ashore to visit the canal museum but the person who was to open it didn’t turn up so we walked to see the first two sets of locks which have since been replaced by a third. The first set were built in 1796 to 1800 long before the canal construction started and were blasted through solid rock, when they opened they were referred to as the 8^th wonder of the world. During their construction there was a lot of interference and interruption by the locals who earned their living transporting good to and from the lake by horse drawn wagons. When the canal opened a second set of wider locks were built in 1844 but it still took three hours to travel through all the locks and it 1916 a third set of four locks were built which were deeper and larger with an overall drop of 32 m. this allowed boats to pass through in a much shorter time.

Back on board for an early lunch and we entered a river for our final run into Gothenburg docking on time at 2:30 pm after a magnificent trip through some of the greenest farmland we have ever seen. A short, but expensive, taxi trip brought us to our hostel and after we checked in we realized that we had left our binoculars in our cabin so we had to walk to a tram and travel back into the city centre and walk to the boat, in the rain to retrieve them.

To ensure that we didn’t have withdrawal symptoms our room in the hostel is equipped with bunks, so I still have to climb a ladder to get into bed.

Stockholm

Tues 8 June

Skansen Open Air Museum

The 19th century was a period of great change throughout Sweden, its rural way of life was rapidly giving way to an industrialized society and many feared that the country's many traditional customs and occupations may be lost to history. Artur Hazelius, who had previously founded the Nordic Museum on the island of Djurgården, (the Vasa Museum is now just behind it), was inspired by the open air museum founded by King Oscar II in 1881 when he created his open-air museum on the hill that dominates the island. Skansen became the model for other early open-air museums throughout Scandanavia and later, ones elsewhere. The name "Skansen" has also been used as a noun to refer to other open-air museums and collections of historic structures.

Skansen was originally a part of the Nordic Museum, but became an independent organization in 1963. The objects in the Skansen buildings are still the property of the Nordic Museum.

After extensive travelling, Hazelius bought around 150 houses from all over the country (as well as one structure from Norway and had them shipped piece by piece to the museum, where they were rebuilt to provide a unique picture of traditional Sweden. Only three of the buildings in the museum are not original, and were painstakingly copied from examples he had found. All of the buildings are open to visitors and show the full range of Swedish life from the Skogaholm Manor house built in 1680, to the 16th century Älvros farmhouses.

The many exhibits over the 35 hectare site include a full replica of an average 19th-century town, in which craftsmen in traditional dress such as tanners, shoemakers, silversmiths, bakers and glass-blowers demonstrate their skills in period surroundings. Also in the village there is an open air zoo containing a number of Scandinavian animals and small farms with rare breeds of farm animals.

What more can I say about Skansen, we arrived at 10:00 am to find hundreds of primary school children waiting to enter, today is the last full day of the school year. We were about the tenth persons into to site and walked and walked, leaving after seven hours after covering (we think) the entire park.

The buildings range from the early 1600s up to around 1930 and all the staff in the houses, farm houses and other building are dressed in the fashion of the era of the building. Skansen is like a Swedish version of Sovereign Hill, I suppose I should say Sovereign Hill is an Australian version of Skansen as it was started 80+ years after Skansen.

The buildings contain original furnishings and decorations and it is interesting to compare the décor depending on the wealth and standing of the family living there. Buildings range from a Manor House, merchants and tradesman’s houses, farm houses and cottages belonging to the very poor. I have posted some examples of the houses.

Also in the park are enclosures containing some of the native animals, several species were extinct in the wild and using animals from Skansen these animals are making a comeback. Included in the display are European Bison, Elks, Wolves, Wolverines, Lynx and many other Swedish native animals.

As this was our last day in Stockholm we gained a good understanding of life in the country areas from hundreds of years ago.

Stockholm

Mon 7 June

Today was one of the highlights of our trip so far with a visit to the “Vasa” which was a Swedish warship that was built from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile (approx. 2 km) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Vasa was forgotten after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century using a manned diving bell with enough air for about half an hour, brave people.

She was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbour and raised with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961. After towing her to a dry dock she was housed in a temporary museum while being dried out and preserved until 1987 and was then moved to the Vasa Museum. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has attracted more than 25 million visitors.

Vasa was built top-heavy and had insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see Vasa join the Baltic fleet in The Thirty Years War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the Privy Council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out.

During the 1961 recovery, thousands of artefacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around the hull of the Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artefacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden. No expense was spared in decorating and equipping the Vasa, one of the largest and most heavily armed warships of her time, adorned with hundreds of sculptures, all of them painted in vivid colours. She was intended to express the expansionist aspirations of Sweden and the glory of king Gustavus Adolphus.

On entering the museum we couldn’t believe the size of the ship and how well it had been restored and standing alongside is a scale model of how she looked at the time of her sinking, even without the more than 700 carved sculptures on her hull having been restored to their full

painted and guilded glory the Vasa is an impressive ship and on the wall behind the stern are several restored sculptures which were examined by microscope to find minute traces of colour to guide the restorers.

As well as the restored ship and thousands of artefacts many skeletons of those that died in the sinking are displayed together with five or six models of these people having had their features restored and dressed as they may have been at the time. A detailed examination of the skeletons has also provided information of past injuries and diseases together with dental and dietary details of each person.

In the museum there is a model of a shipyard as it may have appeared in the days that Vasa was built together with full size models of workman preparing the timbers for the construction there is also an extensive display about life in the 1600s covering all aspect of life in a town and small village.

Outside the museum there is a reproduction of a small house with its vegetable and herb garden, growing plants that would have been cultivated in those days.

Walking from the museum along the waterfront we came to a small museum with Royal boats, small gondolas, yachts and other boats used by the Royal family over the years.

Further around the waterfront we came to a complete contrast, the Stockholm Tivoli and large version of Luna Park with hundreds of young people on the first week of their school holidays enjoying being terrified on some of the fastest and steepest rides imaginable.

From the Tivoli we caught a water ferry from the island back to the Old Town and then the bus back to the hotel.

Stockholm

Sun 6 June

Today is Sweden’s National Day and when we arrived at the Old Town the crowds were starting to grow as many of the events were in the vicinity of the Palace.

We walked from the Metro station to the Cathedral and listened to the choir rehearsing for the 11:00 service and we were surprised at the interior as it a Lutheran Cathedral and we expected a very plain interior, instead we found a Baroque interior that would rival any Roman Catholic Baroque Church in Europe with a very elaborate pulpit and other canopies and the altar and reredos would not be in keeping with Martin Luther’s idea of simplicity so that a person’s praying was not distracted by the beauty around them. As we planned to attend the service in the Palace Chapel also at 11:00 we left and walked to the Palace.

Inside the palace courtyard were several displays and activities, though when we were there yesterday the courtyard was closed to the public. Climbing the stairs to the Royal Chapel we again found a highly decorated church with both Baroque and Rococo styles and the whole ceiling was painted depicting the Ascension of Christ. When were entered we were told that instead of the normal service, that there was to be an organ recital in honour of National Day.

The organ was built in 1753 and was rebuilt in the 1990s so it sounds today as it did in the 18^th Century. The recital included works by Bach, Purcell, Roman and two works especially composed for the weddings of the current King and also his sister. The recital lasted for half an hour but with the acoustics in the Chapel we could have sat there for hours listening.

Outside the Chapel the crowds had increased and we couldn’t get anywhere near to the outer courtyard where yesterday we witnessed the changing of the guards and today a military band was playing prior to today’s changing so we decided to wait along the route the band and new guard would pass on the way to the courtyard. As luck would have it there was a monument with large steps so by climbing on the top step we were about 3 m. up and able to see over the crowds and unlike London, the police allowed us to sit there. Around 12:15 we heard a band approach and coming up the hill towards us was a mounted band followed by the new guard, also on horseback. On entering the courtyard the guard dismounted and their horses were brought out to where we were standing and another troop from the Regiment mounted to ride them back to their barracks.

Walking down the hill behind the troop we found that the Royal Armoury was open today and we could go in to view weapons and armour, including armour for horses dating back to the 13^th Century, there were also old uniforms, costumes and clothing on display. Including clothing worn by the Royal children during the 20^th Century. Downstairs there was a display of elaborate Royal coaches used for coronations, weddings and day to travel; these were mainly from the 16 and 1700s. The cost to build one of the coaches was the equivalent of 1150 years wages for a coachman. How the other half lived!

On entering the Armoury we found that entry was free for National Day as was every where in the Palace, yesterday we paid nearly $50 for our admission.

Outside again; and there were many people enjoying the festivities and many, mainly the more senior citizens dressed in national costume from various regions of Sweden.

After lunch we travelled to the Historic Museum where they have displays from

pre history some dating back to around 3000 BC, through the stone age, iron age, Viking era and Medieval Times, one room is the

Gold Room and contains gold and silver items found all over Sweden, many from hoards where people had hidden their treasures and never recovered them. The craftsmanship of the items of jewellery some more than a thousand years old

Tomorrow we hope to go to the Vasa Museum.

Stockholm

Sat 5 June

Yesterday we purchased a seven day travel card and although we will only be in Stockholm for four more days it is cheaper than buying tickets and it allows us to travel on buses, trains, underground and trams anywhere in Stockholm without worrying about zones and we only have to “touch on” when boarding. Another example of an efficient pre paid travel card.

We caught the bus to the Old Town and walked along the wharf to find where our canal cruise leaves next week, it’s almost over the road from the hostel we were originally booked into but we will now need a taxi to get there in time for departure.

We then walked to the Royal Palace which is the official residence of the Royal family, even though they live in another palace out of town, however this is where they carry out their official duties and where their offices are situated.

Our first visit was to the Royal Treasury where the crowns, swords, orbs sceptres and other emblems of royal authority are stored, these date back from the 1500s to the regalia used today and the number and size of the diamonds and other precious stones and pearls in the crowns and other regalia would go a long way to clearing Victoria’s debt. Also in the display was the solid silver Royal Font that has been used for royal baptisms for several centuries and a solid silver throne given as a present to one of Sweden’s queens in the

1600s.

Our next visit was to be to the Royal Apartments but as the Changing of the Guard was due in less than an hour and the guards were already putting up the rope barriers to control the crowd we thought a place at the front would be worth the wait. The Royal Guard has been stationed at the Palace since 1523 and on some days it is a Cavalry unit who mount the guard.

At 12:15 the Naval Band entered the Palace courtyard leading the new guard, the band is rotated so on some days it is an Army Regiment Band and on others the Naval Band, the old guard having already assembled, at the double, awaiting their arrival. We were struck at the casual attitude of the guard as they would walk over to people to ask them to move back over the ropes and when we spoke to one he replied to our question, we also saw an officer walk up to a sentry carrying a bottle of water and give him a drink, we also noticed th

at their were girls in both the old and new guard.

The actual changing ceremony was very formal and different to any of the other changing of the guard ceremonies that we have witnessed in other countries but then every county’s ceremony is unique. While the sentries were being relieved the Naval Band played a bracket of pop and classical music.

After the band and old guard had departed we entered the Royal Apartments and walked through two floors. As with many palaces the ceilings and walls were adorned with painting and many rooms had Rococo decorations, when compared to the palaces in Russia, this one was the poor cousin however the furnishing and other decorations were still very impressive. The palace in the Italian baroque style was built to replace the Tre Konor Palace which was burnt down in 1697, the architect estimated it would take six years to build but like Victorian Government projects the completion date stretched well past the estimated date and it was another 54 years over before it was completed in 1754.

Our next visit was to the Tre Kronor Museum which is actually formed by part of the13th century defensive walls and the plastered brick walls dating from the 16^th century. The museum is under the new palace and contains many artefacts from the old palace and provides an insight into the day-to-day life of the old palace. From there we went to the Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities which is one of the oldest museums in Europe and was opened to the public in 1794. Most of the marble statues were acquired by Gustav III during his trip to Italy in 1783/84 and comprise many statues and busts from the Roman era.

When we came out from the palace we found that the road in front of it was closed off and

many of the estimated 18,000 marathon runners were plodding past, we don’t know when the race started but we had missed the fast runners as every now a runner went past with a pennant tucked into the back of their shorts, 3:45, 4:00 and 4:15 were ones we saw and this was 45 minutes after the time displayed on the pennant. As the street was closed, the bus we hoped to catch back to the hostel wasn’t able to run, so we walked through some of the old town and caught the Metro back to our hostel.

Tomorrow is Sweden's National Day and the official start to the celebrations for the Crown Princess's wedding on June 19.

Post Script: We have just been speaking to a young man in the hostel who ran in the marathon, the time on the pennants stuck in the shorts of the runners weren't their starting times, the runners were pace makers and the time shown was the time they were expected to take to complete the course so anyone aiming for that time would try to run with them. The race started at 2:00 pm and the runners were passing the palace for the second time when we saw them. Another runner has just "walked" though the lounge and he is having trouble climbing the stairs.