colesjoholm
- Jul 5, 2023
- 2 min read

A Sjoholm in Stockholm

Updated: Sep 1, 2023

I'll be back. Stockholm is definitely on the I'll be back list.

Another torrential downpour made for less than ideal sight-seeing. A lengthy ship-sponsored shore excursion was on tap today and included stops at "City Hall" the Vasa Museum and some time to wander and explore around the Royal Palace. There was numerous other stops and drive-bys, and the 6+ hours went quickly.

Let's just say, build me a room of 24k gold. City Hall is more of a gathering place than a functional government building. It's where they host the Nobel Prize dinner and dance. Not the Nobel Peace Prize of the same name, think physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine and literature variety.

The downstairs area holds the banquet for 1300+ guests. A large room but not quite large enough for that number. The upstairs holds the dance afterwards. The staircase between the two is specifically designed to allow for flowing gowns, the highest of heels, and to help prevent tripping while traversing between the two iconic spaces.

Over a million tiny glass mosaic tiles of 24k gold coat the walls. I was awestruck. The scale of the room is hard to judge in a photo.

Next up was the Vasa Museum. I really knew nothing of it until I arrived. Umm, it was beyond amazing. The Vasa ship sank in 1628, on its maiden voyage. It sailed a grand total of 1400 yards before the 64 gun warships demise.

Preserved underwater, for 300 years, it was floated to the surface in the 1960s and has been on display since.

The intricate carvings and size of the vessel would indicate the ship builders knew what they were doing. Practicality fails when trial and error was the engineering option available at the time. One would say the Swedes have come a long, long way from the Vasa to IKEA era.

I ended my day at the Royal Palace, trying to find my Swedish Prince. I think the rain kept him away, but there's good things on my horizon. I landed at "The Secret Garden" gay bar instead. A solo affair..literally the only person in the entire place. The fries were good. No complaints.

The rain was heavy and non-stop. It put a definite damper on the day, yet again on this trip around Northern Europe, but I'll be back.

Eat your heart out Stockholm. There's a Sjoholm in town.

Cole from Colorado