Walk in Djurgården, Strandvägen, Norrbro and ending in Riddarholmen

28 May 2017

Djurgården in Stockholm has many popular attractions like the Vasa Museum, Skansen, ABBA Museum and Gröna Lund, all of which we had visited in previous visits. On a fine day, a walk on this island to explore the other points of interests and green open spaces is nice.

We took a combination of subway and bus number 67 and alighted just outside the entrance of Skansen Museum. From there, we made our way to the first point of interest, the Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde.

Along the way to the Waldemarsudde, we chanced upon the Djurgårdslinjen, a heritage tram line that is still operating between Norrmalmstorg and Waldemarsudde. It would have been fun to travel to the Waldemarsudde using this old train if we knew about this earlier.

Djurgårdslinjen, a heritage tram line that is still operating between Norrmalmstorg and Waldemarsudde.

It was always a good idea to snap of photo of the local area map to use as a reference as we explore Djurgården.

Tourist map of Djurgården that we saw on the way.

We could the rides at the Grona Lund Amusement park along the walking trail. Faint screams of delight (or terror) could be heard.

View of Grona Lund amusement park and the marina.

It was a hot sunny day but breezy, which made the walk quite pleasant.  Tall trees along the trail provided some shade.

Sculpture near the Waldemarsudde.

These small flowers called Fuschias looked like Chinese lanterns. Pretty!

Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde is one of Sweden’s most popular art museums. It is the former home of the Swedish Prince Eugen. Prince Eugen was a landscape painter and he also was a keen collector of art. The Prince’s art collection is displayed inside the main building and entry is chargeable.

Front of Prins Eugen’s Waldemarsudde is an excellent place to relax and enjoy the views of Stockholm.

Replica of the Thinker bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin in the front garden of Prins Eugen’s Waldemarsudde.

The garden outside is free to explore and is an excellent spot to enjoy views of Stockholm, spring flowers and sculptures in the garden.

 Prins Eugen’s Waldemarsudde.

The rare Black tulips amongst coloured tulips outside the Waldemarsudde.

This looked like a statue (Winged Victory of Samothrace)  I had seen before, in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

There were more flowers in the garden by the side of the main building.

A walking trail runs along the shore of Djurgården. Walking eastwards, we passed an old mill. This Dutch style mill with its sails removed was built in 1785 to extract oil from linseeds. This mill is one of five of its type left in the world. Prince Eugen, the artist, frequently used this as his art subject when he paints at the Waldemarsudde.

The linseed oil mill of Djurgården.

Enjoying views of Stockholm along the southern shores of Djurgården.

A good place to stop for lunch is the Ekorren Restaurant and Cafe, located near a marina. Alternatively, we could have brought a picnic lunch but we did not.

Ekorren Restaurant and Cafe.

The best thing to do after lunch on a warm day is to have an hour of siesta in the shade of a big tree at a nearby park. We were not the only ones doing that.

Green park at Djurgården. Ekorren Restaurant and Cafe could be seen in the background.

Heading northwards on a trail through forested land, our next stop was at the Rosendals Trädgård. 

The cafe selling salads, soups, sandwiches and pastries seemed popular and we could have taken our lunch here instead of the Ekorren. But what was most interesting was the orchard of apple trees.

The trees were in full bloom and people were having picnics beneath the trees. Quite similar to hanami parties we saw in Japan during the cherry blossom season.

Further north along the trail is the Rosendal Palace ( Rosendal Slott).

Front of the Rosendal Palace, built in the 1820s for King Karl XIV Johan as a place for summer retreat.

Porphyry Vase at Rosendal Palace ( Rosendal Slott).

There was a huge 9 tonne granite vase at the rear garden of the palace. An information board indicated that this vase took 3,500 man-days, spread over 2 years, to chisel out and polish the bowl and foot of the vase from a 140 tonne piece of raw granite.

From the Rosendal Palace, the walk continued on the northern shores of Djurgården, heading west-wards. This direction will lead us back to the Djurgårdsbron bridge connecting Djurgården island to Strandvägen.

Families of geese spotted as we walked towards the Blue Gate and Djurgårdsbron (bridge).

We walked through the Blå Porten (the Blue Gate). Gilded deer perched on top of the gate pillars is a reminder to visitors that this northern part of Djurgården used to be fenced off as a deer hunting park for royalties.

This part of the island was pretty busy as the Djurgårdsbron (bridge) carried trams, cars and pedestrian traffic to and from Strandvägen.

Seen on the waterways. Bus or boat?

Beautiful waterfront buildings in Stockholm.

Strandvägen is a waterfront boulevard on Östermalm, a posh area of Stockholm. Many boats were anchored along the wharf along Strandvagen, some serving as boat restaurants. This is also ferry terminal and  piers to board boat tours of the Stockholm archipelago.

We sat on a pier for a rest and enjoy the warm weather. It was 29 degree C accordingly to Accuweather.

The weather could vary quite a bit. Fine day today. The next few days would returned to the normal colder spring weather.

It was very comfortable weather to sit on the waterfront, even with the breeze.

Enjoying the views of Strandvägen from a bench in a ferry pier.

From Strandvägen, our walk continued westwards towards Gamla Stan along the beautiful Stockholm waterfront.

Beautiful Stockholm waterfront of Strandvagen.

A good place to cross over to the Gamla Stan (the old town) is via Norrbro. Norrbro was one of the first bridges of Stockholm to be built in stone.

Nice views of the waterways of Stockholm on top of the Norrbro.

View of the Parliament House or Riksdagshuset after crossing the Norrbro.

We stopped for dinner at Gamla Stan, the old town. There are many good restaurants within Gamla Stan. Having tried the Gastabud and Österlånggatan 17 previously, we decided to have dinner at the Restaurang Kryp In. We did not made any reservations but managed to get a table at 6 PM.

Riddarholmen is supposed to be a good place to watch the sun set in Stockholm.  At 7.30 PM, the warm orange rays of the evening sun made the Riddarholmen Church looked very nice.

Riddarholmen Church basking in the evening sun.

Shadow of a wall lamp at Riddarholmen.

Silhouette of the Stockholm City Hall and statue of Evert Taube from Riddarholmen.

We sat on a bench by the waterfront to wait for the sun to set. At this time of year, the sun set at about 10 PM.

The red fencing along Monteliusvägen could be seen from Riddarholmen. Monteliusvägen is also good place for panoramic views of Stockholm and also see the sun set.

3 crowns on top of the tower of the Stockholm City Hall.

It was a cloudy day.  I figured it was too cloudy for nice photos of sun set and decided not to wait till 10 PM. I was a little disappointed as we walked to the Gamla Stan Tunnelbana Station to take the subway back to our apartment at Alvik.

I shot a consolation photo from outside the Gamla Stan Station.

City Hall and Riddarholmen as seen at sun set from Gamla Stan Station.

Not much of a sun set photo but I think it was a good idea not to wait any longer in hope for better views on this cloudy day. 

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Stockholm’s Tunnelbana Subway Art

My favourite mode of transport during my stay in Stockholm is the subway or Tunnelbana. I have read about the art work, in some form or other, present at 90 of the 100 subway stations in Stockholm prior to my visit.

My first few rides on the subway was focused on getting to my destinations without getting lost. Once familiarised with the subway system, I started to notice the art pieces and captured the images as I used the subway.

No need for fancy camera equipment or settings as the artists and designers did an excellent job of lighting up these stations. These are the images shot with my Samsung phone camera at the various subway stations.

Solna Strand Station

Even a set of escalators in the subway could look good on a photo.

The Solna Strand Station is along the Blue line and is not a particularly interesting station in terms of the subway art.  However, the escalators leading to the surface made a nice photo.

Rådhuset (Court House) Station

This station is along the Blue line and used to assess attractions like the Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset) or Norr Malarstrand.

The structures next to the escalators seemed like the builders of the Rådhuset station had uncovered some buildings’ structural footings while digging the cavern for the station. But it is just mimic.

 

The cavern in the Rådhuset underground station is painted in reddish clay colour and contrasted nicely with the blue livery of the  Stockholm subway trains.

Look up on the ceilings of the cavern and spot the pair of oversized boots.

Pair of boots on ceiling of Rådhuset Station.

Fridhelmsplan Station

This station is on the interchange between the Blue line and Green line. It is one of the stations with colourful lighted escalators.

Escalators with colourful lights at some of the station.

This station also featured a glass case displaying a small sailing boat.

Stadion Station

Another station known for its striking colours. Located on the Red line, this station featured a giant underground rainbow with blue skies in the cavern. The rainbow colours are actually based on the Olympic colours.

The Stadion Station is a tribute to the Olympic Games, which were hosted in Sweden in 1912.

Tekniska Högskolan Station

One stop from the Stadion Station, this station on the Red line serves the students of the Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan or KTH).

 

This dodecahedron represents the four classical elements – fire, air, water and earth.

I was not too surprised to see some hi-tech looking art work in a station near a university known for engineering.

Universitetet

Another station on the Red line that is linked to a local university. I used this station to get to the Stockholm University (Stockholms Universitet), Museum of Natural History (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet) and the nearby Brunnsviken nature park.

Long piece of mural with many words behind the Universitetet station’s tracks.

One of the first things that captured my attention was the long piece of mural with many words behind the station’s tracks . This station promotes democracy and human rights and the tiled mural on the wall is based on The UN Declaration of Human Rights.

The tiled mural on the wall is based on The UN Declaration of Human Rights.

The word Respekt (Respect) stands out in black.

Tiles on the passageway featuring map and images linked with Carl von Linné, a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist.

The emergency exits at this station is also quite eye catching and functional. Who can miss the obvious exits when in a panic mode.

Emergency exits at the Universitetet station in striking colours.

Östermalmstorg Station

Located in the posh district of Östermalms near the city centre, this station features work by artist Siri Derkert. The artwork highlights women's rights, peace and environmental issues.

Östermalmstorg Station features the work of Siri Derkert, one of Sweden’s most famous artists in the 20th century, on the walls by the tracks.

This looked like the fossil of a fish at the Östermalmstorg Station.

Kungsträdgården Station

The starting station on the Blue line, this station is one of my favourites in terms of subway art.

Going down the escalator to the train’s deep underground platform, look up and see the piano keyboard painted on the ceiling.

Piano keyboard painted on the ceiling above the escalators of the Kungsträdgården Station.

Once on the track platform, turn back to see the colourful artwork on the walls and ceiling and even the checked tiles on the floor.

Colourful artwork on the walls and ceiling and even the checked tiles on the floor.

The station features archaeological-like displays on both sides of the walkway leading to the tracks. Resist the temptation to rush to the tracks to board the waiting train and spend some time to admire the artwork.

Train waiting at the Kungsträdgården Station. Since this is the start of the Blue line, the train would be waiting till it is time to go.

There are a few other stations that is worth visiting that I have not included in this post.

• The T-Centralen station (at platform for Blue line) 
• Solna Centrum (Blue line)
• Thorildsplan (Green line) – this is an above ground station featuring wall tiles showing Pac Man or video games related images.

Travel Tip:

Check out the free weekly guided art tours of Stockholm’s subway art.

Load the SL Travelcard on the SL Access smart card and enjoy unlimited travel on public transport within Stockholm for the duration of the card. Travelcards are generally the best buy for a visitor who plans to use public transport regularly during the stay.

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