An Archipelago & Art Amphigory

 

The Archipelago has many islands reachable only by private boat... or hiring a water taxi.

Hello again, Blogonauts!

For my final day in Stockholm I joined about half-a-hundred other tourists for a 2-hour cruise around Stockholm's archipelago. (Clicking on the pictures allows you to enjoy enlarged versions on your phone or computer screen.)

This close-knit cluster of about 24,000 islands (that number is NOT a typo) initially guarded Stockholm from potential invasion by sea. Nowadays the islands nearer to the city hold posh residences, while those further out give city denizens a chance to have summer retreats near the Baltic.

Near to Stockholm sits Gröna Lund, an amusement park dating back to the 1880s.

Affording a house near the city takes a lot of kroner.

Still not far from the inner harbor is an art piece put up by an American. It shows a man standing atop a metal arc, with the rest of the parabola completed by a stream of water. (I'm having trouble finding details, so if someone knows more about it, leave info in the comments.)

In order for homes further out from Stockholm to have electricity, they must either have solar panels or a diesel generator. And no septic tanks can be installed, so the only options are either a composting toilet or an outhouse.

It was a relaxing and scenic boat ride, so take a moment to enjoy the photos. 

Back on shore, and after lunch, I headed to the National Museum, where the art collections of the various Swedish monarchs are on display. The art ranges from around 1500 to the mid-1900s.

Rembrandt's "Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis"

On special exhibit were works by Swedish woman artist, Hanna Hirsch Pauli, or simply Hanna Hirsch (1864-1940), Have any of you known of her before? She was a Jew married to a Christian, Georg Pauli (also an artist, but one who refused to stand in the way of her own expression). Her work was often criticized on antisemitic or gender-biased grounds, but it was really compelling. There must have been almost 100 works on display, but here are a couple:

"Breakfast Time" by Hanna Hirsch Pauli

"Family Group By Lamplight" by Hanna Hirsch Pauli

I typically try to visit an art museum when in Europe, and this one didn't disappoint.

But now a couple of odds and ends to wrap up Stockholm... some of them odder than others.

Gary asked me if I had visited the rough-hewn subway stations, where the builders left the exposed rock (some of it actually leaking groundwater).  

Here are a triad of photos from the oh-so-very-deep-into-the-earth Blue Line, taken at the Central stop and the Kungsträdgårten stop:

And returning above ground, here's another oddity: Near the palace, there stands the Källargränd Urinoar, a 130-year-old urinal. Yes, it's functioning (meaning it has a drain into the sewer, but there's nothing to flush). And to answer the obvious question, I opted NOT to use it.

The perfect place for someone to piddle away their time in Stockholm. 😜

 

And now, since you seem to relish in relish, salivate at my sustenance, and enjoy visualizing my victuals, here's a photo of my salmon and potato lunch from today.

It was yummy!

That brings to a close reports about the Baltic portion of my autumn trek. Tomorrow I'm flying to Manchester with a stopover in Zürich. (Hi, Tom!) There I will be attending the last ever Q.E.D conference, then flying home on Monday.

These conferences eat up time like me chowing on salmon, so unless there's an unexpected break in the action, you're unlikely to see another Jaunticle at least until the curtain has fallen on Q.E.D.

However, there is an opportunity to participate in one day of the conference by streaming it for FREE... albeit starting very early for folks in the US. Skepticamp 2025 will offer a series of 15-minute talks, from 11 AM until 4 PM in the UK. (That's 6 to 11 AM EDT, or 3 to 8 AM PDT.) You can watch the live stream at https://www.twitch.tv/sitp. 

Thanks for coming along during my multi-week wanderings! And just a reminder, if you leave a note in the comments section, add your John Hancock or your "Kilroy Was Here" at the end.

Blog to you later!

Larry