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City of contrasts

Hema Ramakrishnan

Bengt Callinggard, General Manager, SAS, was full of smiles during the bus ride from the Arlanda airport to the city of Stockholm, where he had spent a good part of his childhood. With great ease, he rattled off the fact file on this historic city which stands on 14 interlocking islands between the Baltic sea and Lake Malaren.

But then no fact file can capture the contrasts of Stockholm. This is probably the only place in the world where you can catch a salmon at a busy road intersection close to the walls of a royal palace. It is also a starting point for excursions to the su rrounding archipelago with as many as 24,000 islands. Not surprisingly, boating is a passion among the locals, with one out of every five Swede owning a boat.

This city of contrasts, where the sun almost never sets in the summers, has a lot to offer to the heterogeneous mix of Japanese, American, British and South East Asian tourists. For a hassle-free tour, you can take a bus or hire a taxi or even step on to a boat for a wider view of Stockholm islands.

The tour is incomplete without a visit to the Royal Palace which houses several museums, the royal armoury, State apartments and the royal treasury. The yellow building nearby is the famous church of the Finnish parish at Stockholm. Behind the church, yo u will find the smallest statue of the iron boy, just 14 centimetres high. Turn into a narrow lane (tradgardsgatan) in the old town and it will lead you to the stock exchange built way back in 1776. It also houses the Nobel library.

A visit to the Vasa Museum, which houses the royal warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged after 333 years, is something that cannot be missed. The ornate ship, which obviously had design defects, still demands special handling. I t is a treasure trove of art with almost a thousand wooden sculptures.

Children would freak out at Junibacken, a fairy-tale house where you travel through the story book world of Astrid Lindgren on a miniature train. The amusement park, Grona Lund, is lots of fun for the family where one can try the free fall or the Viking ship or even scream down the roller coaster.

Summer months are ideal for the visit to the numerous island restaurants and bars. Culinary experiences in Stockholm range from great street food including the Swedish hot dog to `value for money' lunches. Vegetarianism is slowly catching on. You could s top by at the house of health to taste piping hot vegetarian food or at one of the caravans near the busy shopping arcade for a cheese pizza. If you have the time and money to splurge, check out crystal ware and Sami handicrafts at the NKs.

The best way to get a bird's eye view of the islands and the surrounding archipelago is to take to the skies and enjoy Stockholm from a hot air balloon. The only problem with the city is that like Oliver Twist you are always left wanting more.

Fact file

How to get there: You can take a SAS flight from New Delhi to Copenhagen. From there, you can take a connecting flight to Stockholm. Flights are also available from other international hubs such as London, Frankfurt and Paris.

Where to stay: Radisson SAS Strand Hotel, Radisson SAS Royal Viking Hotel and the Grand Hotel are some of the popular names in the city.

When to visit: The best season to visit the Swedish Capital city is from May to September.