Midnight Sunbeams; or, Bits of Travel Through the Land of the Norseman. Edwin Coolidge Kimball
in going through locks, and in receiving a liberal supply of bumps.
When we went on deck in the morning we seemed to be in the midst of a deep forest, the canal being like a path through the woods, the branches of the trees meeting above our heads. Later we came out among small rocky islands, where we appeared to be completely shut in, and it was difficult to divine which course the steamer would take, until a sudden turn disclosed an egress. Farther on the course is partly on the open Baltic, and partly among the great ledges of rock flanking the coast, where the intricate navigation requires the utmost skill of the pilot, until we enter the canal connecting the Baltic with Lake Mälar.
While stopping at a little village, women and children gathered around the steamer with baskets filled with kringlor (ring-shaped cakes) and pepperkakor (gingerbread), specialties of the place, and as they were well patronized everyone was soon munching from a paper bag.
Lake Mälar has twelve hundred islands, and is similar in scenery to the beautiful region of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence river. We now enter upon the most interesting part of our journey. As we proceed down the lake towards Stockholm, we pass an island called the King’s Hat, from a rock surmounted by a pole bearing a large iron hat, to commemorate the tradition that Olaf Haraldssön, a Norwegian king, when pursued by a king of Sweden, sprang with his horse from the cliff into the lake and escaped, leaving his hat behind. On the islands are villas and country houses, their summer residents gracing the lawns and rocks; from concert gardens, gay with flags, festoons, and colored globes, float strains of music across the water, while numerous pleasure steamers and gay boating parties, going from island to island, enliven the scene.
Down the lake, first a lofty spire, then several towers, come into view. What appears in the distance like a cloud of smoke floating above the houses on each side of a tall tower, we discover on approaching nearer to be a network of telephone wires, stretching above the roofs, converging to the immense standard tower above the central office. Now we have a striking view of Stockholm, rising on islands and cliffs from the lake, with its harbor and quays full of shipping, and the palace and church towers standing out prominently.
We say farewell to the officers of the “Venus,” all of whom speak excellent English and have done their utmost to make our voyage pleasant; the school girls flutter into the arms of their parents and friends awaiting on the quay, and our little company of travellers proceed to the same hotel, leaving the “Venus” with most pleasant recollections of our journey across Sweden.
IN AND ABOUT STOCKHOLM.
CHAPTER III.
IN AND ABOUT STOCKHOLM.
The Islands and Features of the City—The Westminster Abbey of Sweden—Interesting Museums—The Leading City for Telephones—Scenes at Evening Concerts—The Multitude of Excursions—Down the Baltic to Vaxholm—Royal Castles on the Lake—The University Town of Upsala.
The Grand Hotel is, next to the Royal Palace, the most imposing building in Stockholm. It is situated on a broad quay, near the National Museum, opposite the Palace, overlooking the bridge over the junction of Lake Mälar with the bay of the Baltic, and is near the concert gardens, public parks, and the centre of the city’s activity. Though its appointments are quite palatial, its charges are moderate, a comfortable room costing, with attendance, but eighty cents a day, and one is free to take his meals wherever he chooses.
No city of its size contains so many fine restaurants as Stockholm, and one quickly falls into the custom of the natives of dining at restaurants, in parks and concert gardens, among trees and flowers in the open air, with the accompaniment of good orchestral music. The food is well cooked and inexpensive, and one can live well at a daily expense of less than two dollars for room and meals.
Stockholm, a city of 175,000 inhabitants, is more interesting from its situation than from any striking beauty of its streets and buildings. It is built upon nine islands and the mainland, at the point where Lake Mälar flows into the Baltic Bay, nearly forty miles from the Baltic proper. One of the larger islands contains the immense Royal Palace, a prominent feature in every view of the city, and constitutes with two adjoining islands the headquarters of trade and shipping. This is the oldest part of the town and is called “the city,” it having been the nucleus of the city in its early history, and it was many years before its limits were extended beyond these three islands. The mainland to the south rises abruptly from the water in lofty cliffs; long flights of steps and zigzag streets lead to the top, and an elevator takes passengers up for five öre (a cent and a third), while the charge descending is three öre (four-fifths of a cent), to catch the people who are more liable to walk down. This part of the city is only interesting from its extended views. From the Mosebacke on the summit, one of the finest restaurants in the vicinity, is spread out a delightful view of the city on its islands, of the shipping and traffic on the Baltic Bay and Lake Mälar, and the islands and wooded mainland in the distance.
One of the smaller islands is chiefly occupied by naval and military establishments, and connected with it by a bridge is the Castle island, with barracks and a small fortress. On the mainland to the north is the substantial and well-built modern quarter, with wide streets containing the chief shops, hotels, parks, and museums.
The Riddarholms church in “the city” is the Westminster Abbey of Sweden, as for centuries it has been the burial-place of kings and the most celebrated men of the land. The walls of the nave are hung with battle flags and the armorial bearings of the knights of the Seraphim Order, the highest in Sweden; at the sides are burial chapels, in the aisles are burial vaults and monuments, and you walk over a pavement of tombstones. On the right of the high altar is the chapel, where, in a green marble sarcophagus, repose the remains of Gustavus Adolphus, the most famous of all the Swedish kings, who ranks as one of the ablest military commanders of his age, who by his brilliant victories and career raised Sweden to the proudest position she has ever occupied in history. Between the windows of this chapel are Austrian, Russian, and other battle flags—trophies of his victories. Adjoining is the Bernadotte chapel, containing in a porphyry sarcophagus the remains of Charles XIV. John, the founder of the present ruling dynasty. During the reign of the childless and unpopular Charles XIII., the dominant party in Sweden, with the idea of conciliating Napoleon, elected Bernadotte, one of his generals, as crown prince. By his steady support of the allies against Napoleon, he obtained at the congress of Vienna possession of Norway, when that country separated from Denmark. In 1818 he succeeded to the throne, and though at first the nation entertained very little regard for their alien sovereign, yet he and his successors have so advanced the material prosperity of the united kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and have so identified themselves with the interests and national peculiarities of their subjects, that they have won their affection and loyalty.
Beneath the chapels are the vaults containing the remains of the members of successive ruling families. There is nothing beautiful nor impressive about the church; the interior is bare and dingy, every one walks about wearing his hat, without any outward respect for the place or its occupants; people rush down the steps leading to the burial vaults, crowd against each other, peer through the iron bars of the gates at the coffins in the dusky interior, with the same eager curiosity as if viewing the victims at a morgue. Religious services are held here only on the occasion of a royal funeral.
The National Museum is a handsome building in the Renaissance style. It comprises an historical collection of all kinds of objects, from prehistoric to the present time; a collection of ancient and modern sculpture, armor, and weapons; and upon the upper floor a picture gallery, which is of little importance when compared with the famous galleries of Europe; the paintings, however, by modern artists, of Swedish life, scenery, and historical incidents are very interesting, particularly those by Tidemand. In a room containing a display of the coronation robes, uniforms, and gala costumes of the Swedish kings and queens are shown the blood-stained clothes worn by Gustavus Adolphus during his battles in Prussia, and the sheet in which his body was wrapped after the battle of Lützen.
In a small square at the side of