I like art.
Modern art I either love or just don’t get.
As I wouldn’t want to miss out on the chance of seeing art I might love, I had to visit Stockholm’s Moderna Museet.
I went to the late-night opening after spending the whole day wandering around the sculptures at Millesgården and so was pretty tired and had already seen quite a lot of amazing art that day.
It probably wasn’t the best time to go, but I only had four days and wanted to make the most of them. I thought being tired and all arted-out might have swayed my opinion towards the negative end of the spectrum. But no, I got a new lease of life and really enjoyed the museum and the art and was really glad I’d made the effort rather than just going back to the hostel and lying on my bed with my Kindle and a cup of tea.
The first thing I saw, before I even got up to the museum was yet another Carl Milles sculpture. Good job I like them.
Once in the grounds of Moderna Museet I came across this installation.
Calder is an American sculptor who lived from 1898 to 1976. The Four Elements was created as a giant metal sculpture (it stands about 10 metres tall) in 1961 from a model he’d originally made in 1938. The sculpture is motorised and turns slowly. I love bright blocks of bold colour so this was a winning start for me.
The museum is on the island of Skeppsholmen which was formerly a naval base. The museum began its life in what had been the drill hall. In 1998 a new specially designed building was built to house the museum. This now adjoins the old drill hall which these days houses the architecture museum.
The modern new building is light and spacious. Although there were quite a lot of visitors, it never felt crowded. And there were plenty of benches I could sit on to rest my tired legs admire the art.
Here’s another nice bench to sit on. This one also has a good view of more than just the art.
The art really interested me, particularly an exhibition of Nils Dardel’s work, and below are photos of a few of my favourite pieces.
In 1917 Dardel travelled through Russia after a visit to Japan. It was the time of the Revolution and his painting of the Trans-Siberian Express shows both the exterior of the train passing through the countryside and the interior with the carriages filled with soldiers.
This picture appealed to me both as a piece of art and because I’m interested in the Trans-Siberian Express and even have a journey aboard it listed as one of my 60 things to do before I’m 60.
This painting of men propping up a bar shows that some things never change.
The above three Nils Dardel paintings show how the same idea can be used multiple times. I could take a blogging lesson from this!
These two paintings of The Dying Dandy have subtle differences. I found it really interesting to see different versions of the same painting side-by-side like this.
There was something about this one that really drew me towards it (and no, not just because it’s a naked man).
There was a lot more to see than just the Nils Dardel exhibition, though that was my favourite part.
I didn’t really understand this part of the exhibtion.
Nor this bit. Though I did sort of like the sheep.
And I think the only reasons I liked this one are because I used to drive a Ford and one of my niece’s favourite foods is tinned spaghetti. So it reminded me of my first car and my niece. I’m really not sure how spaghetti fits in with the title though.
The spaghetti was making me hungry and it had been a long day. But as I still had a little bit of time left before the museum closed, I ignored my rumbling stomach and paid a quick visit to the adjoining architecture museum which was included with the price of my ticket.
That can be another post though.
Vasa was actually so much better than I expected. Yes, it was crowded, but not so much that I felt hemmed in or unable to see anything.
The ship sits in the middle of a huge hall with various levels of floor wrapped around it. Some parts have been restored, but others have been left open so the inside can be seen.
I started with a tour. The guide was really informative and walked the small group round the ship talking about the history, the design, the engineering, the recovery and of course, how it sank in the first place.
It was on its maiden voyage and only made it 1300 metres before going down due to being top heavy with all the cannons it was carrying into battle.
Even the Titanic did better than that!
How stunning is this? And how different to the dull brown that I assumed the ship would have been.
After spending several hours looking at everything, reading everything and photographing everything it was time for fika.
The various parts of the garden have been designed to reflect different themes such as the Lower Terrace which was inspired by an Italian piazza (the Milleses spent many winters in Rome).
A smaller, separate, house is known as ‘Anne’s House’. This was built in the 1950s when Carl and Olga returned from living in the USA. The house was lived in by Carl’s assistant, Anne. The house has been left as it was and the rooms can be viewed through glass panels.
I spent pretty much the whole day wandering around and went completely overboard with the number of photos I took.
I first heard of it when I read 
I knew Skansen was going to be big so I made sure I was there early. As well as the buildings, there is also a zoo and an aquarium. I stayed the whole day – I was able to continue wandering round after it had officially closed, so don’t know at what time they actually throw people out – but still didn’t get time to visit the aquarium. And although I felt like I got a good look at everything else, I would’ve have liked to have been able to take it more slowly. I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime.
Some of the buildings have people dressed in periodic costume and demonstrating the skills and trades of the time. I was most interested in the ones involving food, like the bakery below, which was selling the finished product.
The lady here was making traditional bread. It was only made a couple of times a year and would be a great social occasion as the women would come together to spend the whole day making it. The bread was dried so it would last for months.
The zoo had native animals like wolves, wolverines, reindeer and bears. Most of the animals were either hiding in the bushes from the strong sun or running around so fast I couldn’t get a clear photo. But I did catch this sleepy reindeer and bear.
There was also a monkey house, but I somehow think these aren’t native.
A monorail hangs from the ceiling and loops round the building. A constantly moving stream of cards each depicts a Nobel Prize winner. It seemed a really effective way to show just how many Nobel winners there have been.
Interactive terminals allow visitors to access information about the prize from each decade.
Dinner is followed by chocolates wrapped in gold foil and embossed to look like the medals.
Traditionally winners sign the underneath of their dining chair. Some of the chairs are displayed in the museum. Others are used as seating in the cafe. As I’m not likely to get an invite to the banquet any time soon, I had a coffee in the cafe instead.
So at least I got to sit on a chair signed by a Nobel Prize winner. I didn’t know who it was, but the coffee was good.
As a grand finale to my wander through Sweden I’d booked myself into the 
Ok, it’s a very tame wing-walk as the plane is on the ground, but it’s the only chance I’m ever likely to get to walk on the wing of a plane. The wing has been turned into a kind of veranda and it’s possible to do the wing-walk even if you’re not actually staying at the hostel. Non-residents have to pay, but it was only a few kronor and so is something worth considering if you ever have a few hours to spare at Arlanda. 
