Vinayak Hegde

My Air France flight was delayed and I spent the time in Bangalore and Charles De Gaulle airport browsing and chatting with friends on the way. Finally I reached Arlanda Airport after losing more than a half an day due to the delay. The whole trip took about 36 hours. At Arlanda airport, I went to the tourist information centre and bought the Stockholm card. The Stockholm card is a good buy if you plan to use the local transport to travel around the city and see atleast a couple of museums a day. Arlanda airport is well designed though quite far from the city like the Bangalore airport. But both the bus and train connectivity was good. I decided to take the Arlanda Express as it had a special summer offer and it took half the time it takes a bus to reach the city. That was a good decision as the Hotel I was booked into – Scandic Norra Bantoget – was practically right ouside the Arlanda Express terminal.

I got an opportunity to explore Stockholm for 2 days as I was not occupied all the time during the IETF conference (the conference ran for 6 days). Most of the time I was just walking round the city as my hotel was conveniently located near the Central Station and about 15 minutes walk near the quay where you could take ferries to the other islands. Stockholm is a city set on the water. No matter where you are in Stockholm you are never more than 5-10 minutes away from the water. The whole city is spread across 14 islands connected by bridges and served by a fantastic transportation system consisting of buses, trams, ferries and underground railways. The underground railway especially is very famous for it’s art and is the one of the largest public art displays in the world. They are the best way to get around the city with the exception of bikes which can be easily hired and parked around the city.

The City Hall (Stadshuset) dominates the Stockholm skyline and is one of the most important buildings in Stockholm. The City hall complex houses the ‘Blue Hall’ which is the venue for the Nobel Banquet. I got an opportunity to visit this as part of IETF’s Welcome Reception which was held here. The City Hall stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island and is a major tourist attraction. You can catch ferries to the other island from the quay neat the City Hall. You can get the best views of the City skyline and the Gamla Stan (old town) from the city hall.

The next evening I went for a stroll through the city. I visited Hotorget Market and the Concert Hall. The Stockholm Concert Hall, built in 1926 is a perfect example of neoclassicism in architecture and art. It is the home of the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nobel Prize ceremony. Once of the things that you notice when in Stockholm are the fancy cars and motorbikes which people use to commute through the city.

Then I strolled down through Kungsträdgården (Swedish for “King’s Garden”) which is in the centre of the city. In the spring the park is alight with the pink cherry blossoms. It also has some of the most beautiful buildings in Stockholm such as the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

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