Day: May 22, 2025

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #3 “Cold? Are You Kidding Me?”

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden

Today was our first real day of touring.  We met our group promptly at 8:30 AM and were on our way to take a bus/walking tour of the city.  Walking from the hotel to the bus was only a distance of about 100 feet, but it was one of the longest walks of my life.  I couldn’t believe how cold it was.  The thermometer registered 6° C which converts to 43° F.  Plus it was windy which made it feel much colder.  Just to add a little spice there was a slight drizzle.  I admit it, I am from Southern California and they build us weak there, but this was even difficult for the sturdy.  Well maybe not.  We have a couple of ringers here.  Matt and his wife, Jayme, are from Iowa (via Wisconsin and Minnesota respectfully) so they don’t count.  Here is a picture of Matt and me.  

Can you tell which one of these men is from California?

The city tour was okay.  But traveling around a town in a bus hearing a bunch of facts is not really my thing.  We did make some stops that were of interest.  We visited the City Hall which was very impressive.  Inside, the building demonstrated real warmth.  No not the architecture, the temperature.  it was very warm and I didn’t want to leave.  Our guide, Monica, showed us the Blue Room which for some reason is not blue but actually red. 

Patrice and me in the “Blue Room” in the Stockholm City Hall. Hey, if you had to live in this weather things would look and feel blue to you too.

Above the Blue Room is the Golden Hall.  This was very beautiful and supposedly composed of 18 million pieces of gold mosaics.  I was counting to confirm but our guide said we didn’t have time for me to finish my count.  Really?  What was all that verbiage about tailoring the trip to meet the client’s needs?  

I got to about 150 on my count to confirm there were 18,000,000 golden pieces and I was stopped. Can you believe that?

Use the link below to see a panoramic view of the Golden Hall. Just ignore the narrator who at first calls it the City Council then corrects himself.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ubtwB24rEqk

Here is one more picture of the wall. Notice the depiction of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower.

I can’t confirm this but I was told that Trump has asked that the Swedish government arrange that the Statue of Liberty (93 meters tall) appear bigger than the Eiffel Tower (303 meters tall). I was also told that if this does not happen a tariff on Swedish meatballs will follow.

After our visit to the City Hall was completed we did some more walking around the town. And then I saw an unbelievable sight.

Yes, Matt put on a jacket!  And his wife was wearing gloves!

What I didn’t tell you about the above picture is that I took it while I was standing in a shop.  I have no idea what they were selling. I only know it was incredibly warm. 

Now we are off to dinner and a museum visit.  I will tell you about that tomorrow.