I’m an anthropologist. I’ve even got a certificate to prove it.
I don’t use my anthropology officially in my day-t0-day life, but unofficially? I find it a great excuse for being nosey. I love finding out about how other people live and think, about their beliefs, culture and traditions. Learning about other cultures is one of reasons I love travel so much.
Whenever I’m in a city with a cultural museum I put it high on my list of must-see places.
The Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum) in Stockholm is Sweden’s largest museum of cultural history, so of course I had to spend a few hours there.
It’s situated next door to Sweden’s biggest tourist attraction, Vasa, so I combined the two on the same day. They were both included in the 3 day Stockholm Pass I’d bought as well, so I didn’t have worry about separate admission costs.
Here’s the blurb from the website:
The Nordic Museum has exhibitions about life and work, trends and traditions, in Sweden from the 16th century to today. Our collections include clothes and fashion, textiles, furniture and interiors, jewellery, photography, folk art, glass and china. The Museum was founded in 1873 by Artur Hazelius.
I wasn’t sure how interesting this was going to be from the description. Clothes, jewellery and china aren’t amongst the things I find most scintillating, but as I was already in the area and it wasn’t going to cost me anything, it was worth a look.
As it happened, I found it far more interesting than I’d hoped and I ended up staying until closing time.
Here’s some of what I found.
Around the turn of the last century it became more common to invite people round for coffee than for dinner. This wasn’t necesarily the easy option though, as it was expected that you would offer seven types of biscuits. And, get this, guests would be expected to try all seven types. It would be rude not to. With my love of all things fika, I’d have been in my element at one of these gatherings!
The upper echelons of society didn’t compeletely give up on their posh dinner parties though. Tables would glitter with gilt bronze, crystal, silver and mirrored glass. Each place setting was completed with a menu written in French (very posh) and a whole set of glasses. Each course was served with a different wine to accompany it and each wine was poured into a fresh glass. There were a lot of courses.
Dishes on a typical menu included chicken farce in broth, filled puff pastry, steamed turbot fillets, venison steak, ox-tongue farce, roasted hazel hen, goose-liver terrine, asparagus, English plum pudding, ice cream, cheese and fruit.
These weren’t choices; each dish was served as a separate course and everyone got a helping of everything. I don’t even know what half of them are, but it seems very meaty. I think I’d have stuck to the biscuits. And maybe the wine.
This dessert table had me salivating. I doubt I’d have been allowed to eat any of it though. Laws stated what the different classes could serve on their dessert tables. What? The poor were limited to nuts and honey-soaked fruit, whilst the rich could serve pretty much what they wanted.
For festive occassions the rich really went over the top. The centrepiece of this table is the roast swan that has been stuffed back into its plumage. The same plumage could be used over and again with a new roast sitting in it each time. Not sure I’d fancy that. Wouldn’t it get smelly?
The museum wasn’t all food. There were also displays on Swedish festivals which I found quite interesting. The displays on furniture, costume, and jewellery were ok, but it was the food through the ages that most caught my attention.
I did decide I wanted one of these chairs though.
I particularly liked this bamboo bike.
I also want a bike like this. One where I can make myself a smoothie as I cycle along.
This push-bike comes with a motorbike-style sidecar attached.
This is a Swedish military bike from 1950. It was used by a dog-handler who would sit his dog on the little platform.
And then there was this one. An all-enclosed trike. It’s orange, so I wouldn’t change a thing.
The information panel pointed out that although bikes used to be seen as a means of transport for the less well-off and as a way of giving access to public spaces for all classes, they are now much more likely to be seen as a social signifier identifying the middle-classes. Encouraging a cycle culture that includes all classes should be a priority for every city.
I did learn how the use of space in our homes has changed over the decades. No-one really has a parlour anymore for example. Also kitchens, which used to be the heart of the home, shrank in size with the advent of technology in the 1950s – the future was seen to involve the mere reheating or rehydrating of food rather than actual cooking, and the kitchens reflected this, giving more space to leisure rooms instead.
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 
Here’s another nice bench to sit on. This one also has a good view of more than just the art.
Nor this bit. Though I did sort of like the sheep.
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. 
