Summer Night City

Part of the Famous Park Bench Photo

Oh My God, The Tree in 2010!

The Tombstone of Stikkan "Stig" Anderson, ABBA's Long-Time Manager

The Djurgarden Kanal, Where Scenes from "ABBA The Movie" Were Shot

The Rain Shelter on Djurgarden

The 1970 Photo Session at the Djurgarden Rain Shelter, for the Single "People Need Love"

So, yesterday morning I woke up and had the usual breakfast. In addition to what I normally have, I tried the citronminimuffin (small lemon muffin). They also had cola muffins, but I didn´t try one. I was going to have the non-breakfast foods as a second course, but I forgot!

After breakfast, I headed straight to the subway and showed off my new ticket-buying skills. I had no problem boarding the subway, which in Stockholm is called banan, and made my way to Central Station. Right next door is a touristbyrå (tourist bureau), and I was able to buy a subway pass at a much better deal than paying 30 SEK (= 4 dollars Canadian) a pop. At the tourist bureau, they played a lot of ABBA, the only place I have been to in Stockholm where I have heard any.

With my trusty ABBA Guide to Stockholm, I headed towards another area today, Östermalm. This is a posh, ritzy area of the city, located in the northeast area of the city. I got to the Musikmuseet (Music Museum) around 11:00 a.m, but as it wasn´t open until noon, I walked around a bit. Just up the street from it is the old Castle Hotel, now called the Riddargatan Hotel. It was in the lobby of this building that ABBA shot the famous photo for the back sleeve of the ABBA album. As the hotel has since been completely refurbished, it bears no resemblance to the photo, except for the archway that Agnetha posed under. I ventured into the lobby and snapped a few pictures. I had always wanted to strike the pose that Agnetha did in that photo with her bum sticking out, and her feet placed one in front of the other, as she leans over a chair. But a) the chairs they have now are low-backed leather things, and b) I didn´t want to make a spectacle of myself. I am always cautious about not appearing to be a completely obsessed fan...

I thought I was making my way back to the museum, but I soon discovered that I was heading the wrong way. (Quelle surprise!) There was no problem, however, because when I looked at the map, I discovered that I was near the Kungligabiblioteket (the National Library). As I really wanted to see it, I made my way there. Wow! A very impressive building, and it makes our own building at 395 Wellington appear only slightly less stately.

As I was busy exploring Östermalm, I discovered another NK shop, and I thought I would venture inside to see if they had any CDs. As it turns out, they don´t sell any CDs here (I still cannot accept the fact that CDs are on their way out and people are buying music electrionically instead). Across the street was another shop called Saluhall, so I went inside, still thinking about CDs. When I got in, I couldn´t believe it! I had accidentally gone into the Swedish food halls that Björn shows us in the CNN documentary about his city! And man, was it ever impressive! Stalls and stalls of specialized food stuffs for one to purchase. It was close to lunch then, so I decided that I would buy my lunch here. I asked at the counter if I could have the kroppkakor I saw on the menu (these are the Swedish version of Acadian poutines râpees). The seller told me that they had not yet been delivered to her, but they should be arriving later. (Maybe they sent out for them in St-Antoine de Kent, N.B.) So I opted for the Svenska köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) instead. I really felt like having them, but also, I had not taken a picture of them the last time I had them. I have not been as good as my friend Nick is at documenting the food he has when he travels!! On my way out of the food halls to have my lunch outside, I noticed that lobster was ridiculously expensive. The Swedish lobster was 850 SEK a kilo (roughly 121 Canadian dollars a kilo, or about 60 dollars a pound), while the Canadian lobster was on sale at 450 SEK a kilo (about 64 dollars a kilo, or 32 dollars a pound). What a bargain!

I had my lunch in a quiet little churchyard opposite the Saluhall, and got myself some fresh smultron (strawberries) from an outside vendor. Then, I slowly made my way again to the Music Museum. The Musikmuseet traces the story of Swedish music from the earliest recorded history to today. They had examples of early Inuit drums from the Sami people of the Arctic, as well as small flutes made from the horns of cows and rams. My main reason for going was... do I really need to write it out? There it was towards the end of the exhibit: a display dedicated to ABBA with one of Benny´s pianos, the girls´microphones and several gold records. I started thinking if ever there were a Graceland for ABBA I would so be there. Then, I started thinking, why isn´t there an ABBA tour here in Stockholm? I am sure I am not the only interested person, and I think there would be serious money here! If I were more of an entrepreneur, I would move here and start a business.

Tucked away in a small corner of the Musikmuseet was a small stage with a video screen. People could dress up in some funny costumes on display there, select one of about 6 different karaoke songs, and sing into the microphone while watching themselves on the big screen. There was no one else around, so I got dressed up in a denim jacket with a purple feather boa, and sang along to "Inatt jag drömde" ("Last night I dreamed"), an obscure Hep Stars song. It was too low, so instead I selected "Mamma Mia", and took a picture of myself on the screen.

For some reason, the Music Museum also had archival footage of the funeral of Prime Minister Olof Palme, so I sat on a chair and watched it on the small tv screen. I also took some pictures of the footage, and the image is so clear, you would swear that I was at the funeral in 1986!

The museum was nothing too exciting, and I can see why it is not mentioned in my Frommer´s Guide to Sweden. After I left the museum, I made my way to the most fashionable area of Östermalm, Karlaplan. It was here that both Benny and Frida had separate apartments after they split up in 1981. I saw where Benny was living from 1981 to 1984 with his new wife Mona Nörklit, then where they moved to in 1984 before buying their current place. Frida´s apartment, where she lived from the breakup until late 1982 when she moved to London, was located nearby. The main floor of the building now houses a car dealership selling both Ferraris and Maseratis.

Having completed the Östermalm leg of my ABBA tour, and it being a marvelously beautiful day, I decided to head south to the island of Djurgården. This is a very large area that Stockholmers retreat to to relax and have fun. People can bike, jog or roller blade in the vast park, or even rent paddle boats or canoes to explore the canal and the coastline. My feet were really aching by then (I have two huge blisters on both baby toes), so I decided to rent a bike to see the island. I had not been on a bike in close to 5 years, not since my friend Neil and I had rented bikes in Hull in August 2005. But, once I was on it, I eventually found my balance, and it became as easy as, well, riding a bicycle. The great thing about exploring a city on a bike is that it is less hard on the feet. The disadvantage is that when you get lost, you are much, much further off from your intended destination, as I soon discovered... many times...

As I was biking on Djurgården, I realized how great it was not to have sore baby toes! The first site I came to was the Ulla Winbladh restaurant. It was here in 1975 that ABBA posed for the famous, iconic park bench photo that graced the cover of the ABBA Greatest Hits album. You know the shot: Björn reading a magazine, Agnetha sitting next to him staring ahead in a forlorn manner, and Benny and Frida engaged in a passionate kiss. Well, the bench is no longer there, but I was able to find the distinctive looking tree that was behind them in that photo. It was an Oh My God! moment for me... (I know, it doesn´t take much...)

I made my way down Djurgårdsvägen with the hot sun shining down on me, a nice light breeze blowing, and the bird songs filling the air. It was a very calming, relaxing experience, biking through this park, with a constant view of the water. I saw wild geese on the ground, hunting for food, with their goslings in tow. I had never seen goslings before and they were adorable, their small bodies covered in down. I eventually found Cirkus, the building where Benny and Björn´s musicals were all premiered in Stockholm. I checked my map then and realized that I had gone past the point I wanted to visit, so I doubled back and went to Galärvarvkyrkogården, the cemetery where ABBA´s manager, Stikkan (Stig) Anderson is buried. It took me a while to find the grave stone, but I eventually did with the help of a very kind, elderly groundskeeper. Once again, I was proud because the entire conversation was in Swedish. I made sure to take a couple of pictures of Stig´s begravningsplats (grave).

Right next to this small churchyard is Gröna Lund, a smallish amusement park. ABBA had several photo shoots here, but the ferris wheel is no longer here. Agnetha references Gröna Lund in two of her songs: "Gulleplutt" and "På söndag".

I then decided to make my way along the southern shore of Djurgården, until I finally got near Manillaskolan (the Manilla school). I was happy to see the shoreline here, because it was where ABBA shot part of the video for "Bang-a-Boomerang" in 1975. I rested on the bench for a while, because it had been uphill biking for a while. The sound of the waters gently lapping the shore was a very calming experience. I sat and listened to the sound of the water for quite a while, and admired a lone swan swimming in the distance. On the other side of the hillock, a young couple was stretched out in the meadow, getting some sun. The young woman had her top off, and I thought "I bet you Martin would love to be here!"

I started heading north with the view of seeing the canal that is featured in ABBA The Movie. It was on this leg of the journey that I really got lost. At one point, I was biking on the main road, against oncoming traffic, and the oncoming policemen waved to me to let me know that I should be biking in the field. I could see the bike path in the distance, beyond a ravine, but I couldn´t get to it. So, I veered off, onto a little path that led into the woods. As I turned the corner in the woods, I came face to face with a magnificient buck deer. He was as startled as I was and bolted into the forest before I could even think of taking a picture of him. I got out of the forest and came to a small cabin where they sold ice cream, so I bought myself a mjukglass (soft ice cream). It was delicious, and as I was running out of steam, the sugar really helped. I took a picture of the small canal flowing near there and decided to make my way further north to see the real canal from ABBA The Movie. After an eternity of biking, I asked a local when I would be coming to the canal. He said that I was absolutely in the wrong part of the city: I was now in Borgen, in an area well north of Djurgården, and I had left the island completely! Turns out that the small canal I had seen was the one from the movie. So, I asked for directions and was told to make for Östermalm, where I was this morning, in order to get back to Djurgården. No big deal, though, because this way I got to see things I would not have seen otherwise, like the Svenska Filminstitutet (the Swedish Film Institute) and I thought of my friend Nick. I then saw the building that houses Sveriges television, where ABBA won the Melodifestivalen contest in 1974, and where they filmed several specials.

I finally made my way back to the canal and was able to admire the view as it appeared in ABBA The Movie during Ashley´s dream sequence. As I had my iPod with me, I played "The Name of the Game", and I instantly felt like I was immersed in the movie! It was an incredible feeling. Just south of the canal is a large open field where more of the dream sequence was filmed. A bit further south, I came to the rain shelter that ABBA used to shoot the cover for their 1972 single "People Need Love". Man! it was a good day!! And with that, I have now done all of the main ABBA sites in the city. There are now only a handful of minor sites left, but I can easily see them during the rest of my stay.

I brought my bike back around 7:00 p.m. after having had it for about 4 hours. And I slowly made my way on foot back to the city. As I was walking, I happened to find myself on the street where part of the video for "Summer Night City" was filmed, and I wasn´t even looking for it! I jumped up on the cement divider and walked upon it the way that Benny does in that video! Then, I continued on my way to Skeppsholmen. As part of Love 2010, the two week festival, the Stockholm Concert Orchestra was playing "Carmina Burana" and I really wanted to see it. Problem was that as the show was sheduled to start at 8:00, and it was 7:30 by the time I got to the concert site, I didn´t have time to have a proper dinner. So once again, I had a quick bite to eat at the concession stand: a nondescript chicken wrap with a Pepsi. I thought I had never yet been to the island of Skeppsholmen, but once there, I realized I had been several times before. And I noticed for the first time a huge makeshift IKEA showroom in a tent, but it had just closed when I got there. Perhaps I can see it later.

The first part of the concert was not "Carmina Burana", but excepts from various operas, with a wedding theme. The opening number was the prelude from "The Marriage of Figaro", appropriately enough. The singers were very good. They ended the first part of the show with an operatic version of "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better", and the crowd broke into applause.

When the sun set, it was very chilly (12 degrees Celsius), and I didn´t have a jacket with me. Still, I stayed for the entire performance of "Carmina Burana". This is a work I never really appreciated, mainly because of that one very ugly melody thrown in there. But I was not alone to detest that one song: the security guard in front of me couldn´t stop giggling when it was being sung, and several people in the crowd were also making faces and laughing. Overall, though, it was a fantastic experience.

I made my way to the subway station on Gamla Stan and took banan back to my hotel. It was past 11:00 when I got in, and I thought I would still be up for a while writing my blog. Problem was that the computers were down, and I was told they are shut off at 11:00. I was really annoyed. So I arranged to have an early wake up call so that I could have time to work on my blog in the morning without wasting a lot of time doing that. I went to bed as soon as I got to my room and had a good night´s sleep.

When the phone rang at 6:30 this morning for my väkning (wake-up call), I was very tired.
Still, I shaved for the opera tonight and got ready. I can´t find the one pair of dress socks I am sure I packed, so I will have to do without. I put on jeans and a plaid shirt, but will come back to the hotel later to dress for the opera. I made my way to the business centre and spent way too much time in frustration trying to get the computer to work. Finally, I was granted access to one of the computers at the main desk of the business centre, and this is where I am working right now. It is OK, but people keep coming to ask me for stuff in Swedish and I have to tell them "Jag arbetar inte här" ("I don´t work here").

I took a break for breakfast and am pleased to report that I tried some of the scary things in the buffet: I had gravlax (smoked salmon), senapsill (herring in mustard) and sill (pickled herring). I also had rostbif (roast beef) and kokt skinka (boiled ham). Let´s just say I´ll stick with the pancakes...

This is where I am at now. I am thinking about what I am going to do today. If Hans is coming to the hotel around 6:00 to get me for the opera, and I need to have dinner before then, that doesn´t give me a full day, so I don´t think I will have time to do Skansen (the huge Swedish historical village on Djurgården) today. Perhaps I will go to the Modernamuseum instead (The Modern Museum). In any event, I shall keep you posted!

Thanks to everyone who has posted messages or sent me e-mails (Troy, Nick, Jacques, Jocelyne, Mam & Dad). Travelling alone can sometimes be a lonely experience, and I feel truly blessed to feel all the love that people I know have for me!

Hugs and kisses!

M.