Post by Ella Most WC’s (the loo, toilet, washroom, restroom, did I forget any?) we’ve been in across Scandinavia and the Netherlands are all-gender. The signs usually have both the male and female icons on the door. But here is one that carried the theme a little further. You might find simply rows of little…
Our route, Tuesday, June 6
Today was the National Day of Sweden which celebrates first: Gustav Vasa being elected king (6 June 1523) and second: the adoption of a new constitution (6 June 1809). Crowds gather, speeches are given, royalty makes a presence, the Air Force does a flyover. We decided that instead of avoiding the crowds, we would dive…
Wild Strawberries
Post by Grubb We were out at the Bergius Botanic Gardens in Brunnsviken yesterday afternoon when I paid homage to Bergman’s final shot in “Wild Strawberries”.
Nordiska
Post by Grubb. This morning we took a bus to the large Nordiska Museet on the island of Djurgården in central Stockholm. The Museet deals with the cultural history of Sweden since the 16th century. First, the long hallway devoted to fashion, then a short hallway length tribute to Strindberg, followed by display cases of cuisine…
The library of dizzy delights
Post by Grubb Imagine Bruegel’s “The Tower of Babel” as if it were a library with books stacked by Borges and you get what it feels like when you enter the Stockholm Public Library. Designed by Gunnar Asplund, the circular structure around the rotunda of the reading room was finished in 1928. Browsing titles three…
Our route, Monday, June 5
First off we took the metro and then a totally packed tram to Nordiska, a museum full of Nordic stuff. Where everyone was going with their big strollers and little kids on a Monday morning, it wasn’t this museum. Next, by bus to the Stockholm Public Library. You might wonder why in the heck…but wait…
Yesterday’s scream
Post by Grubb. First, at the Moderna Museet. There was in Monica Sjöō’s “The Great Cosmic Mother” exhibit of her work, her own twist on Munch. Then, in the Museum for the Performing Arts, Ella’s version. Outside, Ella was calmed down by a quick lilac embrace.
Tunnelbana art
Out of 100 Tunnelbana stations (T-bana, metro, subway, trains that go underground) in the greater Stockholm area, about 90 have been artistically accessorized. As an ending to the day on Sunday, we decided to explore a few stops on the T11 blue line. We happened to be near T-Centralen so that’s where we started. Today,…
“Looking into a Mirror Sideways”
Post by Ella Laurie Anderson is someone who passed me by. I was never a fan, or not a fan. I was aware of her as a unique artist. Would saying “singularly unique” be redundant? At any rate, I simply didn’t pay much attention. When we found out the Modern Museum in Stockholm was having…
To the moon with Laurie
Post by Grubb. To get to the Moderna Museet this morning, we crossed a bridge to the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm. The museum was at the top of a hill next to a sculpture park resembling a modernistic playground. The main exhibit featured Laurie Anderson. In the early 1980s I covered a Laurie Anderson gig…
Filmstaden, Råsunda
Post by Grubb Laurie Anderson’s musings about pilgrimages notwithstanding, I knew where today’s pilgrimage would end up. The film studio facilities in Råsunda, Solna on the outskirts of Stockholm were built in 1920 and subsequently more than 400 Swedish films were shot there. Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” was shot in the studio and the surrounding…
The Daily Food Report
You are really lucky today. Two days in one post. Saturday, June 3At Millesgården, we shared a virtuous light snack in the museum cafe. A whole avocado cut into large chunks on thick pumpernickel. This was no wimpy Avocado toast. Dinner, we went Danish. Maybe we didn’t get enough in Denmark. Nybroplan Smorrebrod was the…
Our route, Sunday, June 4
All over the place… Below, museum hopping. Below that, T-bana hopping
Interiors
Post by Ella. We posted photos of the sculptures at Millesgårten yesterday (see Grubb’s Sat, June 3, “In the garden of the heroic”) but didn’t post any interiors. This was also the residence of Carl Milles, the sculptor and his wife, Olga, an artist in her own right. The residence was built in 1908 for…
Sometimes not even one
Post by Grubb. Contemporary art museums are always a risky proposition. No matter what’s on exhibit, they’re usually located in a part of town that’s far from the tourist trade, places with a lot of warehouses and abandoned factories. The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation is on a part of an island that on this Saturday…