TUESDAY, JULY 16
THE PERFECTION OF STOCKHOLM
Stockholm is totally charming, everything is tasteful from the tourist and antique shops, to restaurants that offer serve-yourself, unlimited coffee and bread, to the design on mugs, design of glasses, utensils, and furniture. The colors of buildings are subtle, and rich, the detailing clean with wooden-framed windows and simple facades.
In Gamal Stan, the old town, streets are narrow and cobbled, with large trees that shade open spaces. Fountains and the statues exhibit a sense of humor and playfulness. The minimal sensibility, the clean edges and spacial understanding, this fantastic sense of design is in every simple and complex detail. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, Stockholm, which has existed since the 1200 and really came into its own in the mid-1500, is wrapped by water, a series of islands, connected by boats and bridges. It’s as beautiful as reported.
GAMAL STAN, OLD TOWN
We wandered the streets, walked up the narrowest alleyway (one of Stockholm’s novelties), found historic buildings, the statue of George slaying the Dragon, the museum of Nobel Prize Recipients, the Palace (there is still a reigning royal family in Sweden, though it is run on a parliamentary system). Rain broke up the day, stints of downpours that quickly ended to leave the cobble streets wet, the air fresh, the many trees happy.
We had lunch in a popular local restaurant Under Kastanjen in the center of the Old Town, called Gamlastan. I had the most luscious meatballs with a bechamel sauce, tart lingonberries and creamy mashed potatoes. Chloe wasn’t so lucky with her big bowl of carrot soup, which she described as simply boiled carrots mashed.
DJURGARDEN, ISLAND
The walk to the Nordik Museum was a treat, along the water and the impressive, grand but tidy, glowing, awned, buildings along the water’s edge. Boats moved in the water beside us. The cobbled sidewalks were not busy. Passing first the island of Skeppsholmen we followed the water further to Djurgarden and crossed the bridge. The Nordik Museum, Nordiska Museet, is in a large, stone building surrounded by tall trees, a few street food stands at the bottom of it’s staircase, a tiny park in front and the water. By the time we arrived, there was only a little over an hour for us to see inside — and it’s large — so we decided to return the next day.
There are many museums on this island and a small summer outdoor theater. We poked our noses in different places. There is also an amusement park. As we passed en route to the ferry that would take us to Skeppsholmen, Chloe commented that all amusement parks smell the same.
ARKDES ON SKEPPSHOLMEN, ISLAND
We dashed to the ferry (a note: transport is expensive in Sweden, like everything else. Our lunch was nearly 30 Euros. The transport is about 4.5 Euros one way for adults, Chloe’s fare, under 25, is 3.2 Euros.) The ride took less than five minutes, but it was great to be on the water.
We were heading to ARKDES, Sweden’s National Center for Architecture and Design. It was open until 8pm. The permanent collection is free; the temporary exhibitions cost 27 Euros for the two of us.
The permanent collection included a fascinating history of Swedish architecture and urban planning, with text and architectural and city replicas and models. It traced changes in ideas about city planning, and architectural designs, influenced by social, environmental, political and aesthetic trends.
Included in the large, warehouse-like exhibition space was a smaller room with an exhibition about digital games, most with a focus on positive experiences and all created by Swedish game designers. It included drawings, videos and some objects used in the games. Our favorite was Unravel, a game about a yarn person who unravels. Very relatable.
THE FUTURE STARTS HERE EXHIBITION
The temporary exhibition, which was the reason we chose ARKDES, was titled “The Future Starts Here.” We thought it would be a perfect complement to what we had learned about artists challenging and working with digital technologies at the Boros in Berlin, and the less than inspiring show at KINDL.
This show blew our minds. It included 80 projects that are shaping the future, from genetic modifications to technologies that work like our brains. There was a virtual reality display, an individual leaf, designed to create oxygen, apps that crowd source the search for missing people, facial masks created from the DNA of a single hair. Divided into three categories, the show investigated how our advanced technologies impact the self, public and planet, and asked questions like: “Is technology helping with loneliness? Does democracy work anymore? Should the planet be a design project? There was so much to this show, overall disturbing with a tinge of hope that depends upon the goodness of people.
