Gripsholm Castle

Gripsholm Castle sits on the edge of Lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in Mariefred, Södermanland, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 30 miles west of Stockholm.

Today it is a museum which is open to the public.  It contains paintings, works of art, and one section of the castle houses the National Portrait Gallery, one of the oldest portrait collections in the world.

Construction on the Castle began in 1537 by King Gustav I, but was not completed until 1709.  There was originally a medieval fortress on the site, which was built by the Grip family in 1380.

King Gustav... I mean my brother Jay... checking out the cannon

Only the facade of a wall remains of the original building, which was confiscated by King Gustav I in 1526 and torn down to make room for the fortified castle you now see on the site.  The circular corner towers were built for defensive purposes.

Christian just playing around

Since King Gustav seized the property, it has remained in the Swedish Royal Family.  It was used as a royal residence until 1713, and has even been used as a prison for royal personages from time to time.

The view across the lake

It couldn't have been built in a more beautiful setting.

My nephews - and my niece - enjoyed checking out its splendors!

Nils and Anders, no doubt planning battle strategies!

As pretty as all this is in summer, all I can think of is how socked in with snow it most probably becomes in the winter!  Brrrrr.

Picturesque Lake Mälaren

Still, pretty darn lovely in the summertime!

Looks like a beautiful day in the neighborhood

A lonely Viking Rune Stone

There are many stately homes and palaces in this region of Sweden.

Nils is always doing the GQ poses!

Brothers Nils, Anders and Christian

Yes, you can tell these kids have Scandinavian heritage!

Siblings Linnea, Anders, Christian och Nils

That cannon looks like a work of art in itself!

Now, just the boys plus Linnea's husband, Jeff

My sister-in-law in a pensive moment

Beautiful Sweden!  Are you ready for a vacation there yet?

The VASA Ship

The Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in Stockholm in 1628 and was salvaged in 1961.  The ship was amazingly well preserved, however putting it back together was like completing a gigantic jig-saw puzzle.

Scientists and historians are still discovering new things about this amazing relic.

The Vasa Museum

The VASA is the world’s most well preserved ship from the 1600s.  Over 95% of the original parts of it have been preserved and the ship is decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures.  This makes the VASA a unique cultural treasure and one of the foremost tourist attractions in the world.

It took almost 2 years to build the WASA ship.

Lots of craftsmen were involved in the construction.  It was to be a fearsome war machine.  It had 64 guns and was to be equipped with 300 soldiers.  It was meant to both scare and defeat the Polish enemy.

Jay and Christian visiting the museum

On Sunday, the 10th of August, 1628, Vasa lay rigged and ready for its maiden voyage just below the royal palace. Ballast, guns and ammunition were all on board.

On the quays and shores along Strömmen, an excited public waited to watch the ship leave Stockholm and celebrate her departure.

Over a hundred crewmen were on board, as well as women and children. The crew had permission to take family and guests along for the first part of the passage through the Archipelago.

For the first few hundred meters, Vasa was warped along the waterfront with cables from the shore. The ship did not begin to sail until she reached what is now Slussen. Sailors climbed the rigging to set four of Vasa’s ten sails. A salute was fired, and Vasa slowly began her maiden voyage.

Once Vasa came out from under the lee of the Södermalm cliffs, the sails could catch the wind, but the ship was tender and heeled over to port, then heeled again, even farther. Water rushed in through the open gunports and the ship’s fate was decided. 

Vasa sank, after sailing barely 1300 meters.

The crew threw themselves into the water or clung to the rigging until rescued, but not all managed to save themselves. Eyewitnesses differ on the exact numbers, but perhaps 30 of approximately 150 people on board died in the disaster. 

After the ship was raised in 1961, the remains of 16 people were found.

It took two weeks for the news of the sinking to reach the Swedish king, who was in Prussia. The disaster had to be the result of “foolishness and incompetence,” the King wrote to the Royal Council in Stockholm. "The guilty must be punished."

What exactly lay behind the loss could not be determined with certainty in the inquest held in the palace, but the ship’s lack of stability was a fact: the underwater part of the hull was too small and the ballast insufficient in relation to the rig and cannon. The leaders of the inquest believed that the ship was well built but incorrectly proportioned. 

After Vasa, many successful ships with two or even three gundecks were built, so something must have been learned from the disaster.

This model shows how the ship was originally decorated

The Vasa is much like a 17th century Titanic - a tribute to the extreme hubris of mankind.  However, today it also serves as a time machine for us to catch a glimpse of the past in all its glory.

The Monster Lurks

Oh No!  There's a scary monster hiding behind the grocery bags!

Oh, maybe it's just Jack.  Phew!  Had me scared there for a while.

Jack likes to jump out and scare me when I put away the groceries.  He's such a little kitten still.  And very funny.  It makes me giggle, which pleases my boy immensely.

So, how YOU doin'?

Have a terrific weekend!

Quinceañera

A Daddy Daughter Dance

In Hispanic culture, when a young girl turns 15, she is presented to society in a big party called a Quinceañera.  A hundred or more years ago, it signaled a young woman was ready for marriage.  Today, it's more of an excuse to have a pretty formal dress and a big party.

My friend Rose's granddaughter had her big celebration last month in a beautiful party held at a large hotel in the City of Downey.

Dominique, or Nikki, as her friends call her - and her dad

Many Quinceañeras parties are beautiful and extravagant.  This one was too!  Nikki's dress was lovely.  She was truly a princess for an evening.

Executive Suites Hotel of Downey, California

This is an old ceremony, steeped in tradition.

All set for the party

Dominique and her girlfriends

With the ball gown style dress and attendants in matching dresses, it's almost like a wedding!  

The highlight of the evening was the 'changing of the shoes'.  Here we see Dominique's dad bringing her a pair of grown up high heels.

The symbolic 'changing of the shoes' ceremony

So it's official.  You are all grown up, now, Nikki!  Congratulations!

Thanks, Rose, for sharing your lovely photos.

Around Stockholm

Spending a nice healthy chunk of your summer in Sweden isn't something all of us get to do.  So I hope you will indulge me while I post some more shots of Stockholm and environs.  

Take a minute to pretend you are really there, with gentle, cool summer breezes and a (sometimes) brooding sky.

We would have to go shopping, of course!

We'll play "spot the tourists" (above).  There's at least one.  Can you see him?

We'll visit quiet churchyards.

As well as the bustling city streets.  Here is a quiet corner of Stockholm.  A ubiquitous 7-Eleven store sits at the end of this picturesque alleyway, so we can even go get a Slurpee. (at least I think they have them there!)

Below we see the Stockholm skyline.  It looks so green and inviting, doesn't it?  Can't you almost smell the clean, fresh air?

Of course, it is much nicer if you take cute guys along with you.

Just saying.  That would be one of my basic criteria.

We can marvel at old, beautiful architecture.

And walk through quaint city streets, and enjoy the charming cobbled plazas.

This little mini-vacation has been brought to you by... me.  With thanks to my brother for the photos!

Now I'm ready to face my day!

Skokloster - Carl Gustav Wrangel

General Carl Gustaf Wrangel

When the owner and builder of Skokloster Castle died in 1676, he left the castle uncompleted.  General Carl Gustav Wrangel was a collector and furnished the castle lavishly.  He had a large armory, books, silver and textiles and artifacts from exotic locations.

However workmen were still finishing off rooms of the castle at the time.  In fact, they were in the middle of work on the banqueting hall when Carl Gustav shuffled off this mortal coil.  Strangely, the workmen dropped their tools and left on the spot, afraid they weren't going to get paid!

What's strange is that they never came back to collect their tools.  Then, subsequent owners also left the hall in the exact same condition as when the workers abandoned it, letting us have a glimpse into the late 17th century.

Wrangel

The Dining Hall  
Photo: (not my niece) Linnea Nilsson

For more information on this unusual castle, see my niece Linnea's blog post on Skokloster Castle (the link is on the right side of this page), and my blog of September 30th.

Here is what the unfinished banqueting hall looks like, tools and all:

The Unfinished Hall
Photo: Linnea Nilsson

This is an absolutely beautiful place by the Lake.  It's really great - and amazing - that we get a glimpse into history because of the way things were left at this castle.

So, if you had a castle by a lake, what would you fill it with?

Vacation in Japan - Tokyo

Lost at night in the rain

These are the last of my friend Jon's vacation in Japan photos.  I've enjoyed learning more about this beautiful country.  I really like the above night shot of Tokyo.  There is something about the lights in the rain that is just so lovely.

Tokyo closes down some streets for vehicular traffic during the weekend and lets pedestrians go crazy.

A main street - closed off to traffic for the weekend

I think that's a good idea.

Here we see some stalls at the fish market.  I don't think the doggy's for sale.

A cute little doggy at the fish market

If you look at the bottom right of the photo below you will see a guy posing in front of a camera. I'm not sure whether he's also just a tourist, or with a film crew.

I guess we'll never know!

Street closures for the weekend 

The streets are very colorful.

View of Tokyo skyline from the fish market

Like many major modern cities, Tokyo shows evidence of being part of an international community.  Here (below) is a French restaurant with a very British Pub sign reflected in the windows!

On the streets

I hope you've enjoyed our little glimpses of Japan.

Thanks for taking us with you, Jon!