Snowstorms, Snow Angels, Snow Faces and beautiful Vasa

We had a free day during the SIMP module and we had made several plans on how we were going to spend the day. Unfortunately that was not going to happen as on the day, Stockholm was hit by the biggest snow storm in a long while. And just how Mumbai comes to a grinding halt when there is an exceptionally huge downpour during the monsoons, similar was the case in Stockholm.

 

 

 

So we improvised. We were probably the happiest people in Sweden. They definitely do not appreciate a snowstorm but for us it was a novelty. We could not sit still in the hotel. We had to venture out. So about 15 of us decided to visit Vasa the museum.

We had a great time admiring the ship and learning about her history. She was the original Titanic. Not supposed to sink but sink she did after being afloat for only 30 minutes! Nevertheless we admired her beauty and the workmanship. And then we reluctantly decided to venture out from the warmth of the museum into the biting cold of the snow. We asked reception to call for cabs as the buses had stopped running, but of course the earliest cab was 5 hours away.

 

Since Vasa was located on a different island (though adjoining to our hotel's island) it was still a very long walk in the snowstorm. Not advisable said reception. So we asked if there was an alternative. And lo and behold yes, there was one! The ferry. So we quickly collected instructions on how to get to the dock and hoping to get the next one (before they stopped plying) we set off through knee high snow.

It was picturesque! White snow all over, just a narrow path. The minute you wandered off the path, you sunk into the snow as it had piled up quite high. Of course for us Indians it was a treat so instead of rushing to the ferry dock, we had to play in the snow, make snow balls and take tons of pictures. All of us enjoying the moment. Any Swede looking at us would have thought that we were crazy to be out on that afternoon.

 

Finally we got to the ferry and reached our hotel in one piece. I dread to think what we would have done if that was the last ferry of the day and if we had missed it!

On reaching the hotel we could not sit still either. So we decided to visit the Christmas markets and meet my friend AnnSofie later for a drink. The Christmas markets turned out to be a tad boring so we ended up in the warm restaurant and AnnSofie joined us there. She was so sweet, she had loaned us a whole lot of winter gear for our trip to the Artic and had first dropped it off at the hotel before meeting us. Thoughtful of her 'cos we would never have been able to lug the bag back to the hotel. Don't forget that cabs were not available and buses were not plying!

 

AnnSofie then walked us to the hotel and we happened to pass by some kids playing in the snow. They were lying down and flapping their arms. AnnSofie asked us if we knew what they were doing and when we said no she said that they were making snow angels. And she proceeded to lie down on an expanse of untouched snow and she spread her arms and then flapped them up and down, making a snow angel. Of course we had to try them! It was so much fun and for a moment we felt we were 8 years old again!

As we walked to the hotel we passed benches covered in snow, cycles covered in snow and walls covered in snow. The Swedes who were rushing home were totally amused at our eagerness to take pictures of everything covered in white powder. AnnSofie then taught us to make snow faces and that was super fun too. You stick your face into the snow and hold still for a minute. It feels prickly and then numb with the cold. When you lift your face you find the impression left behind quite like a Venetian mask! And then your face slowly gets warm again making u want to repeat the process! What fun we had that day!

 

It truly was a memorable day and I cannot wait to make more snow angels and snow faces.

The Nobel Museum

"Why was Gandhi never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?" asked one of my colleagues.

Honestly, I had never thought of it. But it certainly put our tour guide under pressure. He believes that it might be one of the few decisions that the Nobel Peace Prize committee might have regretted. His assumption is based on the fact that no Peace Prize was awarded in the year 1948, the year Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Probably in honour of him and for the fact that it is not awarded posthumously in general.

The Nobel Museum is located in the Old Town of Stockholm called Gamla Stan. It is an impressive building and the top floor houses the committee's offices.

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are given out for outstanding achievements in Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

The first of these prizes were given out in 1901. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award. As per the stipulation of the will, the Peace Prize is given decided and given away in Norway whilst the other prizes are given away in Sweden.

The Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901. The first of which was given in the year 1969. It is interesting to note that this prize was not part of Alfred Nobel's will but was instituted by The Sveriges Riksbank.  

We visited the City Hall in Stockholm where the dinner commemorating the Nobel Laureates is held.

Some interesting facts:

• The Nobel Prize cannot be shared by more than 3 people in any discipline.
• It can be received by individuals or institutions.
• The Curies were a very successful 'Nobel Prize family'. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes.
• From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize has only been awarded posthumously twice: to Dag Hammarskjöld (Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).
• 3 Nobel Laureates have been under arrest when they were awarded the prize.
• German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky
• Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi
• Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo
• 2 Nobel Laureates declined the prize.
• Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.
• Le Duc Tho, awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.
• Leonid Hurwicz, was the oldest Laureate till date, who at the age of 90 years received the 2007 Prize in Economic Sciences.
• The youngest Nobel Laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 years old when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his father in 1915.
• The Peace Prize has not been awarded in the following years 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972 mainly due to war.
• 830 Laureates and 23 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2011.
• Minutes just before the announcement, the Nobel Prize awarding institution calls the Nobel Laureates to inform them that they have been awarded the Nobel Prize. These calls can come at unexpected times and reach Nobel Laureates in unexpected places.
• Richard Ernst was on a flight from Moscow when he was informed by the captain that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Amartya Sen heard the phone ringing at 5 a.m. and thought something tragic had happened.
• James A. Mirrlees asked politely for some proof when he received the call.
• Alfred Nobel, was a bachelor, extremely rich, lived all over the world, owned companies in several countries, was the creator of dynamite and died in San Remo, Italy.

The Bombay City Museum - a hidden gem

The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, is Bombay's oldest museum. It was built in Victorian style and opened as The Victoria and Albert Museum. It was built for a specific purpose - to be the city museum.

Thus, its exhibits capture the life and times of the Bombay Presidency as it was so called. It has been restored by INTACH and is a real treat to visit. This Sunday I attended a free historic walk through of one of the galleries where they used maps and models to explain the history of Bombay. Interesting, fun and educative is how I would describe it.

The Bhau Daji Lad Museum

This beautiful table and screen was donated by one of the merchant prince families.

The interiors have been restored to their original design and colour.

The Star of David is in recognition of the contribution of David Sassoon

The old town map

The Bombay Castle. You can read more about it here.

The Koli - the earliest inhabitant of Bombay

The different people who made up the community of Bombay...........

.........a very diverse group............

......including people from other parts of the world.

The first mention of Bombay was in Ptolemy's The Geography where he makes mention of Heptanesia or the seven islands on the West Coast of India.

The Portuguese took over these seven islands in the 1600s and later gave them away as dowry to the British as an incentive to marry off their ugly princess the Infanta Catherine in the 1700s (or so legend has it). The British did not think much of it and in turn leased it to the East India Company for a sum of 10 pounds a year.

It was the East India company that invited people from all parts of the country and overseas to settle in Bombay within the security of the Fort and set up businesses. The underlying motive was trade and to encourage it. People obliged as they were promised religious freedom. Thus the culture of Bombay was established - a financial centre and a cosmopolitan outlook. 

London - a city for all seasons

What does one do in London when you have some time free but the weather is bad? Plenty!!

I decided to meet my cousin John at Hyde Park where he was slated to conduct a tour..........luckily for me (and for him) due to the poor weather, there were not too many tourists to form a group. The Spanish tours on the other hand were absolutely packed. The weather being what it was, rainy and cold, it was better to stick to activities indoors.

We promptly headed to the Natural History Museum which is a beautiful building. There was a temporary exhibition that we were hoping to see - Animal Inside Out jointly hosted by the Body Worlds and the NHM. I had seen an exhibition of Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds in Germany some years ago and knew that this exhibition on animals would be spectacular as well. The 100 or so plastinated animals and capillary specimens displayed the intricate insides and inner workings of the world's most spectacular creatures from elephants and giraffes, to cows and goats to octupuses and ostriches. It was a true anatomical safari of the natural world.

The beautiful Natural History Museum

Quite an imposing building

A specimen of the plastinated animal

Post that, John headed to meet a friend for lunch, whilst I decided to continue with my museum visit. One of the things I love about London is that it has a variety of museums and they are all FREE except for temporary exhibitions. So I proceeded to the Victoria and Albert Museum which is housed in a beautiful building as well. It is the world's greatest museum of art and design and has collections from different centuries, eras and dynasties. The few hours spent there were worthwhile but not enough. Hopefully I will return again.

I then decided to grab a bite and later wander the hallways of Harrod's and the food halls of Selfridges. I was lucky because there was an Irish festival at Selfridges and they were showcasing Irish produce and cuisine in the food section. I spent an enjoyable time watching the free cook offs and sampling the chocolates, biscuits, cheeses, salmon and beef.

Later in the evening, I met my friend Jo for drinks and dinner. We went to a trendy restaurant in the heart of Soho called Bocco di Lupo run by Jacob Kenedy. I can assure you that the food was excellent, the staff very helpful and the ambience relaxing.

This cuttlefish was mindblowing.

Still drooling over the memory of it.

The next day, I headed back into town to attend a play at the Old Vic - The Duchess of Malfi which is a Jacobean tragedy by John Webster. The performance was superb and I had a wonderful time.

So irrespective of the weather, one can truly find plenty of things to do in London and still enjoy oneself.

Oslo

According to the Norse sagas, Oslo was founded around 1049 by King Harald Hardråde. Its original name was Oslo which was changed to Christiania and then later changed back to Oslo. (Kind of reminds me of Bombay/Mumbai). It has been ruled many times by the Danes, then the Swedes and again by the Danes. It has also been ravaged many times by fire.

However today, Oslo is a world class city with many interesting sights to capture the visitors' imagination. It is best to buy a "Visit Oslo" card which covers not only the public transport but also a wide variety of museums and other attractions.

Some of the main attractions in Oslo are:

- The Vigeland Sculpture Park - check out my blog on The Vigeland Sculpture Park

- The Royal Palace where one can watch the changing of the guards at 1400 hrs.

The Royal Palace

The changing of the guards

- The Parliament Building. You can do a tour during the summer months.

The Parliament Building

- The City Hall which is not only the seat of the local government but also where the Nobel Peace Prize is given away. They conduct free tours of the city hall. The exterior of the building was not to my taste (I was told, it grows on you) but the interiors were fantastic. Also since Norway was under foreign rule for most of their history, when they became independant they were keen on establishing their own identity and they looked to their folklore for inspiration. Therefore you will see a lot of reference to sea faring activities, fishing and plant gathering. They also love their mythical creatures like trolls and valkyries. Outside the City Hall, there are friezes depicting stories based on their folklore.

The City Hall

The tree of life

A tapestry in one of the reception rooms of the city hall

 One of the friezes outside the city hall

- The National Theatre.

The National Theatre

- The Cathedral

The Cathedral

- The Opera House which is a unique modern building. www.oslooperahouse.com

The Opera House

- The National Maritime Museum which has a huge collection of miniature ships.

- The Fram which houses the Polar Ship Fram and catalogues the escapades of the polar expidition teams.

- The Viking Museum which has exhibits of ships and artifacts from that era.

The mast on the Viking Ship

- The Kontiki Museum which documents the adventures of explorer Thor Heyardhal and his voyage using the reed boats.

- The National Heritage Museum which has exhibition houses from various parts of the country. It includes a beautiful stave church.

The beautiful 14th Century stave church

Another view..........

A close up.......

A Norse brewery

A modern pub/cafe! :)

- The Harbour from where you can catch ferries to various islands in the fjords. You have a variety of restaurants along the harbour.

The are many other museums covering a variety of topics and works of various artists like Edvard Munch, Henry Ibsen, etc.

The mini bottle museum!

The public transport system which includes the ferries and the subway make it convenient to visit the main sights. The city is dotted with various sculptures of their most famous artist - Vigeland.

http://www.visitoslo.com/