Birka: Part 2 - Archaeological site, Lunch

25 May 2019

At 12.30pm, a large crowd waited outside the museum where the guide waited for us. We went to the archaeological site which is now a green pasture. It is hard to imagine that once upon a time, this was a bustling town where trade carried out and was once the capital of Sweden. All I can see now is beautiful nature. 

Here, the guide is standing on a mount of grave. Graves here are made up of multiple layers. 

Birka: Part 1 - Arrival and Birka Museum

25 May 2019

Today, I paid a visit to Birka, one of Sweden's UNESCO sites. It was once a Viking village, once the capital of Sweden and the first city of Sweden as trades were going on due to the Vikings. Just to make things clear, Viking is not an ethnicity, it is a job where one trades and conquers ships. As this activity is found mostly in Scandinavian country, it was associated to the Scandinavians. 

Birka, on the island of Björkö (literally: "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia and Finland as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö. Birka was founded around AD 750 and it flourished for more than 200  years. It was abandoned c. AD 975, around the same time Sigtuna was founded as a Christian town some 35 km to the northeast. It has been estimated that the population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people.

The archaeological sites of Birka and Hovgården, on the neighbouring island of Adelsö, make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. Generally regarded as Sweden's oldest town, Birka (along with Hovgården) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. A silver ring from a Viking-era grave in Birka is the first ring with Arabic inscription from that era found in Scandinavia. Source from Wikipedia.

We took a steam boat to the island from Södertälje. To get to Södertälje, we took the commuter train and alighted at Södertälje Centrum. The tickets for the steam boat ride were bought at Södertälje's tourist center. There are no online ticket sales. A return ticket costs SEK300. It was cloudy and windy that day. Brr..

Here is a brief history on the steam boat, Ejdern. It made its maiden voyage in 1880 and is still functioning well till today. We sat next to the machine room and could see the seaman shovelling coal into the fire where the fire will heat the water and the steam that is produced moves the ship. There were coffee, tea and cakes sold on the boat. My friend got a cup of coffee for SEK20 and it includes second round. 

Alla Helgons Dag (All Souls' Day) 2018

3 November 2018

All Souls' Day. I was here in 2017 - Skogskyrkogården (pronounced as 'skogs-sheer-ko-gor-den'). Here I am again. It is one degree colder this year. 8 degrees. We were here early at 6pm and there were not much candles lit up yet. The candle in the small jar costs SEK10/RM5 in the grocery mart but was selling at double the price outside the cemetery. 

This year, we did not walk through the graveyard but went inside the chapels.

This is the smaller chapel. I was surprised to see that the lamps are the shape of a cross.

The main chapel has a mural of the departed leaving on a ship while others waved goodbye. Lightly colored murals which leaves a soft calm feeling. The main chapel has very weak Internet signal. I wonder if this is done on purpose? So that no one fiddles with the phone during a funeral.

Gotland in 24 hours: Part 2 - Explore Visby

14 July 2018

Upon our arrival at Visby Harbour at 05:45, we walked to Visby town. The town was very quiet. I mean, of course, it was 06:00! Look at all the boats lined up. Then, I wondered, won't any of these boats would like to sail away? How are they getting out? 

The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and since 1995, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Among the most notable historical remains are the 3.4 km (2.1 mi) long town wall that encircles the town center, and a number of church ruins. The name "Visby" comes from the Old Norse Vis, (genitive singular of Vi) meaning "(pagan) place of sacrifices", and by, meaning "village". In the Gutasagan (mid 14th century) the place is referred to as just Wi meaning "holy place, place of worship". Visby is sometimes called "The City of Roses" or "The City of Ruins". Source from Wikipedia.

This is one of the cheapest accommodations in Visby - a hostel that used to be a prison - Visby Prison! It is located less than 5 minutes walk from the harbour. Low season i.e not in July - SEK300 per person but the price doubles in July to SEK600.

Alla Helgons Dag (All Souls' Day) 2017

4 November 2017

I hurried back from Shockholm Festival (Halloween celebration) to see how All Souls' Day is observed in Stockholm. It is called Alla Helgons Dag (pronounced as 'ah-la hell-gones dog') in Swedish. This is a day for the Christians to remember those who left. I am aware of this day because I visit my late aunt on this day (and her death anniversary), light up candles and set flowers for her. But we do it during the day whereas here in Stockholm is done at night.

A week before the actual day, there were lots of mini wreaths being sold. SEK225/RM112.50 - They labelled it as grave decoration. While the larger ones cost SEK295/RM147.50. I thought they were really expensive but people buy them anyway.

My partner and I went to Skogskyrkogården (pronounced as 'skogs-sheer-ko-gor-den'). English name is The Woodland Cemetery. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sweden. One of the UNESCO sites. This is a cemetery, by the way.  A huge one too. The first time I went there in 2015, I got lost finding my way out and thankfully, it was bright daylight. Anyway, the cemetery was brightly lit with so many candles. The skies were bright from all the candles. They are a sight to behold. It was my first time seeing candles stored in bottles or jars to prevent the fires from dying or blown by the wind.

Free Tour Stockholm : Gamla Stan (Old Town)

26 July 2017

My next guided tour is to Gamla Stan (Old Town). Gamla Stan is one of the must-see in Stockholm. It is a definite tourist destination. This place is always crowded with tourists and everything is over-priced here. I back with the guided tour from Free Tour Stockholm again! My first experience with them was a guided tour to Sodermalm. I got the same guide again the second time - Peter. Of course, he did not remember me. The amount of tourists that join the group is so overwhelming but it is so cool that he could hold the group together with his jokes and stories. We met in front of the exit of T-Central station. 

First Weekend Getaway - Part 3 : Fossumristningen (Fossum Rock Carvings)

4 June 2017

The night before, he has driven from Gothenburg and parked in front of a lake. He drove for about 2 hours. He has suggested to go to Halden, a small town in Norway which lies at the Sweden-Norway border. The place we slept for the night was about an hour drive to Halden.

Along the route, I spied a UNESCO sign and requested for a detour. I am on a mission to view all of UNESCO World Heritage, if I am given the opportunity. I told him that I am going to mark all the UNESCO sites in Sweden and we shall go there. My rationale - The place must hold some history or some unique attributes to be worthy of a UNESCO recognition.

The parking lot was empty. It was a short walk to the UNESCO site. What we saw is Fossumristningen (Fossum Rock Carvings).