Stockholm Trivia

Many people around the world have heard of Raoul Wallenberg... but not everyone knows that he was born and raised in Stockholm. A Swedish humanitarian and diplomat, he saved tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary during World War II by issuing them protective passports and housing them in 32 different buildings in Budapest established as Swedish territory. He even convinced the Nazis not to go ahead with their plan of a death march of the remaining Jews in Budapest as the Soviet Army neared the city. Sadly, Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviets and sent back to the USSR. He was never seen again and is widely believed to have been either executed or died while in Soviet prison. There is a multitude of memorials to Raoul Wallenberg all over the world and Stockholm has, of course, honoured her son as well. There are two memorials/monuments located on Roul Wallenberg Square next to Berzelii Park. One monument is abstract, showing figures rising from the ground. The other is a granite globe that is connected to the Great Synagogue of Stockholm with a symbolic railway track. The closest subway station is Kungsträdgården (blue line).

The Wallenberg family is one of the most powerful families in Sweden. In 1990 it was estimated that the Wallenbergs indirectly controlled 1/3 of the Swedish GNP. There is actually a popular Swedish dish named after Raoul's relative called a Wallenbergare. If you would like to try this, then you don't have to travel farther than Rival's own Bistro where they make one of Stockholm's most delicious Wallenbergare!
Click here for more Stockholm trivia.

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Stockholm Trivia

This is the week when the Swedish Academy starts announcing the winners for the 2013 Nobel Prizes. First out are the Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Literature Prizes... on Friday the Peace Prize winner will be announced followed by the Economics Prize on Monday.

Alfred Nobel, a Stockholm native, was a chemist, engineer and inventor. He had 355 different patents, but his most famous invention was undoubtably dynamite. It was his invention of dynamite, and the destruction is wreaked, that caused Nobel to be concerned about his legacy. So in his will he put aside the bulk of his estate (about $250 million) to create the Nobel Prizes. The nominations are kept secret and the winners are announced in the beginning of October. The award ceremony is held on December 10th (the anniversary of Nobel's death) in Stockholm, except for the Peace Prize which is awarded in Oslo (at the time of Nobel's death, Norway was in a personal union with Sweden). Besides the Nobel prize medal and the honor of being a Nobel Laureate, the winners are awarded 10 million SEK.

If you are interested in Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes, then I would recommend a visit to the Nobel Museum. It's located in the Old Town, right on the main square (Stortorget). The closest subway station is Gamla Stan (red and green lines), though it is an easy 10-15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel. Closed on Mondays, the entrance costs 70 SEK, 50 for students and seniors, free for children under 19. Free entrance, of course, with the Stockholm Card.

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Sweden Trivia

Do you recognize the young lady to the left? Chances are that you do. Pippi Longstocking is one of the most beloved fictional characters in the world. But did you know that she is from Sweden? She is the creation of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The original book (Pippi Långstrump) was first published in 1945 and Time Magazine has named the book as one of the top 100 most influential novels of all time. Pretty good for a little red-haired girl with pigtails! Astrid Lindgren wrote other books besides the Pippi-series... other well-known characters include the Brothers Lionheart, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, Emil of Lönneberga and the Six Bullerby Children. She has sold approximately 145 million books worldwide and is the world's 25th most translated author! The Pippi series alone have been translated into 64 languages so far...
Astrid, one of the most loved Swedes in history, has near saint status in her home country. Her funeral in 2002 was described as coming as close to a state funeral as possible. Around 100,000 Swedes lined the streets of Stockholm to follow her funeral procession and the funeral itself was attended by the Prime Minister, leading Swedish politicians and the royal family.

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Sweden Trivia

Did you know that Sweden is one of the world's largest exporter of... music? By some accounts, Sweden is third after the USA and UK. Of course, everyone has heard of ABBA whose name and music is synonymous with Sweden. This group is one of the world's most successful music acts and, though they've been disbanded since 1983, their music is still played/sold worldwide thanks to the recent success of the musical and film "Mamma Mia". But Swedish music is much more than ABBA... several groups had immense popularity on the international scene in the '80's and '90's like Roxette, Ace of Base, Europe and The Cardigans. These days there are many Swedish acts enjoying success in the pop, alternative music and indie-rock lists. Keep your eyes (and ears) open for Robyn, Kent, Agnes, The Hives, The Ark, Infinite Mass among others...

If it is not a Swedish artist singing, then chances are there is a Swede who has either written and/or produced the song. Two of the more famous "behind the scenes" Swedes are Max Martin and the late Denniz Pop, who have written some of the biggest hits for acts like The Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, N'Sync and Britney Spears (Martin was responsible for her debut hit "Baby One More Time" among others). So there is a chance that you are listening to Swedish music as you read this!

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Event: DN-Galan

This friday (August 6th) some of the world's best track & field athletes will be competing in Stockholm at the DN Galan. If you haven't bought tickets for the big event then you are out of luck... the only tickets left are for the "Exclusive Bolt Package" which will set you back about 3,000 SEK, but you just might be able to rub shoulders with some of the star athletes.

The DN Galan, sponsored by the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, is part of the prestigious Samsung Diamond League athletic series. It is the largest annual sporting event in Sweden, taking place at the old Olympic stadium (Stadion) where Stockholm hosted the games in 1912. The stadium is located on northern outskirts of the city. The big event this year will be the mens 100 meters with a showdown between Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. My money is on Bolt!

Besides the races, there will be other events in the city this week taking place mainly at Kungsträdgården. On August 4th, from 11am to 6pm, kids can come down and try different athletic events with some of the big stars including Carolina Klüft and Usain Bolt. On August 5th there will be a shot put competition (Big Shot) with the shot put elite competing. The women will compete at 4pm and the men at 6pm. Besides that, there will also be entertainment and no entrance fee! Click here for a full list of this summer's festivals and events.

Trivia: Sweden has a rich sporting history which we are very proud of. In the past 10 years, in athletics alone, Sweden has won multiple medals in the Olympics as well as World and European Championships with star athletes like Carolina Klüft, Kajsa Bergqvist, Stefan Holm and Christian Olsson. Last week Emma Green won the silver medal in the women's high jump at the European Championships.

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Stockholm Trivia

Did you know that 95% of the population of Stockholm live less than 300 meters away from the closest park, forest or other "green area"? 30% of the city's area is green space while 30% is waterways. For these reasons and many, many more... Stockholm was voted the first European Green Capital this year.

Swedes in general have a tradition of being very enviromentally aware and Stockholmers are very proud of how clean their city is! Safe & clean beaches in the middle of the city, majority of the extensive public transportation system running on clean and renewable fuel, excellent water and high recycling rates add to this pride. You can catch fish in downtown Stockholm and eat it without any worries. Wolves, beaver, moose, deer and wild boar can all be found in within the borders of Stockholm county.
Tip: The city along with the Stockholm City Museum, in celebration of this award, has created a Green City Map that is free to pick up at the museum (located at Slussen). The map guides you to known and unknown places where you can see the result of Stockholm's enviromental policies. (Thanks Josefine for the tip!).

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Stockholm Trivia

How old is Stockholm? No one knows the exact date of the city's founding but the city is at least 760 years old. The first time the city is mentioned in historical records is 1252 A.D. in letters written by Birger Jarl and King Valdemar. Birger Jarl is traditionally considered to be the founder of Stockholm. There are many legends regarding why and how Stockholm came into existence... but the obvious reason is her strategic location on the border between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
Tip: There is a good exhibition on Birger Jarl at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm going on until January 10th, 2011.

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Some good news...

Photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholm Visitors Board

I like spreading about a little good news in the middle of the week! And we have had some great news in Stockholm this week.

1. First of all, a big congratulations to the Swedish team for winning the gold medal in the Culinary Olympics! Not only that, but this team is now the "winningest" team ever... they have won three gold medals (2000, 2004, 2012) and one bronze (2008) since the new millennium started. Swedish culinary skills have come a long way since the Swedish Chef entertained people on the Muppets. Michelin stars, gold medals and even preparing the Obama's first state dinner (Marcus Samuelsson).  Interest in Swedish chefs and restaurants is great. In fact, the top three posts viewed (all time) in this blog are Michelin Guide, White Guide and my own restaurant recommendations. 
2. The cruise season is officially over in Stockholm for 2012... and this past season has broken records again! 273 ports of call between May and October brought approximately 470,000 passengers to Stockholm. The Rival Hotel was popular with cruisers starting or ending their cruise in Stockholm... and we look forward to welcoming the next batch in 2013!
3. Finally... some good news from our modern art museum (Moderna). I recently blogged about their new exhibitions and now they are extending their opening hours on Fridays, starting October 12th until January 18th. The Tillmans exhibition will be open until 8pm and... free entrance between 6pm and 8pm! The fun continues on certain Fridays in the new Moderna Bar (next to the museum restaurant) where they will have film showings, DJ's and other events. Art in the evening... so civilized!

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AN cruise, tourist information, trivia