Smorgasbord of Museums, Palaces, Hideaways

STOCKHOLM —  Since sunshine and warm weather are such precious prizes in Nordic countries like Sweden, the short summer season draws plenty of tourists and lures locals out-of-doors to enjoy the sun’s rays. On the other hand, when the weather grows bleak, there is much more to do than sit in your hotel room, brooding.

On those rainy days in Stockholm, tourists can learn the country’s social customs, culture and life style without so much as getting their feet wet.

The Swedish capital has an assortment of museums, palaces and other indoor attractions. And the Swedes, with Scandinavian thoroughness, have overlooked little that would interest visitors.

Even a ride on the tunnelbana --the subway--offers something for those with an artistic taste, what with newer stations artistically decorated and the platform at the Odenplan station displaying vintage forms of transportation, including an old horse-drawn trolley car.

The attractions are usually open from 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. throughout the year. Most museums and stately homes are closed on Mondays, with exhibitions in some government buildings, such as City Hall, closed on weekends.

A nominal admission charge for adults of $1 to $2 at the official exchange rate is required at most attractions, with children under 12 usually admitted free.

Card-Carrying Savers

One way to beat the tariff is to purchase the Stockholmskortet --the Stockholm Card--which not only provides free admission to 50 museums in the city, but free public transportation for the term of the card. A card valid for 24 hours costs about $11 U.S.; a card good for four days costs about $33. Children under 18 pay a reduced price.

Probably the best spot to park your umbrella on a rainy day is the Royal Palace, the 608-room official residence of King Carl XVI Gustav, his German-born queen, Silvia, and their three children.

The palace, which dates from 1697, is closed occasionally to the public for official functions, although the major attractions generally remain open. These include the State Apartments where, among other things, the king swears in a new government and announces the birth of royal offspring.

The royal loot, as might be expected, is kept in the cellar where Swedes insist are displayed the world’s finest collection of royal jewels, including a dozen princely crowns, orbs, scepters and other treasures.

Elsewhere in the cellar is a collection of gilded parade coaches, armor, weapons and clothing from the 16th Century, a display featuring appropriate sound effects.

In still another area are the ruins of the original castle, dating back to 1187, when Stockholm was founded.

Smaller Versailles

The Royal Palace, bordering Stockholm’s Old Town (where the Swedes have prudently kept the usual tourist kitsch to a minimum), is a bit grim and overpowering, even for the Royal Family. The king and his kin prefer to live at Drottningholm, a smaller version of Versailles located on a lake-front just west of Stockholm.

The well-manicured grounds include a theater built in 1766 that still uses its original backdrop and stage machinery for productions. The grounds also include a delightful Chinese pavilion built in the late 18th Century.

The Royal Palace and Drottningholm are only two of the many imposing residences in and around Stockholm that are open to the public.

They range from forbidding fortress-like structures to delightful country hideaways like Rosendal Palace. Rosendal was built in the 1820s for Napoleon’s old flame, Desiree, who married one of his marshals and rivals, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, founder of the present Swedish dynasty.

The home of another Bernadotte, Sweden’s famous painter prince, Eugene, makes visitors feel right at home. They are free to roam throughout the rooms of the building, called Waldemarsudde House, which contains samples of the prince’s work and of other artists. The house offers for sale an attractive souvenir--white, eight-sided vases of varying sizes copied from a design created by the prince, who died in 1947.

Escutcheons of Nobility

One of the more attractive smaller buildings in Stockholm--and perhaps in all Europe--rises on the edge of the Old Town, but unfortunately adjoins a noisy freeway. It’s the House of Nobles, built in the 17th Century in the Dutch Baroque style as a meeting hall for nobility. Now it is used primarily for concerts. The walls of the hall contain 2,325 escutcheons representing the noble families of Sweden.

On the opposite side of the Old Town stands the House of Parliament, which was built at the turn of the century to house the Swedish National Bank. Few European cities boast the likes of a museum housed in an old railroad station--the Cartoon Museum--that contains original cartoons by about 70 artists dating from 1890.

For a look at how Sweden’s common folk once fared, pop over to Nordiska Museum which spans the past four centuries.

Although Sweden has not fought in a war since the Napoleonic Era, this hasn’t discouraged a display of military paraphernalia at the Royal Army Museum that includes weaponry covering five centuries, ranging from crossbows to modern missiles.

There is plenty to see for those with special interests. The Museum of Architecture offers changing exhibitions of drawings, photos and models of noteworthy buildings from 1880, including Stockholm’s most famous modern landmark, its City Hall, which can also be visited.

For devotees of dance, Stockholm offers the world’s first museum dedicated to dance in all its various manifestations, ranging from American Indian to Chinese folk dancing. Amid displays of costumes and masks, the dances are displayed on TV monitors and visitors can request showings of special numbers.

Thousands of Toys

For kids of all ages there’s the Toy Museum, featuring a collection of 10,000 mechanical toys, dolls, doll houses, tin soldiers and two large model railroad systems.

Music lovers zero in on the Museum of Music, which provides something for everybody’s taste. Its displays include dozens of musical instruments from the most primitive to the latest synthesizers, and the world’s largest harpsichord. For students and scholars the library and archives are open by appointment.

Numismatists might find it worthwhile to drop in on the Royal Coin Cabinet that includes coins, banknotes and medals from around the world. Among the artifacts is the world’s largest coin--so heavy it requires two people to carry it. The collection is housed in the Museum of National Antiquities, which also offers exhibits of Viking life.

Stamp collectors will find the world’s first stamp, along with other rare stamps and historic conveyances used to deliver the mail, at the Postal Museum.

Elsewhere there’s the Tobacco Museum with old cigarette-rolling machinery and displays of pipes, snuffboxes and old Swedish brands of cigarettes.

Most tourists visit the Wasa Museum, which houses the famous royal warship that keeled over and sank when it was struck by a gust of wind as it set out on its maiden voyage. The Wasa was raised from its watery grave in 1961 and is still undergoing restoration.

Still another stop for seafaring buffs is the National Maritime Museum, which houses a fine collection of ship models of the 17th and 18th centuries, plus the original stern of the royal schooner Amphion, including the captain’s cabin.

Stockholm is a great place for seafood.

We enjoyed the Cattelin Restaurant in the Old Town, a short distance from Parliament. It serves a tasty salmon filet on a bed of leaf spinach under a white wine sauce. On the other side of the Old Town, within sight of the House of Nobles, is The Club, which features fish caught in the Stockholm Archipelago. It’s only open for lunch and is a bit more expensive than the moderately priced Cattelin’s.

Around the corner from The Club (no membership required) is the Aurora Cellar, an elegant--and expensive--restaurant in a magnificent 17th-Century setting.

For the budget-minded there’s the popular seafood chain Glada Laxen (Happy Salmon), which offers light dishes and salmon prepared in a variety of ways. The chain is popular with the takeout crowd--it’s a good place to pick up a snack or meal to eat in your hotel room.

Stockholm has a wide variety of accommodations for visitors, ranging from the elegant Grand Hotel to pensions and tiny hotels in the narrow cobbled streets of the Old Town.

We stayed at the Stockholm Hotel, which occupies the top two floors of a modern eight-story office building. Its main attraction is its central location. It is within walking distance of the Old Town and other attractions, and only half a block from the NK department store, the Harrods of Scandinavia. Rooms are small, but clean and functional.

To avoid the traffic noise outside, be sure to ask for a room facing the courtyard. A double costs about $75 a day, with rates reduced on holidays and weekends.

Getting from one palace, stately home or museum to another is no problem during inclement weather, given Stockholm’s efficient public transit system. Buses and subways offer frequent service. And if a schedule says the next conveyance is due at 10:37, you can bet your bottom krona it will be there--at 10:37.