When we landed in Stockholm, our next stop after Helsinki and Copenhagen, we were incredibly tired and exhausted. From the airport, we had to take a bus and then a subway to get to our hotel, so we rushed to the bus stop and saw that the bus was leaving, but with incredible grace the bus driver stopped where we were and took us on the bus. When he realized that we were speaking Turkish, he welcomed us and tried to talk to us a little bit. We got off at the last stop and he wanted to accompany us to the subway. As we passed by a restaurant, he asked us if we were hungry, we were not. Then he wanted to buy our metro tickets, but we had bought them before we left the airport. We were very surprised. Later he told us that his parents were from Midyat and he had been living in Stockholm for more than 50 years and he had never been to Turkey, he had started to forget Turkish and when he saw us he was incredibly happy as if he saw someone from his family, he tried to talk to us, he tried to take care of us, he tried to host us. What I was really upset about was that he brought us to the door of the subway with great speed so that we wouldn't miss the subway, we got on the subway and the subway moved. He was still waving and smiling at us from outside and we could not think of giving or getting an address or a phone number. Our Stockholm adventure started with such a sweet sadness.

Stockholm is one of the most beautiful, calm, peaceful, cheerful and pleasant, livable and environmentally friendly cities in Europe, perhaps even the first. Almost 350-400 thousand of the one million inhabitants are immigrants and 50 thousand are from Konya's Kulu district. When they realize that you are Turkish here, they immediately ask if you are from Kulu. Even Bayram Altuntas, the owner and manager of the hotel we stayed at, is from Kulu. He has lived here for 35 years and his ex-wife and children are from Sweden. He is also in love with this place: "The king of Sweden said that whoever sees my summer and drinks its water will not leave; I will not leave either, this is my hometown now".

The next morning, right after breakfast, we started our tour of Stockholm with the Katarina Church, which was visible from our hotel room, and then the Katarina elevator. We were lucky because our hotel was only 100 meters away from the elevator and I think this is the best place to start touring the city.

The 38-meter high Katarina elevator was a gift to the people of the region in 1883 to connect this high part of the city to Gamla Stan, the Old Town, and to make commuting easier. Starting from the top of the elevator and facing an amazing view is an incredible feeling. We fell in love with the city the first time we saw it. When you get off the elevator and enter the first bridge you see on the S
It leads to the heart of Stockholm, Gamla Stan.

With narrow streets no more than 2 meters wide and cobblestone sidewalks, Gamla Stan, or Eskisehir, is the heart of Stockholm and a place of great beauty that has survived almost intact from the 13th century and the Middle Ages. Stortorget Square in the center of Gamla Stan, once a bloody square where executions took place, is now home to colorful medieval buildings and the Nobel Museum. Opened in 2001 on the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize in the old stock exchange building, the Nobel Museum provides detailed information about all Nobel Prizes and winners, including Alfred Nobel and Orhan Pamuk.

Vasterlanggatan street, Stockholm Palace, the Parliament Building and the German Church are the must-sees of Gamla Stan. The classical music concert at Stockholm Cathedral made us forget the coldness of the hail mixed with the storm outside. It felt so soft and warm that we couldn't get up for at least half an hour, and if we hadn't been racing against time, I would have stayed until the end. The German church and Riddarholmen church are important. In fact, the famous dome that adorns the photos of Gamla Stan, the face of the city, is the dome of this Riddarholmen Church. Although Sweden is the only Scandinavian country without an official church or an official religion, Riddarholmen, like most of the churches here, has a late gothic style and is more eye-catching than other Nordic countries.

And you should definitely try the famous Swedish meatballs served with mash and pickled cucumber, or falafel for vegetarians, at Den Glydene Freden. Founded in 1722, this restaurant is in the record books as the oldest restaurant in the world. It is a very different place with its atmosphere, texture and silver cutlery.

In Stockholm, home to more than 70 museums large and small, I regret that I can only stay 4 days in Stockholm, with the light starting at 9 am and the weather getting darker at 14.30-15.00, I feel sad that it is not possible to finish and see all these museums in 5-6 hours of daylight. I can't help wondering how they can make a Baltic tour on a cruise ship and visit Stockholm between 11.00 and 17.00. I am glad that I loaded my backpack and chose the plane. I walk almost 10-15 km, take the tram, ferry, bus, subway and still feel like I can't make it and regret that I won't be able to finish this beautiful city. Speaking of the subway, although not as much as the Moscow and St. Petersburg subways, the subway stations are like separate museums. They are decorated with paintings, sculptures and mosaics by nearly 150 artists, each one more impressive than the other.

Skyview, which rises 130 meters above the Ericsson Globe, surprises you with a magnificent view of Stockholm when you reach the top of the world's largest spherical building. It takes almost 20 minutes from the ground to the top. Built in 2010, it is nothing archaic or ancient, but it is designed to be the center of attention for tourists, just like many theme parks or amusement parks, open-air museums and the Vasa Museum.

Made up of 14 islands connected by 57 bridges, Stockholm's most important island after Gamla Stan is Djurgarden.

Skansen open air museum is the world's first open air museum. Founded in 1891, the museum showcases Sweden's rural life, traditions and the country's changing social life from the 16th century to the 20th century. What I found most interesting were the traditional living conditions and habitats of the Sami race, with deer, seals and many other species of animals in the garden.

I think this time, this wandering spirit wants to be forgotten somewhere around here or what?

Mukaddes Pekin Başdil

Researcher-Author

Source: Denizli Haber