Gravity is Mutual: Day 1: Stockholm, Tuesday, June 14

Warm and sunny weather afforded us a lot of walking and exploring the less touristy corners of this magical city. We spent hours walking along the festive boardwalk, taking in the sensory offerings of the Baltic.

Our first full day in Stockholm and what a great walking city! The Gamla Stan, or Old Town, dates from the 13th century but most buildings are from the 1600s and 1700s. It is a glorious labyrinth of charming cobbled streets, alleyways, faded mustard and rust-coloured townhouses and meeting squares. Some 3,000 people live in the Old Town and it is packed with cafés, restaurants, tourist shops, studios, galleries and museums, including the Nobel Prize Museum and the Post Museum.

Following a tip from Atlas Obscura, we headed to the National Library just a few blocks from our hotel to check out the Codex Gigas, or Devil’s Bible, an infamous illuminated manuscript believed to be the work of a single monk (which is estimated to have taken between 20 and 30 years to complete) and containing a fearsome illustration of the Dark Lord himself, which has lead to all manner of speculation regarding supernatural curses and diabolical pacts. Appropriately, it’s sealed up in a high-security underground vault. It it’s worth the trip just to take in the eerie environs.

After the library, we headed back to our beautiful hotel, where we dutifully took our covid tests (negative, phew) before heading down to the café to meet our tour mates and our cheerful guide, Åsa (pronounced O-sah). We’re the only ones who haven’t been on a Rick Steves tour before, but judging by everyone’s enthusiasm, it sounds like we’re in for a good time. The dinner is a light buffet, including our first taste of authentic Swedish meatballs, gravlax and herring.

Then we all take a bit of a stroll down to the Söderström river which connects to the Baltic Sea. We saw a plaque to Ingrid Bergman and a bust of August Strindberg outside of the beautiful theatre. We head past the theatre where Åsa explains another statue as that of Margareta Krook, a beloved local actress and icon commemorated in brass at the corner of the theatre, where she would relax with a cigarette between performances. Interestingly, the statue is heated (you could feel it!) so that it doesn’t get buried in snow in the winter, and the nose and belly are shined from good luck rubbing from her admirers.