Gamla Stan

Today I spent a few hours going to Gamla Stan, or "Old Town". It's quite different than the rest of Stockholm - much older, and more like old europe. A small maze of cobblestone streets, it is also the location of the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately I didn't get to go inside the main areas, as it is only open from noon - 3pm. However, I did check out the treasury - which was in a sort of vault below ground. No pictures allowed, as I learned..:)

I also went into Storkyrkan - or St. James Church. It was quite gothic inside, with a famous statue of Saint George and the Dragon. A sign in the church noted that the dragon symbolized Denmark - who was defeated and driven out by Swedish forces to achieve independence. However, some disagree. Most articles seem to say that this statue reflects the true (or first instance of a) knight in shining armor, coming to defend the princess from the dragon.

What is really cool about Stockholm is how much they like to be "at one" with the environment. As an example, you can eat any fish found in the various rivers running throughout Stockholm, which is a city of over 1 Million people! Furthermore, people swim in them in the summers. The spend quite a lot of effort protecting the surrounding environment from pollution, which is very impressive.

Anyways, there are some new pictures below of my walk today.