Gamla Stan

There are some very unique places in the world that I have been fortunate enough to visit. The most recent has been Stockholm Sweden. 

In visiting a place we not only travel with our eyes, but with all of our other senses. It is an emersion of food, smells, people, conversations, climate that really make up a travel experience going far beyond the scope of just a simple photograph.  

Take the one to the right for instance that I snapped just yesterday evening. You may simply see a very narrow alley dropping steeply to the road below. For me, I also feel the cold wind off the Baltic sea rushing through this narrow slot almost blowing me over, I hear the sound of the people walking the cobblestone streets behind me, and I smell the bakery nearby. Also the pain is still in my wallet from the all-to expensive lunch that occurred just shortly before.

Photos are great, but can be empty without the context of a life lived within that moment. 

Gamla Stan Stockholm was a step back in time to around 1250. The city is a collection of 40 islands connected with bridges built on firm bedrock. Cobblestone streets, eclectic cafe's, wine cellars, antique shops, and people that almost always shared a smile and a friendly word. My daily adventures of walking and exploring had me seeing new things everyday, or seeing old things new. I dined in pubs that have been open since 1424 -to-modern turkish kebob shops.  It is a antique modern city that appears to have moved past its viking roots with parts that feel much more like New York City. This is not a place to visit without a healthy travel budget as many items cost 2-3x the typical price as in the USA, thanks in part to their solid Swedish Kronor (and not adopting the euro).

But it was a 2 week adventure I'll carry with me for a long time. 

I am on my journey home at this moment, suitcase by my side sitting at the airport anxiously awaiting joining my family again, and preparing to take them through the one dimensional color images of a 4 dimensional experience.