Gamla Stan is Stockholm, Stockholm is Gamla Stan! Both are incomplete without each other, though Gamla Stan is just a part of Greater Stockholm. 'Old Town' in the local language,is located on the island of Stadsholmen but now, it also comprises of islands nearby, like Ridderholmen and others.
Another rude shock came to me when I ventured to set out for Gamla Stan. Beggars! Many, many beggars asking for the alms unashamedly on the streets of one of the richest towns in the world! I was told that they are Romanian refugees who have entered the country by road, illegally and the Swedish government is fighting shy to extradite them on humanitarian grounds! And the crime rate has gone up, cry the haves, the same story everywhere !
The entire northern side of the island is occupied by Swedish Royal Palace. On the south are many offices of erstwhile Monarch, including Stockholm Stock Exchange, Stockholm cathedral and so many other monumental buildings.
Gamla Stan is no better than Bhuleshwar in old Mumbai or area surrounding Goddess Ambabai temple in Kolhapur, as far as the ambiance goes! Same claustrophobic narrow gullies, [may be at places, one who is a little bit on 'Healthier' side, would find it difficult to pass through ] old buildings ready to say 'Goodbye' at any
time with probably the same attitude, refusing to come out of history to
confront 'Today'.
Ornate crown looked very beautiful and so did the small waterfall. But the road to [?] Moksha became more illusive. More I tried, more I felt lost. This road to nowhere was lined up by many shops of imitation artists. They sold from small curios,
antiques to big paintings and statues at exorbitant prices[ for me] but there were many
firangs who bought them for [?] the posterity! 
After wandering for an hour or so, I reached an open space, which looked like a town square and that it was! The 'Stortorget'. In one corner stood some old cathedral, in which I had lost interest, after visiting such not less than a dozen. Next to it, in a very dinghy building was Stockholm Stock Exchange of yore. As I turned, to look around I got the shock of my life. I was standing in front of the Nobel museum. No less, The Nobel Prize Museum!
That's the beauty of venturing out unplanned!
The town dates back to the 13th century and it shows! Every building, every road, every nook and corner is history personified! Cobbled roads with narrow gullies with buildings so near to each other that, it may allow one to see what's being cooked in the kitchen in the next building and that takes you to the medieval times without realizing it for a second! But it's extremely clean and well maintained. Buildings may look old but are reinforced with modern technology so may withstand another century. Easily!
After a longish haul I was getting tired, so somewhere in those zig-zag gullies of Gamla Stan, I had orange juice at a very old restaurant.[ After seeing the bill, I realized that even though I have traversed the world, to come out of that money exchange trap, still seemed difficult. Rs 700 for a glass of juice? In Kronor it was something around 10 or so !] And to my surprise it turned out to be the oldest restaurant, maybe in the world, dating back to 17th or is it 18 century, even having the mention in the Guinness book of world records, Den Gylden Freden! Whatever that means.
After a longish haul I was getting tired, so somewhere in those zig-zag gullies of Gamla Stan, I had orange juice at a very old restaurant.[ After seeing the bill, I realized that even though I have traversed the world, to come out of that money exchange trap, still seemed difficult. Rs 700 for a glass of juice? In Kronor it was something around 10 or so !] And to my surprise it turned out to be the oldest restaurant, maybe in the world, dating back to 17th or is it 18 century, even having the mention in the Guinness book of world records, Den Gylden Freden! Whatever that means.
.
I was lost in the maze of Gamla Stan gullies and every other one looked the same. I
was actually looking for the entrance to the Royal palace and got lost.
The exteriors of the palace were so enchanting that I longed to be inside. Cascading waters along with the replica of Royal crown exhibited on the walls of the compound were so good, felt, 'Showcase me itna to Godown me kitna !'
Ornate crown looked very beautiful and so did the small waterfall. But the road to [?] Moksha became more illusive. More I tried, more I felt lost. This road to nowhere was lined up by many shops of imitation artists. They sold from small curios,
antiques to big paintings and statues at exorbitant prices[ for me] but there were many
firangs who bought them for [?] the posterity! 
After wandering for an hour or so, I reached an open space, which looked like a town square and that it was! The 'Stortorget'. In one corner stood some old cathedral, in which I had lost interest, after visiting such not less than a dozen. Next to it, in a very dinghy building was Stockholm Stock Exchange of yore. As I turned, to look around I got the shock of my life. I was standing in front of the Nobel museum. No less, The Nobel Prize Museum!
That's the beauty of venturing out unplanned!
I felt ashamed of myself once I was inside. We know the lineage of Gandhis, or we were/are forced to learn it by heart, to the last link in the chain but I could not tell the name of the last Nobel Laureate who won the coveted prize in Medicine, my subject! It turned out to be Dr Edward Moser along with Dr John O'Keefe for that year, in Physiology!
Had a very hot discussion with the tour guide on how the Nobel Prizes too are biased and are given to the people who follow unwritten 'White' views and principles! I pointed out to him that "Today, Mahatma Gandhi's principles of non-violence are held in high esteem all over the world and are being practised in full earnestness by every notable statesman, how come he did not get the prize for peace, ever ?"
"Mahatma Gandhi was shortlisted for the Peace Prize but was assassinated the same year and as Nobel is not conferred posthumously, as a policy, he did not receive it," was the explanation given by him. I, of course, had the second thoughts!
All it requires is publicity on the international platform, otherwise, like language, My Marathi too is rich with literature laden with nuance and profound thought, so her writers too deserve Nobel in literature! But in the end, as they say, everything is 'Lost in the translation!'
Again a small surprise, I took a right turn in gully adjoining museum and I was at the gates of the palace, those eluded me for long, Royal palace at last!
Again a small surprise, I took a right turn in gully adjoining museum and I was at the gates of the palace, those eluded me for long, Royal palace at last!
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