18.06.2011 – 18.06.2011  21 °C

Got myself going fairly early just so that I could go and see what the channel into Stockholm is like.. I’m sitting here typing this as I see the view.. Just amazing.. Exactly like you see in the tourist brochures.. Small islands, dotted with pine trees and brightly coloured timber houses and tiny little jetties! Very picturesque.. Actually so picturesque that I’m going to ditch my laptop and go find my camera to take some shots!

Checked into my hostel today (with no issues about the mixed up date). I’m staying in Gamla-stan which is the oldest part of Stockholm. The island (stan) is very cute.. lots of tiny little cobblestoned streets with very old buildings. In fact the hostel I’m staying in was built in the 1800s and is quite bizarre. To get to the room I’m staying in, I climb 8 different sets of stairs from street level!! The last two sets of stairs are so narrow that it was almost an effort to get my pack up them (on my back)!! Believe it or not I’m the only person who is staying in the dorm room.. I’m not sure if that is because the others haven’t checked in yet or whether I’m literally the only one! The hostel itself would probably house a couple of hundred so here’s hoping I actually get to meet someone to have a chat to!

I spent the day familiarising myself with Stockholm. The city is really amazing.. it’s like St Petersburg (from a “wow check out that building” point of view) but much cleaner and the streets are a lot smaller.. Being on the water also helps.. plenty of gazillion dollar yachts parked out in the bay! I have found Nanna’s “House of Nobility” and it is only open weekdays from 11am til 12pm so I’ll go and find the coat of arms on Monday!

I spent the afternoon roaming around the Nobel Museum. Nobel grew up in a very poor family. His father left them in Stockholm when he was only 4 to move to Russia to try and make some money as an Engineer. His father was successful and so was able to move the whole Nobel family to St Pb when Nobel was around 10yrs old. He was educated in Russia and actually grew up wanting to be an author or poet. His father wouldn’t allow that and forced him to become a chemical engineer. Lucky for Nobel he was forced into something he was incredibly talented at and in his mid-30s discovered how to make dynamite.

Nobel then went on to build one of the largest companies in the world manufacturing Dynamite and other weapons. By the time he was in his late 60s Nobel was one of the wealthiest men in the world and having no family of his own decided to bequeath the majority of his fortune to a trust, which would award some of his money each year to the most talented scientists, literaries and peace loving peoples.. thus the Nobel Prize was born.

The Nobel Prize has had over 800 laureates over the past 110yrs (first year it was commissioned was 1901, 10 yrs after the death of Nobel). It is awarded each year by a committee of people at 4 different institutions here in Stockholm and Oslo. Believe it or not the laureates don’t even know they have been nominated for the award.. No-one ever discovers whether or not they have been nominated!

To be nominated there are two requirements; 1) that you are alive and 2) that you can’t nominate yourself! The nomination requests are sent out to past laureate winners, members of the Nobel committees and certain select academics and people of note from around the world. It takes the committee almost a full calendar year to work out the winner as they spend much time researching the nominee’s backgrounds and achievements. Finally, a select group of academics from around the world are questioned on whether or not a certain nominee is worthy of the award.

A really interesting process and such an interesting museum. All 800+ past winners are displayed in the museum.. Everyone from very famous personages (Marie Curie has won twice!) thru to many, many people who I have never heard of.. A fantastic place to spend the afternoon learning about mankind’s many achievements!

I’m going to attempt to attend a walking tour of Stockholm this evening (I haven’t booked so fingers crossed there are some places left) so I’d better “bust a move” and head on out! Not sure what tomorrow will bring, I’ll either head to the palace or maybe head out to one of the numerous museums here in Stockholm (there are over 50 listed in the guide book!)