War, Medieval History, and Weddings

The Army Museum

Hannah, Kristina, and I set off at 9 am this morning to explore the museums of Stockholm (at least, those we hadn’t been to yet). Our first stop was the Army Museum, where Sweden’s history of war (up until 200 years ago and then featuring Sweden’s history of not engaging in war) is available for free to those under 19 years old. Score! I love museums attempting to instill culture in young adults. It usually means I pay less for things I already want to do.

The first few exhibits were a bit disturbing, simply because they were so good at brining up images and examples the true horror of war, but it was fun to wander around and get another taste of Scandinavian history. Our favorite part by far was the special exhibit on uniforms throughout the ages. They had very dramatic uniforms available for the public to try on, so we spent a few minutes running around in military coats and feeling silly.

My camera battery died halfway through the museum, so I’ll post some pictures of this later.

War

Armor armor everywhere!

Run for your life!

We also managed to spend 2+ hours in the Medieval Museum, which also involved bloody history. This was free as well, but unfortunately, they asked that we not take pictures. Of course, by this time, I had gone back to the hostel and recharged my camera. It figures. The museum was a great place to check out (especially because it is free), but it is hard to find for those who don’t already know where it is! It is oddly situated under the road and the grass in front of Parliament. In order to access it, you need to go down a set of stairs next to the sidewalk and then go into a bunker-like building that is embedded in the wall under the street. I’m not sure why they decided to put a museum there.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

The Medieval Museet

Anyways- we were sitting in the common area of the hostel again tonight, on our computers, waiting for our laundry to finish, when suddenly a group people starts coming into the room. One of them was a young guy in a suit looking very nervous and constantly checking his phone and computer. From what I hear from the conversation, I figured out that he is getting married, so his state was understandable, if quite amusing. He continued to be anxious as the bride showed up (she was in a similar state), and neither of them could sit still at all. I couldn’t quite tell if he was getting married right then or if the group was having a rehearsal, but I left to give them more space (it’s a small room!). According to Kristina, who stayed, they actually did get married right then, and it appeared to be put together quite quickly. Apparently the couple met yesterday.

Awesome chalk drawing in the middle of the plaza. Public chalk day.

So…yeah. Quite random. We are highly amused.