Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Södermalm
On foot from Gamla Stan, head south along any of the parallel streets towards Kornhamnstorg or Järntorget squares, and continue past
the Slussen T-bana station where Götgatan, Södermalm's main north-south thoroughfare, begins. By public transport, take bus #2 from
Norrmalm, #3 from Kungsholmen or #53 from Central Station; get off either service at Folkungagatan; alternatively ride the T-bana to
Medborgarplatsen or Mariatorget
Whatever you do in Stockholm, don't miss the delights of the city's southern island,
Södermalm
, whose craggy cliffs, turrets and towers rise high above the clogged traffic
interchange at Slussen. The perched buildings are vaguely forbidding, but venture
beyond the main roads skirting the island and a lively and surprisingly green area
unfolds, one that is at heart emphatically working class. After dark, you'll probably end
up in one of Söder's bars or restaurants (see p.71) in the hip area known as
So-Fo
; this
is the handful of streets lined with cafés and restaurants which lie “
so
uth of
Fo
lkungagatan” (hence the name), predominantly Åsögatan, Bondegatan and
Skånegatan. It's best to get your bearings on Södermalm during the day, though, as its
grids of streets can become confusing in the dark.
1
Stadsmuséet
Stockholm City Museum • Södermalmstorg • Tues-Sun 11am-5pm, Thurs until 8pm • Free •
W
stadsmuseum.stockholm.se •
Slussen T-bana
In Södermalmstorg, right by the Slussen T-bana station, is the rewarding
Stadsmuséet
.
The Baroque building, designed by Tessin the Elder and finished by his son in 1685,
was once the town hall for this part of Stockholm; now it houses collections relating to
the city's history as a seaport and industrial centre. However, the most engaging
offerings are actually outside the museum: walking tours of Södermalm in the footsteps
of Lisbet Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, the main characters of the Stieg Larsson
Millenium
novels, plus a chance to rediscover 1970s Stockholm with a walking tour
devoted to key sites in ABBA's musical history.
SWEDEN'S FAB FOUR: ABBA
Overturning odds of 20-1, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvæus and
Agnetha Fältskog first came to the world's attention as they stormed to victory in April
1974 at the Eurovision Song Contest with
Waterloo
.
ABBA
went on to become the
biggest-selling group in the world, topping the charts for a decade with hits like
Dancing
Queen
(performed to celebrate the marriage of Swedish King Carl Gustaf to German
commoner Silvia Sommerlath in 1976),
Mamma Mia
and
Money Money Money
, and
became second only to Volvo as Sweden's biggest export earner
.
The winning combination
led to a string of number-one hits and even a film,
ABBA - The Movie,
released to popular
acclaim in 1978.
However, the relentless workload of recording and touring took its toll; frictions within
the group surfaced and the two couples - Agnetha and Björn, and Anni-Frid and Benny
- divorced and ABBA called it a day in 1983. News of the split was broken by the Swedish
newspaper,
Dagens Nyheter
- Agnetha had casually dropped the bombshell into a
conversation and to this day carries the blame for the break-up. Having withdrawn from
public life, she now lives as a virtual recluse on the island of Ekerö in Lake Mälaren.
Anni-Frid, on the other hand, married a German prince, lives in Switzerland and spends her
time championing environmental causes. After a spell in Henley-on-Thames, near London,
during the 1980s, Björn is now back in Stockholm where
he partly owns the domestic
airline, Nextjet, and writes and produces music with Benny, who's now opened his own
hotel on Södermalm,
Rival
(see p.67). Together they've worked on a string of musicals
including
Chess
and
Mamma Mia,
which uses 27 ABBA songs to tell the tale of the
relationship between a mother and her daughter.
