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A city of water


The Swedish capital’s character has been shaped by water over the centuries — and life on this scattering of islands continues to be dominated by it. Words: Alicia Miller


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Germany Embark on a journey through the Eastern Alps Page 6


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Get packing How to make the most of your suitcase Page 10


History, though, isn’t exactly at the forefront of my mind 20 minutes into a morning kayak tour, when I’m frantically paddling against the frothy, destabilising wake dispatched by a passing city ferry.


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The wonders of the water “Always look both ways before crossing the lake!” shouts our guide, Leon, as we breathlessly reach one edge of the freshwater expanse. It’s an epic scene: the gilded crowns topping City Hall; the mint-hued spire of the German Church; the imposing brick structure of former brewery Münchenbryggeriet. People talk about Venice and


Amsterdam as being defined by their canals, but Stockholm is every bit as watery. A patchwork of islands set on the edge of 75-mile-long freshwater Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, its landscape was shaped by the last Ice Age, when glaciers compressed soils to below water levels. Over time, the terrain began to re-emerge from the depths, forming the 14 islands that now make up the city.


Gamla Stan, with central Stockholm behind it, as viewed from Mariaberget, in Södermalm PHOTOGRAPH: SIMON BAJADA Back on dry land, my city guide


he history of Stockholm is one of ebbs and flows, freezes and thaws, sunken ships and shifting locks.


Gunilla Kühner shows me around Stockholm’s historic centre, Gamla Stan, which dates back to the Middle Ages. Around us, colourful buildings vie for space along cobblestone alleyways. Here, in the 14th century, merchants would trade local iron and copper with Hanseatic League cities every summer, wrapping up business before the harbour eventually froze over. “Water was a connector for the


Vikings, not a divider,” says Gunilla. “At the time, it was easier to hop in a boat and paddle than to trek with supplies over land. Unlike today.” Not that it was all plain sailing, of course. Ancient mariners faced plenty of perils crossing the waters around here, and both the Baltic Sea and Stockholm’s harbour are littered with shipwrecks. Te cold, oxygen-starved, brackish


harbour water prevents wood- eating critters from flourishing, meaning sunken ships can be left exceptionally well preserved for centuries. Te most famous find here was the Vasa, a spectacular Swedish warship that sunk on its maiden voyage in 1628. Its remarkably intact remains now stand in a dedicated


museum on the city’s Djurgården island. But there are other treasures still in the water’s depths.


An evolving city Stockholm hums with summer- evening energy. Making the most of the warmth, I spend an hour walking west along the waterfront, passing the columned Nationalmuseum, along manicured Kungsträdgården, over to City Hall. At the water’s edge, there are historic barges converted into floating hostels for travellers and sightseeing boats pushing off from the docks for sunset tours. It’s dinner time, so I head


to popular waterside bar Mälarpaviljongen nearby. I pass through its bloom-fragranced gardens to a floating glass-encased drinking area, filled with off-duty Swedes loosening their proverbial ties over frosty beers. With the lake waters as a backdrop, I settle in with a räksmörgås (an open-faced sandwich topped with hardboiled egg, mayonaise, lettuce and a heap of tiny prawns). My walk has shown Stockholm’s


waterfront is a landscape in flux. In any city, change is part of the equation — but it’s particularly


true for those built on water. Even now, Stockholm’s topography is still bouncing back from the Ice Age’s glacial compression, making adaptation a constant feature of life here. Its islands are rising out of the water at a rate of up to nine millimetres a year — so around once a century, the city locks, which manage the flow of water from the lake into the harbour, are updated to keep pace. When the locks around Slussen are eventually finished, roads will be rerouted from the city centre and the waterfront will be open for large, pedestrianised walkways and plazas. Te district will also host a glittering new Nobel Prize Museum, relocated from its current spot on Gamla Stan. In many ways, Stockholm will be a city transformed. As the Swedish capital


grows, there’s also another new consideration: commuters. With property prices high, many locals are relocating to further-flung islands. More people moving between the city and its islands each day means an increased demand for water-based transport. “I love that I can just sit back and get work done on the way,”


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