The Hague : City of Justice

The idea of Justice is a concept that humankind has grappled with since time immemorial. Justice defines societies, sets the ground rules for those in the society, moderates human behavior. In a society filled with inequalities it holds forth a beacon of equality for all. Among the throngs of cities in this world only one can claim to be the City of Justice and that is the Dutch city of The Hague. It is to this city i go to next on my Eurotrip.

July 3, 2011, Sunday

The second world war was an earth shattering event when the 'dogs of war' were let loose on the world. Among other things it made the world realize the extent of injustice present in the world and how not punishing them can lead to catastrophic wars. This lead to the setting up of the International court of Justice, a judicial arm of the UN that would arbitrate disputes among states, punish the perpetrators of injustice and in essence see to it that justice is served in the world. This court was setup in the Dutch city of , The Hague.

The Hague is located about an hour from Amsterdam and is also the political capital of Netherlands. It is also the royal city of Netherlands and houses the Dutch royalty. I was up in the morning and took the train from Amsterdam and after an hour's journey through the Dutch countryside i was at The Hague. On first look the city did not look as big or as beautiful as Amsterdam instead it looked like a smaller city with a curious mixture of the old and new. From the railway station i took a tram and made my way to one of the most 'touristic' attractions of the city - the Madurodam.

The Madurodam is a garden housing the miniature versions of many of the famous sights and attractions of the Netherlands. Its a big draw with visitors especially families who bring their children to this park. As i enter the garden i behold an incredible sight. The vast expanse of the garden is filled with scores of miniature buildings and artifacts even as people wander through them appearing like giants. Once i get amidst the miniatures i realize how precise they indeed are as every detail of the buildings they attempt to replicate are executed with perfection. It was a joy to see some of the buildings i had seen the day before in Amsterdam being reproduced there in excruciating details. Even the Schipol airport that i had got down from yesterday along with its legion of airplanes was 'miniatured'! The bright sunshine also added to the setting as i roamed inside for a good couple of hours.

After the fun filled loitering through the miniature garden it was time to get serious and head into the center of the old city. It was interesting to observe the architecture of the city. It was a mix of old world buildings as well as modern skyscrapers. As big as Amsterdam was it was dominated by old style buildings and the modern buildings here were something different. The road finally ended in the biggest square of the city called the Plein.

The Plein like all European squares was really beautiful. It was open to a street on one side while the other side was filled with Cafes and opposite to it was a classical old building housing the Department of Justice of the Dutch government. In the middle however stood a magnificent statue of William of Orange. In many ways William of Orange could be seen as the founder of the modern Dutch nation. He was originally from the Principality of Orange in the south of France and served under the Spanish Hapsburgs during the time of Dutch domination by the Spain. However he soon began to resent this Spanish domination and started the revolt that eventually resulted in the Dutch independence from Spain and the constituting of the Dutch republic. Hence he is rightly termed as the Father of the Dutch nation.

However William of Orange also had one more rather queer contribution. William belonged to the family of Orange whose royal flag carried the bright orange color. Over the years this color came to represent the Dutch nation and was widely used to exhibit Dutch pride. This color in fact can now be seen around the sporting world wherever Dutch teams compete as they are all dressed in Orange. I always used to wonder why the Dutch footballers wore bright orange jerseys even though their flag just had red, blue and while colors. Now i know the answer!

A short distance from the Plein is one of most charming art museums in Europe - the Mauritshus museum. The museum is housed inside an exquisite 17th century palace built by count Johan Maurits. The museum is in fact named after the count who was a great lover of the arts and accumulated most of the collection inside. The building itself is built in a Dutch Classicist style and is simply amazing to gaze at. The view got even better as i entered the museum. The interiors of the museum was beautifully crafted with spectacular doorways , staircases and archways.

As with the Rijsmuseum in Amsterdam this museum holds some of the greatest works of Dutch art in the world. Some of the best works of Rembrandt and Vermeer can be found here along with works of other great Dutch masters. The rooms were an absolute joy to behold as each of them was filled with great works of Dutch art. In each of these artworks the Dutch essence came through in terms of themes, attention to detail and then the exquisite finesse of execution. Particularly impressive was the room that housed Rembrandt's works including his self portraits. Looking at those paintings one could sense what a great artist Rembrandt was and why he is famous even after 300 years!

However the museum is best known for two paintings belonging to Vermeer. These two paintings are widely regarded as the best painted by Vermeer and indeed arguably the best works of Dutch art in the world. As i enter the Vermeer room i am filled with excitement. A kind of excitement one feels just before beholding something unearthly. And the paintings did not disappoint. One painting was a landscape by Vermeer and was titled 'View of the Delft' depicting the view of the town of Delft over the horizon of its river. Delft was Vermeer's home town and his knowledge of the town was evident in his detailed depiction of it. Standing in front of it i could almost feel that i was on a hillock overlooking the town of Delft along with the artist who was showing his town to me.

Right opposite to this painting is what is widely considered as Vermeer's greatest work 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. As the title suggests its a portrait of a young girl wearing a pair of pearl earrings looking over her shoulders turning ever so slightly almost as if she has turned because of you. She looks almost annoyed as if you have intruded her as she is going through her daily chores. It was an amazing painting as i feel almost absorbed within the painting. Here i am far away from India all alone in this room in the middle of these two great paintings steeped in 17th century Netherlands. Simply surreal!

After visiting the other collections of the museum it was time to leave. As i came out i was filled with a glow that can come only from witnessing something spectacular. That is the power of art. It lifts your spirits and takes you to an altogether surreal level where the world outside with all its imperfections seems at least for a few moments a little bit more perfect!

As i said earlier although Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of power. Right next to the Mauritshus museum is the Dutch parliament complex called the Binnenhof . I entered the Binnenhof through the spectacular Maurice gate which with its colorful and intricate design was quite magnificent to look at. One inside the complex is filled with a slew of beautiful buildings that house the various government offices including the parliament. One of the most prominent buildings inside is the Knight's hall which is an elegant Gothic building standing in the middle of the courtyard. In the early days of the monarchy the hall served as a public meeting room and at the time was one of the biggest halls in Europe.

Also present inside the complex is a beautiful chapel built in the post-reformation style. However religion has long ceased to be a force in the Netherlands and chapel is but just a tourist attraction nowadays. This lack of respect for religion can be traced back to the fundamentals of Protestantism. As a concept Protestantism encouraged the questioning of everything including blind faith and superstition. However once you start questioning everything you eventually start questioning the concept of religion and god itself. Hence in this vein people started to question God's existence and finding a deep rift between what is portrayed in the religion and the contradicting realities of the outside world people slowly lost confidence with the concept of God. Hence now after half a millennium after the reformation, religion and god have finally fell out of favor not just in the Netherlands but in the entire protestant belt of Northern Europe. In an interesting way its a complement to the ideals of Protestantism, the ideals that started out to reform Christianity eventually led to the demise of the religion itself.

Also present inside the complex was a beautiful fountain which looked stunning in the sunlight. Right adjacent to the complex is a beautiful pond called the Hofvijver. The view of the parliament from the pond was a sight to behold.

A short distance from the Binnenhof is the Noordeinde Palace which is the official residence of the Dutch Queen. A little further from the palace is the Peace Palace which houses the International court of Justice. This is one of the most important arms of the UN where war criminals are tried and punished. Of late some of the leaders who perpetuated the infamous 'ethnic cleansing' in former Yugoslavia in the early 90s have been tried and are still being tried. Its a great tribute to the peace keeping mission of the UN. However a lot needs to be done to bring the many war criminal politicians around the world who still roam freely in their respective countries. I could easily think of a few in India like Modi who could be tried in this court for his role in the Gujarat riots or George W Bush for that matter for his war crimes in Iraq. However they are not only free but the former is still in power. I guess the wheels of Justice do move rather slowly. Anyway only time will tell if Justice can be served in this world and this International court of justice is a great step in that direction.

As the day came to an end my visit to the city of Hague came to an end and so too my visit to the Netherlands. It was one of my dreams to come to the Netherlands and experience its history and culture and i was fortunate that i was able to fulfill it with these amazing few days in the Lowlands!

Amsterdam : City of the Lowlands

There are some countries that tend to achieve more than what they are entitled to by dint of sheer grit and genius. The Netherlands is one such country. Lying on the northwestern lowlands of Europe the Dutch overcame their geographic hindrance and went onto establish one of the earliest modern republics, build an empire, define a new motif of Renaissance art, and most recently consistently produce world-beating Football and Hockey teams. It is to this great European country i bustle into on my Eurotrip and first up is its Capital Amsterdam!

July 2, 2011, Saturday

The Plane makes a nervous and bumpy landing on the runway at the Schipol airport. Just as well, as it wakes up my fellow travelers who have got into a slumber on this early morning flight. The landing notwithstanding it seemed to be a particularly nice morning in the Dutch capital however the fickleness of the Dutch weather keeps my happiness in check as i eventually find out later on.

The Schipol airport is one of the biggest airports in the world and as i walk towards the exit its size is quite telling on the feet. After what seemed like an eternity im finally out of the airport and onto a bus bound to a suburb of the Capital called Amstelveen. The climate seems to be a touch cold and for the first time the Gothenburg i left behind seems quite warm. However the scenes outside resemble that of back home in Sweden. Orderly roads, neatly trimmed greenery, laid back wondering people and generally an air of calmness giving one a feeling that everything's alright with the world. After a short bus ride i arrive in Amstelveen and the suburb seems to be still waking up from the previous night's revelry quite oblivious to my arrival. After a quick fresh-up it was time to jump into the great city.

I hop onto a tram bound to the city center and am filled to the brim with expectations. My earliest memories of the Netherlands was not surprisingly related to the arena of sports - Football specifically. Back in the early 90s i was still a wide-eyed boy in one of the most prestigious schools in Bangalore. I had just come from one of the smaller primary schools and most things looked alien to me - the books, the big movie screens showing cartoons, the funny language and a strange game played with the feet. Football was the obsession in the school and my first attempt at it was quite disastrous for my team as i innocently caught the ball in my hand displaying great agility only to result in a penalty kick for the opposing team! The bad start notwithstanding i grew a fascination for this game and one of the first superstars i came to know was in fact Dutch. This was the entertaining Dutch Footballer Ruud Gullet and at that time he was part of the all conquering AC Milan side. I was as much impressed by his football as by his long mane and dashing red and black AC Milan jersey. I remember collecting his sport cards and reading that he is from 'Netherlands' wondering where it was. Lo and behold twenty years later i'm in Gullet's country!

The tram had moved on without being bothered by my little flashback and was entering the city. For a city mostly on water and joined by canals the roads looked quite wide. One road was infact named after the great classical maestro Beethovan, not sure what connection he had with the city but it was another example of genius transcending space and time. Here was a German musician being honored in a Dutch city which goes to show the broad mindedness of the Dutch too and Europeans in general. In fact Nationalism is a tricky subject for the Dutch. Since the time they suffered at the hands of the highly nationalistic Germans the Dutch have always been wary of the threats of nationalism and hence have kept it at a safe distance in the national discourse and the attitude has been that of Internationalism rather than Nationalism. And this road named after Beethovan is a great example of this Dutch progressive Internationalism.

As i entered the city the first place set for the visit was the famous Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum is one of the great museums of the world and has the best collection of Dutch art in the world. It is located in the MuseumPlien area of the city which consists of a beautiful garden in the middle with the Rijksmuseum at one end and the National opera on the other. The remaining sides are filled with other famous museums including the Van Gogh museum.

The Rijskmuseum is housed in a magnificent neo-gothic building which is as beautiful as it is huge. Unfortunately the museum has been in renovation for sometime now which is slated to end in 2013. Fortunately however all the major art works are assembled in a small part of the museum building called the Phillip's wing. Entering the Philip's wing is like jumping into an ocean of Dutch art.

Although much of Dutch art was Renaissance in style it was completely different from the Renaissance style of the Italians. While Italian Renaissance art dealt with more religious subjects with some interplay with characters and motifs from Classical Greece, the Dutch departed markedly. The Dutch Renaissance art on the other hand was more secular and dealt with such subjects as portraits, still life and paintings of everyday village life. This difference can be traced to the religious backgrounds of these two countries. While Italy steeped in Roman Catholicism got its inspiration from the Bible the fiercely Protestant Dutch got their inspiration from the secular everyday world around them. Hence over the years Dutch art developed its own niche and became a different branch of Renaissance art altogether.

As i walk through room after room of the Museum the collections bewilder me. The paintings are from the legendary 'Golden age' of Dutch art which was in the 16th century. The 16th Century was really the Netherland's greatest century. At the start of the century they were ruled by Spain which was in turn was controlled by the Hapsburgs. However the Dutch waged a valiant freedom struggle and managed to overthrow them and establish a republic. What is amazing is that this was still a full hundred years before the French revolution and was one of the first republics in the modern world. During the century the Dutch not only freed themselves but went onto colonize the world. They even came to India but were thwarted by the British and French. However they moved further east and colonized the Indonesian archipelago. Its the ultimate irony isn't it, the Dutch did not have qualms about snatching the freedom of another people right after they got theirs!

Since the Dutch had just attained their freedom from Spanish rule they were filled with creative energy like any new republic. Also the colonization had resulted in a mercantile boom which had made the Netherlands the most prosperous country in Europe and had resulted in the creation of a wealthy merchant class who were willing patrons to the many artists. For the first time in feudal Europe there was a class which was not from the aristocracy or the clergy and was still rich enough to fund art. This fact was evident in the kind of art that was commissioned. Instead of the religious art these merchants preferred art forms taking the shape of portraits, still art and depictions of everyday life. In a way Dutch art was trying to elevate everyday life into the realm of the larger-than-life and almost the divine. In Italy exactly the opposite was happening where the path breaking artists there were trying to give a sense of reality to the paintings of Gods and saints.

During the 'Golden age' the Dutch were lucky to have a group of artists whose mastery has been barely touched let alone surpassed. Artists such as Rembrandt, Frans Hal, Vermeer and many others introduced a new dimension to European art. As i browsed through their paintings i was mesmerized by the attention to detail that these masters displayed. I was particularly impressed by the paintings of Vermeer. He left behind a very small collection of paintings but each of them is a gem. His most famous painting in the museum is titled the 'Milkmaid' and depicts a young woman pouring a jug of milk into a bowl. Such a mundane act is elevated to the point of divine by the artist as you can almost see the milk being poured and filling up the bowl. The painting also shows his mastery over light as the painting also shows a window from where light enters and illuminates the setting. The way in which this light is distributed over the painting is a work of genius, you can almost be excused for thinking of it as a photo taken from a camera! This is what Dutch art was all about, it was a celebration of the everyday life and even i started to think the significance of the mundane in our lives. Maybe that's a lesson for us from these great artists to not neglect the everyday life but to enjoy it as even it is special.

It was mid-afternoon by the time i came out of the museum and the weather had turned a bit cloudy and threatening even. From the Museum i made my way into the heart of the old city. Along the way i passed the famous Vondel park which is the most famous green space in the city. After a short walk i came to the central square of the city called the 'Dam Square'. It was a beatiful square filled to the brim with people. It consisted of the Royal palace on the one side and the Nieuve Kerke or the New Church on its side. Opposite to the church was the famous wax museum of Madam Tussauds and opposite to the Royal palace was the National monument which was erected in memory of the sacrifices of the Dutch people during the second world war.

The Netherlands as everyone knows is one of the most liberal countries in the world. However they take this progressiveness to its extreme, in a way they are the mirror image of a highly conservative country like Saudi Arabia but on the other side of the spectrum. Its an extremely liberal society where such things as Sale of 'soft' drugs such as Marijuana is legal and are infact sold in the euphemistically named 'Coffee shops'. Also there is the infamous red-light district where prostitution is legal. The Dutch argument however is that these are societal evils that happen despite the strictest laws, hence by legalizing them they can regulate them and earn extra revenue instead of criminalizing them which they say does not wipe away the evils anyway. The counter argument would be that legalizing these activities might induce innocents to fall prey to them who would not have indulged in them if they were deemed illegal. The jury is still out on these highly liberal Dutch moves even as other countries including the US mull over following suit. However the Dutch are comfortable with it and only time will tell.

From the Dam square i took the central street of the city called the Damrak which ended at the Central railway station. Here i decided to take a cruise through the magnificent canals of the city.

Amsterdam is made special because of the water that covers it. In fact the city derives its name from the river Amstel that envelopes it and cuts through the city in the form of various canals. Most of the canals are man made and were constructed to join the city to the North sea thereby building Amsterdam as a major trading city. The canal system is brilliantly constructed and is made up of three principle canals - the Herengracht or the gentlemen's canal, the Keizersgracht or the Emperor's canal and the Prinsengracht or the Prince's canal. Each of these canals is unique and offers a different facet of the city. Here too one can sense the Dutch bias for progressiveness as one out of the three canals - the Herengracht - is named after the regents of the republic who ruled the city! The Canals provide a great view of the city with the water giving a splendid backdrop to the city's various buildings. No wonder they call Amsterdam the Venice of North i thought. As i had been to Venice before i could see why it was called so. It had a striking resemblance to the Italian city although Amsterdam was much bigger in size comparatively.

Water though has had a great role to play not only in Amsterdam but also in Dutch history. The name Netherlands infact means the 'Lowlands' and it was named so for the reason that almost half of the country is below sea level. This fact is almost unbelievable as in many coastal areas of the country one has to go up a staircase to go to the sea! The Dutch have been able to resist the sea by building dykes and also through the windmills that pump out the water from the mainland back into the sea. No wonder the windmills are such a symbol of the Netherlands!

The cruise also passed the famous bicycle parking lot of the city which is near the railway station. To my amazement the parking lot was huge. In fact it was three-tired and each tire was packed with cycles and the entire lot must have consisted of atleast a thousand cycles. How anyone can find his cycle in this parking jungle confounded me. The bicycle is probably the most ubiquitous object in the Netherlands, apparently there are more bicycles in the country than people. In fact i think it could be argued that the bicycle could be a better symbol of the Netherlands than the windmills. In a way it represents the Dutch progressive value of equality better than anything. The bicycle rider - be it a King or pauper - is on his own. Its man and machine together fighting against the force of gravity. Gravity neither cares nor gives concession to the rider whatever his status maybe. What could be more egalitarian than the bicycle i mused.

After getting down from the cruise i made my way to probably the most famous attraction in Amsterdam, the one i had read about when i was in school and had always dreamed of visiting.

The Anne Frank House stands on the banks of the Prinsengracht canal and is a city icon on its own. This was the house where the famous and unfortunate Anne Frank lived in hiding along with her family during the second world war. I had read the famous 'Anne Frank diary' when i was in school and always imagined what it was like to live in such an unreal and dangerous atmosphere. Luckily here i was right at the house where the diary was written by Anne. It was a surreal feeling for me , one that gave me goosebumps all over again!

Legend has it that the nickname for the city of Amsterdam is Mokum which is a Hebrew word for 'safe haven'. The name came into being during the second world war when Amsterdam became a haven for the persecuted Jewish population of Europe. Anne Frank and her family too hid themselves in Amsterdam after escaping from the clutches of the Nazis from Germany. The Franks as with most Jewish families ran a prosperous business until the ghost of Holocaust started to haunt them. Once they fled to Amsterdam they felt as if they had escaped the torment. However within months Hitler declared the second world war and subsequently occupied the Netherlands and with it the Franks safe haven came under threat. In order to escape the Nazi persecution the Franks decided to build a hideout in the attic of their house and thus hid from the infamous Nazi Gestapo. However their story had a tragic ending as the Gestapo were eventually tipped off by an anonymous caller and thus the Franks were captured and sent to various concentration camps. Anne Frank herself was sent to the camp at Bergen-Belsen where she died of Typhus. However her father Otto Frank survived and when he came back to his former home in Amsterdam found the diary that Anne had written during the time of hiding. Upon publishing the diary as a book it became an overnight sensation as it voiced the tragedy that was the Holocaust. Millions of people around the world learnt about this human tragedy coming from the pen of a teenage girl.

As i was still thinking about the tragic life of Anne the long line had snaked into the premises of the house. Since it was a regular house the number of people entering was restricted and so i had to wait for a while for my turn. There were several booklets there informing one of the life of Anne but interestingly there was a booklet in Hebrew which was quite apt i thought. As i entered the house it was one of the most moving experiences i had ever had. The house was described at each step by using words from Anne's own diary and this made the effect so much more deeper. I could almost feel as if Anne was talking to me and walking me through her house describing in painful detail the ordeal she had to go through.

The lower rooms of the house was where the Frank business was and they are preserved the way they were during the Franks' time. The story of the family right from its origins in Germany to their flight to Amsterdam to their hiding to their tragic end was described very touchingly. I was also informed how during their hiding some of their Dutch friends and colleagues had helped them out. This was really interesting because it showed the dual character of humanity where it is as capable of doing evil as it is of showing love and mercy.

As i moved to the higher rooms the staircase became smaller and smaller and finally when i reached the attic it was narrow enough just for a single person to pass through. The Attic was where the Franks hid by constructing a hide out behind the psedo walls. The hide out is hidden behind a large bookshelf which was a red herring that opened into the hide out. The hideout consisted of a couple of rooms, one for Mr and Mrs Frank and the other for Anne and her sister. The windows were sealed off from the outside world with black curtains and it was strictly forbidden to open the curtains during the day time. The facilities were very basic as can be imagined and one could almost feel for the Franks' plight. Amazingly the house also showcased some of the pages of Anne's diary. They were written in beautiful cursive handwriting in German and described the feelings of young Anne in captivity. One got a feeling that Anne was a young girl after all and yearned for the life of a young girl of going out into the outside world, to ride a bicycle, to hear the birds sing. Alas the world is a less than perfect place and such was the tragedy of Anne's life that you almost felt a sense of pain inside you. If anything Anne's diary shows us the power of the written word, the way it can outlive its creator and influence people across different countries and languages even beyond the imagination of the creator himself.

As i exited the House i felt how important such places are to us even after so many years have passed. Although bad memories should be wiped away it helps to keep some alive in order to remind us of the evil that was done. This will prevent us hopefully from committing such evil acts in the future. In fact i think we should have similar things in India. We could have similar memorials for the victims of past riots in Bombay and Gujarat where the victim's side of the story, their pain and suffering is portrayed. This will at least make people realize the horrors of a riot and the next time a politician incites them they would think twice before they join the mob.

On my way back to my place though i saw a very interesting sight. A young girl in her teens boarded my bus with a hockey stick in hand! It was incredible to see our National game being played and followed here in Europe. Although this puzzled me initially i reminded myself that hockey was one of the more popular sports in Netherlands and in fact the Netherlands were the best team in hockey today surpassing the great Indian teams of the mid 20th century. A hockey stick in a Dutch girl's hand, that is one sight from Europe that i would never forget!

With that the day came to an end and thus ended my trip of this great city. A city which showed me amazing beauty as well as poignancy and i am ever the more lucky to have visited this great city.

Stockholm : On the Cutting Edge

Its the Capital of a Country at the cutting edge of development. A country with one of the highest standards of living in the world, with one of the best healthcare systems in the world, with one of the best Education systems in the world, where the economic gap between rich and poor is the least in the world and also where there is unprecedented gender equality so much so that women outnumber men in the parliament. Yes i'm in Stockholm the capital of Sweden!

June 24, 2011, Friday

This is a long overdue trip i thought as i get up for the early morning train to Stockholm. Sweden was my home base and i had not yet visited its capital. The weather had aborted my previous plans and the midsummer weekend seemed the most suitable time to visit the capital. And so i went out to catch the early morning train as the clock read 5AM.

As i reached the central station the train was waiting for me. Of all the modes of transport , the train is my favorite. Although air travel saves time and bus travel is more frequent to avail it is the charm of the rail that excites me. The gentle rocking of the carriage, the smells and sounds of the towns that it passes through, the green expanses of the country side combine to make it a great way to travel. As the train started it went through some of the most beautiful natural scenery i have seen. There is something about the pastoral elegance of the countryside that soothes the mind. The lakes with their pure water glowing in the morning sun, the green expanses of the countryside littered with farmhouses, the punctuation of passing towns all made for a splendid journey.

Even as i was taking in the sights of the beautiful countryside the city arrived. The weather was just about perfect with a cool breeze blowing. As i exited the train station the first thing i noticed was how big the city was compared to Gothenburg. Also striking was the presence of the water around the city. Stockholm is made up of 14 islands and each of them is connected by several bridges. Indeed its a city floating in water. First up i headed to the Royal Palace.

Sweden is one of the most modern countries in the world. But despite that it still has connections with its royalty and hence is not a republic but a kingdom. The connection is not as trivial as in England where the British royalty has become bit of a joke. Instead its a kind of reverence the Swedes feel towards their royalty. Its a unique mixture that Sweden has got where they strike a balance between jumping into the future and also keeping their feet in the past.

As i crossed over one of Stockholm's many bridges i was onto the famed island of Gamla Stan or 'Old City' which contains the royal palace. The Gamla Stan is one of the best preserved medieval cities in the world and the Royal palace is its crowning glory. Right across the palace is the Swedish Parliament where interestingly women legislators outnumber men which is an indication of the gender equality in Sweden. The palace itself reminded me of the Hapsburg palaces i had seen in central Europe. As it was noon the Palace guards with their striking blue attire were getting ready for the change of guard ceremony. There was a bit of the famed Swedish progressiveness even there as well as the guards included women too which i had never seen anywhere else. Also new was the fact that the Guard spoke not only in Swedish but in English too in deference to the tourists present. Another great example of Sweden getting the right 'balance' of pride in their own language and also acknowledging the world around. This 'balance' is such a Swedish hallmark i thought to myself!

After witnessing the change of guard ceremony it was time to go into the palace. The palace was truly magnificent as i had not expected Swedish royalty to be so rich. Each room was beautifully crafted with exquisite pieces of art. My favorite were the amazing tables clocks that adorned these rooms. The royals must have had a great taste in these things i thought. Also present were wonderful paintings that hung on the walls. One particular painted ceiling was impressive which was not surprisingly painted by an Italian artist in true renaissance fashion. Italy makes its presence felt wherever you go in Europe i thought! Also impressive was the grand gallery of the palace which was a long richly decorated corridor which was used for royal dinners. The palace had some great sculptures too dealing with themes of Greek mythology and reiterated the belief that even though there are several different countries in Europe they are all joined by the common thread going back to the Greeks. Its as if these modern nation states are children of ancient Greek civilization!

From a place of regal elegance it was time to go to a place of plebeian splendor. I headed towards the famed City Hall which was right across on an adjacent island. While on the walk my mind raced back to the history of medieval Europe. Even though Europe looks homogeneous in terms of religion it is split down the middle, in fact horizontally one can say into the Catholic south and the Protestant north. The history of Europe was shaped in an enormous way by the Protestant reformation of the 16th century. The Reformation presented for the first time a serious challenge to more than a 1000 years of Catholic hegemony in Europe. Even though Catholicism grew to be a dominant force on the continent it also grew hollow from within. Corruption and loss of ideology were some of the things that were eating at the body of Catholicism. This lead to stray protests from a far back as the 12th century but these instead of correcting the course of the catholic church pushed it into an even more extreme path wherein the church resorted to such heinous things as inquisition and indulgences and committed acts that were hideous even by the standard of the common folk let alone religious authorities. The Church started to suppress critical thinking and monopolized knowledge and went after with a vengeance the people who had a different view of the world such as scientists like Galileo hence pushing back humanity by centuries. Basically the Catholic church became a sort of mafia far removed from the noble paths of Christ whose burden they professed to bear.

Things really started to move in the other direction with the emergence of Martin Luther and his Protestant ideology. As the name itself suggests the ideology was about protesting the deviant ways of the church and bringing the focus back onto the teachings and message of Christ. Also embedded in the ideology was an embrace of critical thinking and an attitude of questioning things ranging from the trivial to the sacred. Things came to a head and the whole of Europe became a battle zone for Catholics and Protestants and finally got split down the middle. Southern Europe with its proximity to Rome became a stronghold of the Catholics whereas Northern Europe became a Protestant bastion. The histories of these two parts of Europe was also shaped by this division. Whereas Protestant north embraced science and advanced the South always suspicious of critical thinking and stuck in dogmatism lagged behind. This reflected in the styles of cities that arose in these two parts of Europe. Whereas in the south cities and towns tended to be built around Churches and baptisteries the cities of the north were built around much more secular buildings like town halls and other public enclosures.

Continuing in this rich Protestant tradition Stockholm too has a City Hall and its a very famous one at that too. Its one of the biggest City Halls in Europe and hosts the annual Nobel banquet and ball. As i gaze across the water the Town Hall stands distinctly with its red brick exterior and tall bell tower. As i get inside i am informed that the architect who built it lived in Italy for some time and hence the City Hall has a distinct Italian feel to it. Beautiful Italian style arches adorn the sides giving one the feeling that he is in Italy. Soon i go to the famed 'Blue hall' of the City hall where the Nobel banquet takes place. Its a gigantic enclosure that resembled an Italian Piazza with wonderful arches and even a fountain to boot on one side. Its easy to see the Italian influence on the architect, he must have been really fascinated by Italy and hence wanted to recreate it here in his home town. The Blue hall is in fact brick red in color , however it was called 'Blue Hall' apparently as the architect wanted to paint it blue to symbolize the water around the city but he changed his mind when he saw that the red color looked better. Standing in the Blue Hall i imagined the kind of personalities who must have had dinner here. Einstein, Madam Curie and our very own Tagore and CV Raman just to name a few. Simply being in the same room gave me goose bumps.

From the Blue hall i went to the Council Hall were the elected representatives of the city assembled. The most striking feature of the hall was its ceiling which was in the form of an upturned Viking ship, a reminder of the Viking history of Sweden! It was interesting to note that Women outnumbered men 54-47 in the council. Hence it is no surprise that Sweden is on the forefront of gender equality where it has attained remarkable success hence women compete and sometimes beat the men in every sphere of work here, be it in parliament or at an office or even driving trams! Its a model that the rest of the world and India will do well to emulate, even if we attain a fraction of Sweden's success it will be quite a leap.

From the Council Hall i moved to one more great Hall - the Golden Hall. It was a beautiful Hall built in Byzantine style with Gold covered walls which give it the name. Even though the style is Byzantine the images adorned were not religious , in fact they depicted the history of Sweden and Stockholm. Its a great tribute to the country and city and was a real joy to behold. During the Nobel banquet this hall hosts the famous ball and i can only imagine what a sight that would be.

As i came out of the City Hall i was struck by the sociological contrasts between this place and say Italy even though they were architecturally similar. Whereas in Italian society God and Religion seemed to be the centerpiece of existence, here God was missing and the people were the center of all things. This is the more evolved attitude of Northern Europe i thought, focusing on the people and thinking about their welfare rather than paying respect to a God who in all honesty may or may not exist. Religion at the end of the day hinders thought and for all its professed 'high morality' does not make us any more moral and in some cases makes us commit the most immoral and inhuman acts. This is precisely the reason why Northern Europe has progressed after dumping religion and has developed into a far more progressive and more people friendly society than the South. This is a big lesson for us in India where religion plays such a big role in public life and not only that, it has created numerous conflicts which drain our energies which could have been used in something more productive. For this reason , in India we should remove religion from the pedestal we put it on and replace it by the aspirations and needs of the billion people. The lessons of history is right in front of us in the form of the North-South European example and we better learn from it. If you are a bad student and fail to learn the lessons taught then you cannot and should not succeed and deserve to be mediocre. As simple as that.

Next i took a canal cruise around the islands and saw a great deal of other city attractions like the house in which the band ABBA created music, the sports showroom opened by Bjorn Borg and learnt a great deal about the history of the city. The most interesting attraction for me on this cruise was the house of Alfred Nobel where the great man invented dynamite. It was in a secluded island as expected and was covered with lots of trees and i could just get a brief peak. It was amazing to imagine those old days when Nobel carried out his experiments here and eventually made a discovery that changed a lot of aspects of humanity ranging from warfare to construction.

After the cruise it was time to set foot on land again and i proceeded to the charming old town of 'Gamla Stan'. As i said earlier its one of the best preserved medieval towns in the world and the streets are as expected small and cobbled-stoned and a joy to walk through. After going through the main street of VastraLanggatan i came to a place where people were peering into what looked like a small staircase. But it turned out that it was in fact the smallest street in the city. It was called Mårten Trotzigs Grand and believe it or not had room enough for only one person to go through at a time. After going through few more wonderful street i came to the central square of 'Stortorget'.

The Stortorget was a wonderful square with three sides covered with colorful buildings packed tightly together with bars on cafes at their feet. The fourth side had an elegant old building with the famous Nobel Museum on the ground floor and the Swedish Academy on the top floor. The Swedish academy is one of the great institutions of Sweden which is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of Swedish language and culture in the face of continued external influences. For example if a new word came into Sweden due to a new invention or discovery it was upto this institution to find out an equivalent Swedish name for it and hence integrate it into Swedish culture. In that way new things are absorbed into the Swedish ecosystem without compromising on its existing language or culture. Fantastic idea isn't, the Swedes have a wonderful way of dealing with the world!

After wondering through the Gamla Stan it was time to call it a day as it was almost 10 in the night even though the sun shone brightly in the sky. The joys of travelling in the Summer!

June 25, 2011, Saturday

The bright day of the day before was replaced by a gloomy one. The weather in Stockholm is extremely fickle and could change very instantly and i hoped the sun would break in soon. As i strode out onto the city i headed to the Nobel Museum. I was a great fan of the Nobel awards and keenly followed it so the museum was of great interest to me. The museum is quite recent and is housed in a former stock exchange and is quite small too. I remembered going to another Nobel museum in Oslo about a year and a half back. Oslo as the world knows gives away the Nobel peace prize however the remaining prizes are given out here in Stockholm. This split is due to the fact that Sweden and Norway were one country during Nobel's life time and for reasons known to him alone he decided to split the prizes in this way. One other reason for this split is the common perception that Norway was a much more neutral country than Sweden and since the peace prize was the most political of the prizes it was decided to give away the prize in Oslo.

As i enter the museum, the first thing i notice is the procession of placards running over my head. Each placard contained the picture and a brief biography of a Nobel Laureate. This ingenious idea was struck in order to commemorate the laureates of the Nobel prizes over the years and they are in random order and keep circulating over the ceiling for the entire day. A great way to remember great people i thought. There was a room also depicting the journey of Alfred Nobel, his upper-class upbringing, his interest in science, the tragedies he suffered during his discovery, his eventual discovery, the empire his discovery helped him build and finally his iconic will to give away his wealth as prizes for achievements in various spheres of humanity. It also contained the four paged will that Nobel had drawn up. Curiously the bit about the prizes was just two paragraph's in length and i thought it must be one of the great wills ever drawn out by a man!

The case of Nobel gives us an opportunity to think about the concept of wealth and its relation to the world around. Nobel sincerely believed that the wealth he had earned belonged as much to society than to him. Even though it was he who discovered dynamite he knew it would not have become a reality if not for the society around him that gave him the opportunity to do his discovery. And also when he was out with his discovery it was the society that embraced it and made him rich. Hence he thought he owed society a great deal for his wealth and hence decided to give it back to society by instituting these awards which could further spark and fund more and more discoveries that would benefit mankind. In fact even mahatma Gandhi had a similar view on wealth where he said the wealthy man was simply a custodian of the wealth on behalf of the society and should use it for the benefit of the society. Sadly this attitude to wealth has changed overtime thanks mainly to the hedonistic attitude of corporations and individuals around the world who believe they owe their wealth to nobody except themselves and go about on a crass and vulgar display of it. This is especially true in India where rich men seldom do good to the society around them and in some cases try to steal from it by evading tax. The case of a rich man like Mukesh Ambani for example building a 27-floor palatial home for his family of 4 from his wealth he got by dubious means in the first place even as 60% of the city lives in inhuman slums comes to mind here. If this is not insensitive i don't know what is. The life of Nobel should act as a lesson for such individuals who should learn to respect the society around them and do good to humanity at large instead of flaunting money in their faces.

The Museum itself was small and contained a collection of items from past laureates. One interesting aspect in the museum was its celebration of the 'Cafe culture' of Europe. This was commemorated by framing a cafe chair inside a glass case. This was apt i thought since the age of enlightenment was ushered into Europe by philosophers and thinkers discussing radical ideas sitting in Cafes. Voltaire , Rousseau and other prominent thinkers debated their view of the modern world in the great Cafes of Paris. They even had a poster of the great Paris Cafe the Deux Maggot to pay tribute to this fact.

After spending some time at the Museum i came out of the museum to sunny skies and headed straight to the island of 'Djurgarden'. Its the greenest of Stockholm's islands and the most beautiful too. It also hosts spectacular museums. It had the Nordiska museum that explains the Nordic history of Sweden and Scandinavia. It also had the very famous Vasa museum. The Vasa museum interestingly has only one exhibit. But what an exhibit it is, it is a 300 year old Ship that sank off the coast of Stockholm. The Ship you can say was the titanic of its time and it represented the naval might of 17th century Sweden. The Ship was pulled onto dry land 50 years ago and since then has rested at the museum astounding its visitors. Going through the Vasa museum one got a sense of how important the sea was to Sweden and indeed to Europe. Control of the seas was seen as a sure way of controlling trade and thereby the riches it brought with it. Also noteworthy is the restoration work that has been carried out on the ship which was very detailed and precise. Its not an easy exercise to restore a ship that has been in water for 300 years and their effort is there for everyone to see.

Right adjacent to the Vasa Museum is the beautiful open air museum of Skansen. Skansen is the world's biggest open air museum and hosts some of the best flora and fauna in Sweden. Also persisted here is the traditional way of Swedish life and its various traditions. As if to suit the occasion the sun had come out from the gloomy clouds and had started to shine brightly and lit up the whole place. Entering Skansen was like entering a Sweden of the 17th century , so accurate was the whole setup including the very traditional Maypole in the middle to celebrate midsummer. The houses were all made of wood and the people inside them dressed in traditional Swedish attire. Inside they even were doing things that the Swedes did all those years ago like, baking cakes and making pots. It was a great example of how tradition can be persisted and showcased in today's modern world.

Once out of Skansen i went to the newer pat of the City. The new city was bigger than i thought and had a look of all the other big cities of Europe. I made my way to the most famous street in Stockholm - Drottninggatan. It is the biggest street in Stockholm and runs right through the new city until the entrance to Gamla Stan. It had all the trappings of a shopping street as it was covered with various shopping complexes. However what i found most interesting was the Concert House building that was present off the street. The Concert House is a beautiful blue building which is famous as it hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremony. Just sitting on its step thinking about that December day when all the prize winners assemble there was thrilling.

After a few hours of walk through the city it was time to call it a day and for the trip to come to an end. It was amazing to come to this great city and enjoying all it had to offer and more than anything being able to experience its progressive attitude was truly memorable, one that i would never forget!