Kulturfestival | "Not Exactly Retired"

We came to Stockholm and enjoyed Iraqi oud music, Lebanese pop, Jamaican reggae and a gospel choir, along with Catalan castells, or human towers (shown below),

That’s because our visit coincided with the city’s annual Kulturfestival, a five-day open-air celebration. Stages featuring live music, dance, art, theatre and global food markets were set up around town. Everything was free.

We did manage some traditional sightseeing, beginning with a historical walking tour where we learned about Sweden’s rivalry with Denmark and its long line of kings named Gustav. The first Gustav led a revolt against Denmark after the Danes slaughtered the local elite in a bloody massacre that inspired the infamous “Red Wedding” scene on Games of Thrones.

Less glorious was his grandson, Gustav II Adolf. He built a massive warship, Vasa, that sank within minutes before horrified onlookers on its maiden voyage in 1628. The ship was salvaged 333 years later and is now displayed in an excellent museum, one of Stockholm’s top attractions.

We also visited the Nobel Prize Museum, which does a great job of explaining science to the general public. I was fortunate to work with several Nobel laureates during my career and enjoyed reading about them in the exhibits, which include objects ranging from a pink headscarf worn by Malala Yousafzai to the discovery of the DNA double helix, above.

We wandered around Gamla Stan (the Old Town), enjoyed the gardens beside the imposing city hall and watched boats and ferries sail along the waterfront, above.

Once we discovered the festival, though, we spent almost all of our free time taking in its music and shows. My favorite was Tensta Joyful Noise, top photo, a diverse and energetic choir that showed how gospel music now reaches far beyond America.

Also great was Tarabband, above, a world music group from Malmö, Sweden, led by Iraqi-Egyptian singer Nadin Al Khalidi.

Our experience in Sweden’s capital illustrated anew the wonderful serendipity of travel, which we treasure. Here in Stockholm, we expected to find herring and lingonberries but ended up feasting instead on Iraqi ballads and gospel hymns. Hallelujah!