A while back, I visited Stockholm’s Old Town with my daughter.
(You may remember this story from a previous visit there.)
It was a cold, gray day that did nothing to dampen our spirits or the glowing jewels of the old buildings.
Parts of the Old Town date back to medieval times (the 13th century) and the narrow alleys and winding cobbled streets give a small glimpse of life back then.
A fairly harsh world where the gutters in the streets acted as sewers and where, in winter, the cold winds still blow through the streets and cut through clothes like a knife.
As I enjoyed the faded beauty, I felt grateful for my modern comforts.
As we entered Stockholm’s oldest square, we saw a cannonball lodged in the corner of a building that goes back to the 1500s.
According to popular legend, this cannonball commemorates the Stockholm Massacre in 1520 when the Danish King Christian executed a number of Swedish nobles.
The building has been restored a number of times and the cannonball has always been put back.
Although why it now has a green mustache is a mystery…
For more glimpses into other lives, please visit: Our World.
Lady Fi 
Fascinating! Loved the photos of the old buildings and getting a glimpse into the ancient past.
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What a marvelous post and captures for the day, Fiona! The cannonball is amazing! I, too, love the old buildings and getting such a wonderful look into the past! Fascinating history! Hope you have a lovely evening and a great week!
Sylvia
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So wonderfully depicted. Loved going through that bit of history of an old and beautiful city.
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My aunt lives in Stockholm and although I grew up in Sweden, I only visited it once about 30 years ago. Everyone who has ever been there loves that city. Perhaps it is time to go back again.;)
Lovely photography and I enjoyed the story.;)
xoxo
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beautiful view into the past!
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I love the old European buildings.
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Thank you for showing us such a beautiful place.
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it is too long since I was in Stockholm, would love to visit again, these photos remind me why. 🙂
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I need to add Stockholm to my “bucket list.”
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nice…this is a place i could get lost in…love the old feel and would want to check back alleys and all the nooks and crannies…
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Good photos, which are all nice, how much beauty there is in these streets.
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gah…… I always anticipate your photos so much and you never fail to amaze!
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For me Scandinavian towns are all very special. I love the atmosphere in those places. I always as if I am entering another world in another time. Thanks for sharing!
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Fascinating. I like the old architecture.
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Glowing jewels is right. I love the colors on the buildngs, the light, and the reflection off the street and the story about the canonball. The building may be old but they are well cared for.
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I love traveling and have always been curious about Stockholm. The old city does look full of history and very interesting. 🙂
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This is different from your usual posts but still as magical! Thanks! You are so making me want to visit Sweden someday!
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lovely perspectives!!
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Very nice & very cool shots, they’re beautiful!
Thanks so much for commenting on my post for a Christmas gift for my mother… I’ll definitely check out redbubble.com!
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What a beautiful place to explore. I know what you mean about being grateful for modern comforts but I love old buildings. You did a great job capturing the charm and beauty with your camera.
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i love your photos, the orange buildings are wonderful.
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Really nice the old Stockholm buildings.
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Looks kinda Italian. 😉
Oh yes, it’s the Venice in the North, right?
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Very interesting. LOL about the mustache. Very mysterious… 🙂
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Lovely old buildings! I so agree with you about modern conveniences, like draft-proof windows!! As for the mustache on the cannonball, maybe he thought it was time for a change…
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You had great light to capture these old buildings. I like walking old street, pondering the way life was once upon a time.
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I enjoyed seeing the old city. Do cars actually use the tiny streets?
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Amazingly they do!
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So beautiful to travel in time Lady Fi
Your pictures are so beautiful and I love the colors!
Greetings from Holland,
Anna :-))
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Been there!!! Done that!!! Loved it!!! Stockholm is absolutely beautiful…and of course, since we were there on a Baltic cruise and only had a day, our primary destination was the old town…with a stop at the ice bar!!!
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What a spectacular place! Thank you so much.
And I love the green moustache.
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Lady Fi Gamlastan is a great place and I loved it immensely every time I have been there!
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Wonderful photos that have really made us want to visit … The Swedish tourist board must love you!
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I think you have increased the colors of the old town. They look great. Or maybe it is only me that usualluy visits in sunny summers days. 🙂
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Super shots, I found some like these while cruising too.
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I always found Swedish architecture a bit….
http://thenorthernplights.com/2011/06/10/dispatch-3-2/
…so thanks for correcting me!
~The Dippylomat esq.
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Excellent shots showcasing the old architecture!
Your images bring me in and make me feel like I’m there – I wish I was. 🙂
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Beautiful mellow colours in these lovely old buildings Lady Fi. I enjoyed looking and reading “drop of kindness’ and agree, quite often Aimee and I have been out and about and when we’ve gone forward to have a word and donate, people come forward, it’s almost as if no one wants to be first, or more likely that they just didn’t think and need a jog!!
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Enjoyed walking along with you and the information
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
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Beautiful city! Beautiful photos! Great story behind the cannonball too.
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What a beautiful old city, great shots. And I have to agree that I prefer our modern conveniences (and human rights) to the old way of life.
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I love this inside look at historic building and enjoyed the history. It does sound like a wonderful place to visit.
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Fascinating.
I can feel the cold air cutting like a knife biting thru my clothing…
Xx
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Great photos and love the angles from which you captured them. Love capturing old streets like this!
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These pictures of Stockholm are beautiful. I love the color of the buildings and alleys. We saw some homes with cannonballs in them when we visited Yorktown in Virginia, but we didn’t see any green mustaches.
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These are incredible photos!
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I want to live in that orange building! With a view of the mustached cannonball of course!
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It is like a journey, great captures.
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Wonderful shots of ancient parts of city. The canon ball is interesting.
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Amber colored town, eighter light or deep color, is fascinating. Your photos are terrific, ladyfi, inviting me to the places as a time traveller feeling back into the medieval streets. I am so attracted by the cobblestone-paths in Europe. Nice to know the architectures have been restored many times to pass on to future generations.
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It’s beautiful.
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I love that cobblestone street. Gorgeous architecture!
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I always tend to fall in love with these quaint looking old towns – it is good to remember how harsh life was back when they were built.
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Hi there – I think it has a green moustache so it does not get mixed up with the one across the street!
Cheers – Stewart M – Australia
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Those ochre colours are glorious, and you always seem to find an interesting tidbit to tell us!
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Thank you for this live look hack into history. My little country of Latvia across the Baltic Sea was in the path of so many invaders, from the Swedes through Kazaks, Poles, Napoleon , the Russians and Germans and anyone else who wanted to go anywhere.
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Amazing architecture and gorgeous captures. 🙂
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What a wonderful place to visit. I love historic places. Mickie 🙂
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Lovley shots. Makes you really appreciate our modern comforts! I would not have lasted long back then!
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That’s a different Stockholm than what I have seen on pictures so far ! I have never been in a Scandinavian country.
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I love the cannon ball and the soft colors..beautiful
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I feel as if I walked along a cobblestoned alley of this old town! Great photos! I love all of them!
Best wishes,
keiko
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I love architecture with history. It’s what I love most about the city of my birth, San Francisco. And, of course, you capture it beautifully.
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Hi there Lady Fi! Welcome to my blog!
Läste “Who am I” och har förstått att du talar och skriver Svenska, så låt oss göra det!
Intressanta bilder från Gamla Stan, roligt att se andra som uppskattar arkitektur och stämningar…man blir så lätt hemmablind!
Brukar aldrig skriva kommentarer efter att så många redan varit inne, men gör ett litet undantag!
Ha det gott!
Best wishes,
G
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Hej igen!
Jag bor på Värmdö…2km utanför Gustavsberg…25km från Gamla Stan, Österut!!
Vi hörs!
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this is an amazing post…all three shots are fab!
the second shot has a beautiful perspective of an uphill street and all blurred. and i dono but the first shot appears 3d if u gaze at it for a while. its amazing!
Cheers,
My Third Eye
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Beautiful old buildings with some great details. I love the angle of your pictures.
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So many comments, I am am never the first with a comment on your Blog 🙂
beautiful series, very nice photos well done
RE: Is that gingerbread?
Yes it is, always on 5 dec we traditional celebrate “Sinterklaas” with candy and presents for the children
Greetings, Bram
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Gorgeous post!
Loved those old buildings!
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what dreamy shots! love the texture and the composition!
simply fantastic!
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The colours are so warm such a contrast with the biting cold of winter….love the cannonball story!
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I love all your photos of old town Stockholm.
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I love the angles you chose to photograph from….and the cobblestones and wonderfully coloured buildings.
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Your photos are wonderful.
Aren’t there two cannonballs?
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Apparently not – the other one is only a decoration. Maybe that’s why the actual cannonball has a mustache – so that you know it’s the ball and not the decoration.
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The green mustache is a riot! I’m happy to see these fabulous photos as they show a side of Stockholm I’ve never seen. It’s funny, I don’t see this city in ochre hues in my mind’s eye and I enjoy being surprised.
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Great shots of the old town, nice work. 🙂
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You live in a fairy tale!
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I love old towns and old buildings. Thanks for taking us along!
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So beautiful! The colours are wonderful!
Thanks for sharing:o)
***
Happy day****
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Oh, what a cold place that must have been. All those hard surfaces…
Pearl
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Gorgeous old building which are obviously well looked after. I admit the “plastic” green mustache looks very strange.
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Nice shots! Something about cobblestones, they take me to the past!
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Reminds me of old London high streets! Nicely captured 🙂
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What a gorgeous street! The building colours are fabulous.
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Such wonderful scenes…the streets look so interesting~
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The colors and angles of the old buildings make a really fascinating picture…..very beautiful.
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Lovely town, love the antiquity that it holds within itself…
My Yatra Diary…
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This is an interesting blog Fi. That cannon ball is an interesting curio – Dave
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superb frames….lovely compositions…
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Lovely photos bringing back many happy memories of our visit there.
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The streets are so narrow and the buildings so tall..I suspect it was a man who had a sense of humor..the flashy green really shows up..perhaps it was the skier:)
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I love that you noticed the green mustache! I actually had to search for it for a second…
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nice compositions… I think you like orange…!
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