Lux Lotus

Postcards From Sweden: Stockholm

All of these photos are Gammla Stan, the medieval-era old town, located on an island in the center of the city and including the Royal Palace.

Postcards From Sweden: Birka

Birka, on an island in Lake Malaren, is known as the first Swedish town. Established by vikings in the 8th century, now a World Heritage Site.

Letter From Stockholm

[posted from New York]

Tonight marks my fifth day in Stockholm, a city that reveals its magic slowly.  Spread out over a series of islands on the Baltic Sea, Stockholm is a cosmopolitan city with a maritime vibe -- not quite a port city, more like a sailing city, elegantly inhabited by open-minded traders accustomed to seeking fortune abroad and bringing the best aspects of other cultures back with the riches. Life here is rich too, and not as expensive as is rumored (if you're used to Manhattan), although prices are dear. A stroll through the old hunting grounds at Djurgarden or along moneyed boulevards of Ostermalm or the cool, park-dotted blocks of Sodermalm, evenings at brasseries like Sturehof, Riche, PA & Co., or Pelikan, hot chocolate amidst the drizzle on cobblestones of Gammla Stan, the old medieval quarter, with much yet to discover...

Pictured: the harbor, peonies at PA & Co.

On Siblings

A few years ago my family met in New York for Christmas, and it was magical. We dined at the Hotel on Rivington and watched The Royal Tenenbaums, and when my sister said, "I'm Margot," my parents dryly remarked, in an unusual show of unity, "You're Chas." My brother and I decided that what we were lacking was another sibling, "Marsden," who would even out the odds. Three is complex. My father once noted that its principal utility is to prevent us from fighting over his estate. I found the dynamic around me rather Machiavellian at home ––  and read The Prince as a child for pointers –– and it took me years as an adult to see relationships as anything other than strategic alliances designed to maximize resource allocation. But Marsden would change everything!* Marsden would have backpacked across India with our youngest sibling and told the rest of us to go dive off a pier. Marsden is the cool, diplomatic voice of reason, urging everyone to work it out. Marsden, I always wish you were here.

*No complaints. We had our last family meeting at P.J. Clarke's.