Waldenarsudde in Stockholm

 

The island of Djurgarden has many attractions which include: the ABBA museum; Junibacken, the children's museum, devoted to Pippi Longstocking, the protagonist of the series of children's books created by Astrid Lindgren; the Vasa Museum that houses the 17th century Vasa warship that sank off the coast of Stockholm on its maiden voyage in 1628; Grona Lund, the amusement park; the Biological Museum; the Aquarium; Nordiska Museet, Sweden's National Museum of cultural history; Skansen, the open air museum; and many more - the list is endless.

 

Waldenarsudde is another attraction, a waterfront property with beautiful grounds and fantastic views. We spent a whole day there.

 

 

 

Starting from Slussen we took the ferry to Djurgarden and then the tram and we ended up here - a small little harbour where the boats of the rich who live in this area are moored.

 

 

We took the path that would take us to the grounds of Waldenarsudde.

 

It was a very pleasant walk and once inside the grounds

we came upon this wonderful sculpture

Paret by Liss Eriksson

The grounds are full of sculptures but this was the star for me - it is stunning

 

 



it was a short walk before we reached the house

a three-storey mansion, designed by Ferdinand Boberg,  and owned by Prince Eugen from 1899 until his death in 1947.

Easels that been set up for the art lessons that are one of the activities offered here

Herakles, by Antoine Bourdelle

 

 

lots of colour in the gardens

and the views are breath taking

The Old House where the Prince lived while the mansion was being built

 

the views are an integral part of these gardens

 



 

and because the whole complex is built on a peninsula, they are ever-present. Across the water,  the Photography Museum on Sodermalm

 

the path circles round the peninsula

 



 

and we very soon reached Rodin's The Thinker

 

and on our right, another sculpture, one that would have to be investigated later

 



 

This spot provided good views of the house, and I immediately spotted Nike of Samothrace on the terrace

we walked up the steps to have a better look at Nike which was cast in bronze by Gustave Leblanc Barbedienne

once we had reached the terrace another sculpture caught our eye

Triton by Carl Milles

This is where The Thinker is so we went to have a closer look

 

 

the views ever-present

 

still on the terrace, Kvinnohuvud by Christian Eriksson

 

Leaving the terrace, we re-joined the path and came across the sculpture we had seen from above

view of the house

lots of colour

 

 

 

 

 

we arrived at this cosy seating area

 

 

 



 

facing a pool and this sculpture

 

Later in the afternoon I came back here and sat for half an hour enjoying the views while Ken went to do some further exploring.

 



 

 

 

The path led to the 18th century windmill

 

 

 

an oil mill, built in the 1780s - there are apparently only five of those remaining in the world

 

we walked to the end of the path

 

 



 

and caught glimpses of some wonderful houses

 



 

 

 

 

as I said earlier, some very rich people live in this area

 



 

 

we stopped at the old stables on our way back

 

 

an old cannon

 

 



 

a different view of the mill

and we reached another terrace

 

 

 



 

 

which is in front of the gallery, the second main building on the site. The gallery was built in 1913. We later went in and saw an exhibition of the paintings of German Expressionist Emil Nolde.

 



 

 

Skorden by Ivar Johnsson

 

 

 

More sculptures

even some hidden in the flower beds

We sat here for a while as it was very lovely and peaceful

There is a copy of this bronze sculpture inside the house, carved from marble, this time

and look! she's got a little frog by her feet.

We did go in even though I find the interiors of these grand houses quite boring. This is the prince's library.

 

I loved the sitting room though - so much light pouring in

 



 

 

and the views, of course

between the two windows you can see the marble copy of the sculpture that is in the garden.

And last, but not least, the wood burning stove - I developed a bit of an obsession while we were in Stockholm.