The Cow has gone to Stockholm
My girlfriend and I took The Cow with us on our holiday to Stockholm, I took several digital photos but for some reason some didn't store on the memory card but saying that two of the best shots did work :)
"A wooden horse in Stockholm's city hall. They have them in every tourist shop (albeit much smaller versions of this one). They are hand carved and painted. Apparently if you buy two you get good luck, don't know if thats true or if the shop keeper was trying to get us to buy more!"
"Outside the Swedish parliament and palace. The guard wouldn't hold The Cow up for us :( and we couldn't get any closer than we did."
So very, very cool. I just love these things. As a side note, for liability reasons, I am not encouraging readers to approach and ask people holding automatic weapons to pose with The Cow.
Posted by drunkenbatmanAugust 05, 2005, at 07:00 PM
Comments (3)
Posted by: Malte at August 7, 2005 03:45 PM
These types of hand-carved and hand-painted wooden horses are called Dalahästar (or Dalecarlian horse in English). They are originally from a district called Dalarna in the middle part of Sweden and has nothing to do with Stockholm, though it's often something the souvenir shops love to sell of course.
About the buy-two-for-luck.. I have never heard of it, so I think he was just trying to sell you more. And admit - you fell for it? :-)
The usually don't look like the one on the photo, but most often bright red and/or blue: http://www.grannas.com/eng/production.htm
A history lesson: http://www.grannas.com/eng/history.htm
The guard that didn't want to be in a photo is standing outside royal Stockholm Palace (Stockholms slott). He's one of The High Guard, members of the armed forces, which are guarding the palace 24/7. And with tourists always trying to poke them, get them to pose for the camera, or just make them irritated..
Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Palace
Posted by: Kevan at August 14, 2005 10:12 PM
...and you don't even have to go to Sweden to get one ;]
Should you, by any grand stretch of the imagination, be in central Kansas this fall, you could pick up bunches of these little critters (known stateside as Dala Horses) in my hometown of Lindsborg, KS.
Affectionately known as 'Little Sweden USA', Lindsborg was settled by Swedish immigrants in the late 19th century, and has retained an incredible amount of charm, and of course offers a 'smorgasbord' of all things Swedish.
Though small in size (population - appx. 3,000), the community exhudes the great heart, spirit and gracious generosity of it's forefathers.
Oct. 7-9, 2005 offers Svensk Hyllningsfest (kind of like OctoberFest without the beer)
http://www.svenskhyllningsfest.org/dala_horse.htm
Anyway, love your blog and though not Swedish by ancestry, I was part of the community long enough to have 'inherited' a fondness for discussions of anything Swedish.
Much like your 'tagging Apple stores', in Lindsborg's weekly newspaper, you will often find a photo sent by some current or former resident from any number of places around the world...just a useless bit of info, but it triggered this reply since I hadn't recognized what the 'dala horse' in the photo from Stockholm was, until I read the caption.
Peace,
Kevan
oh, and no uniformed guards with guns in Lindsborg
"As a side note, for liability reasons, I am not encouraging readers to approach and ask people holding automatic weapons to pose with The Cow."
Ha ha. But it is so cool when they do! Serious these make my morning, more Cows! I'd send one from but no digital camera :(