The Kaknäs TV Tower and ABBA

There is a tall needle tower restaurant in the middle of town where I looked out from all directions and beheld Stockholm’s immensity.  To the east was the Baltic Sea with gray waterways, overcast gloomy skies, and cold wind.  Ford had a facility near the docks.  Five hundred feet below was a clean city but the Stockholm waterfront with its imposing buildings and marinas made for a good picture.  My walking tour was on the Baltic side of the Old town.  To the west was Lake Malaren.

I’d heard about the big tower in Stockholm - the tallest structure in Sweden.  It’s like an adventurer hearing about a famous mountain; he just has to climb it, except the climb was by elevator.  When I reached the top my situation did not escape me.  I didn’t know anyone – no tour groups or guides, just me and a few other people swaying and forth back (or was it rotating?) in a slim tower above Stockholm.  Still, I managed to eat something and not get sick.  One should not eat in a place moving faster than the food.

Stockholm is an archipelago with small islands.   In fact, if you’re rich enough, you can own them.  ABBA, the rock groups, was at the height of their popularity and wealth in 1977 and bought one of those islands.  The group was made up of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and became Sweden’s most famous rock group.  When I was in Stockholm the group was touring and I didn’t see them, but I’d seen posters, heard their music, and read about them in the papers.  I recall at one concert they were attacked by a swarm of moths attracted to their bright white costumes.   Critics say they looked outlandish in their get up, but I thought they looked great and had good taste - all except the high heels and capes on the guys.  You Tube is a great place to see them: Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Ring Ring, Voulez-Vous?, Honey Honey. They had class and became a national treasure.  The ABBA museum is east of the city at Djurgårdavägen 68.