Postcard from Skansen

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Skansen deserves a special tribute for its uniqueness: animals reside in natural habitat with white reindeer bordering wild boar, and farmhouses brew Swedish tasting flavors year round. On a hilltop in Stockholm, Skansen boasts as the world’s first open-air museum.

The day is clear and crisp: cold, but when the sun makes its appearance, your face is warmed, and you can almost forget the chill. Instead, dirt paths beckon in circuitous routes to the top of the hill. Traces of rocks line the various pathways, and it is not hard to step into the vault of time to explore Sweden’s history on this day.

Children are roasting sausage links over a fire, and they laugh and laugh. Parents sit nearby on well-stocked picnic baskets. It is a Sunday, and people’s faces are well-rested from the weekend. Their wrinkles smooth out into the appearance of a decent human being.

Some more details about Skansen’s history

Skansen stands for an artillery area in Swedish. Hazelius created it in the late 1800’s in an effort to reclaim some of Swedish traditions that he felt were being lost at the turn of the century. It is humbling to think that we would not have this beautiful park to enjoy were it not for the forethought and ambition of a man back then.

Of the many pictures I took at Skansen, of their various Nordic wildlife and farm animals, I was curious about their names. To my grateful surprise, the website for Skansen lists in great detail these various animals. The website is as follows: Skansen zoo animals from A-Z