Vasagatan - Stockholm Sweden

Here's a card showing Vasa street or Vasagatan in Stockholm, Sweden around 1900. It is now a very busy street with lots of traffic.

Eventually, Vasagatan becomes Vasabron (Vasa Bridge), when it crosses the Norrström, as you can see in this more recent postcard. If you look closely, you can see a tram on the bridge. I love this card because of the mysterious barrel floating in the water. Parliament is nearby...is there a politician inside?

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Stockholm, Sweden

I have a friend who is in Sweden right now, because his sister is receiving a Nobel Prize. How exciting! To celebrate, I am posting this card of Stockholm, which appears to show policemen or soldiers in a horse-drawn carriage.

My friend reports that Stockholm is a beautiful city. I'm sure it looks much different than it did in this picture from 1906.

Godt Nytt År

This New Year's card appears to have been sent in 1908.
Although this is a Swedish card, the spelling for Happy New Year is the Norwegian spelling, not the Swedish spelling, which would be Gott nytt år.
Maybe someone can clarify this...and provide a translation. There is so much text; I'd love to know what it says.

UPDATE - September, 2010

Thanks to Postcrossing member, Kjell, from Sweden, we have a translation. Here's what Kjell has to say:
Godt nytt år (Happy New Year) is Swedish but written in the old spelling!
Picture side, at the left;
You can write a letter and tell me how nice it is there. We haven’t had any snow here yet so it does not look like Christmas. Do you have any snow in America?
On the right side;
I don’t have anything more to write this time xxx  Karlsson is at my place, he is asking for a greeting. It was that man who was at the train. Writing this in a hurry. Gunnar Best greetings to Georg.
Address side;
Wishing You a Happy New Year. As you can see I’m sending you some one-hundred crown bank-notes as you well need. I hope you have had a fine Christmas. Are you still working at the mines, it’s a hard work. I do wonder why you take so long time before writing to me. I have sent you 2 postcards. Have you got them. It’s very hard to find work. I have got a longing for America.
Some lines to the left are difficult to read!

By the way, Kjell has a website too; check it out here: Kjelle's hemsida

Streetcar Sundays - Stockholm, Sweden

Every Sunday I'm posting a card featuring a streetcar, tram or trolley. This is the third one, but there are lots more to come.

The most striking thing about this picture is not the streetcar or tram, it's the fact that the cars are driving on the wrong side of the street. Sweden had a long history of driving on the left, even in carts and buggies and on horseback, and all the way back to the 1700s.  In the 1920s, serious discussion began about changing to right-hand drive, but attempts to change the status quo were repeatedly voted down. Finally, in 1963 the move to right-hand drive was approved, but it required so many changes to intersections, bus stops, signage, and signals, that it wasn't implemented until 1967.

September 3, 1967 was designated as Dagen H or H Day (which is short for Högertrafikomläggningen), the day for the switch to right-hand traffic. At 4:50 AM, all traffic was stopped and had to move to the opposite side of the street. Then, at 5:00 AM, traffic was allowed to proceed again.

The trams in Stockholm were unfortunate victims of the change to right-hand drive, as they were all replaced with buses. Old buses were retro-fitted to include doors on both sides and new buses were bought with doors on the right-hand side. In recent years, the Swedish Tramway Society has worked valiantly to re-introduce trams to downtown Stockholm, although they are mostly operated by dedicated volunteers.

Click here if you want to find out more about the Swedish Tramway Society or become a member.