New Exhibition At Abba The Museum

New Exhibition At Abba The Museum

The other day I was invited to an industry event at ABBA the Museum, so I finally had the chance to see their new exhibition. It actually opened in May, but I never had the chance to visit this summer. The new exhibition is dedicated to the years following the band's break-up... their solo albums, musicals, movies and more. ABBA after ABBA, in other words. Finally, the whole story is now told. And, considering that ABBA is releasing three merk new songs in the spring of 2019, more is sure to come!

Costumes from Mamma Mia the Movie

ABBA the Museum is one of Stockholm's most popular attractions and is, obviously, dedicated to the Swedish pop-group phenomenon ABBA.... commercially the most successful act in the history of pop music. The museum takes you on a journey through the grup musik members' history. First as solo artists, or in other bands, followed by the formation of ABBA and then all of their chart topping success. This journey at the museum used to end with the break up of the band, but now it continues with the new exhibition.

In this article, I will be concentrating on the new exhibition, but you can read about my other visits to the main part of the museum by clicking here, here and here. The four members of ABBA have indeed been very busy since the band's break up. While both Agneta and Frida released several solo albums, the gentlemen (Benny and Björn) have had a very successful second career writing/producing musicals... including Chess, Kristina from Duvemåla and, of course, Mamma Mia! (stage, movies and even a dinner theatre Mamma Mia the Party!).

Post-ABBA records by the members

All of these post-ABBA projects are covered in the new exhibition and they are, as with the rest of the museum, often presented with interactive exhibits. You can listen to and, in some cases, watch Agneta and Frida's solo songs, try your hand at directing songs from Chess, sing along with Kalle Moraeus (member of Benny Andersson's Orchestra) and even try your hand at creating your own music. Many of these interactive exhibits are recorded by the museum, which you can then download from their website using your ticket number. We do sell entrance ticket vouchers here at the Hotel Rival for our hotel guests which does help you skip any eventual lines.

Sing with Kalle Moraeus

Djurgård ferry from nearby Gamla Stan. If you are in the downtown area, you can also catch a street car to the museum from, for example, the Central Station or NK department store. Both the ferry and the street car are part of the Stockholm public transportation system.

Create your own music

Agneta's section

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New Exhibition At Abba The Museum!

New Exhibition At Abba The Museum!

Did you know that there is a museum in Stockholm dedicated to the Swedish pop music legends ABBA? Of course there is! Not only were they extremely successful together as a band, creating some of the most popular and loved pop songs on the planet, they also have had solo careers, produced plays, musicals, movies and more. And, no visit to Stockholm is really complete without a visit to ABBA the Museum. Their tagline is "walk in, dance out" and it is pretty fitting! The museum is lots of fun and very interactive... giving you the opportunity to record songs, make videos and try your hand at creating music. All which you get to keep through your entrance ticket (number on the ticket lets you download items from the website).

I was invited earlier this week to see their new temporary exhibition that just opened: Mamma Mia! Behind the Movie Magic. This is an exhibition looking behind the scenes at the making of the movies Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried and many more. In case you happened to have missed these movies, they are musicals, set on a Greek island, with the songs of ABBA as the soundtrack. The exhibition is located in a room you pass through on your way to the main museum. A nice amuse-bouche to get you in the proper ABBA mood.

Fun movies make for a fun exhibition. I would say that the main focus (at least where your eyes are immediately drawn to) is the outfits/costumes worn by the actors. Most are easily recognizable if you have seen the movies... like Streep's dungarees and the flashy, disco outfits worn by the cast in the last scenes of the movies. But along the walls of the room you will find much more... like props from the movies, the jeep, momentos and clips from interviews and the movies themselves.

I am unsure how long they will be having this temporary exhibition, but at least through the summer I imagine. Djurgård Ferry from nearby Gamla Stan. The ferry departs generally every 15 minutes and it takes just 10 minutes to cross the harbor.

the museum is popular and, especially during the summer high season, there can be lines at the entrance to the museum. You can pre purchase the entrance tickets on their website or, if you are staying at Hotel Rival, you can purchase them from my colleagues or myself. This way you can skip the longer line (to buy tickets) at the museum.

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The Art Museum Thielska Galleriet (Thiel Gallery)

The Art Museum Thielska Galleriet (Thiel Gallery)

I visited Thielska Galleriet (Thiel Gallery) yesterday with my Concierge colleagues from Les Clefs d'Or Sweden. Thielska Galleriet is one of Stockholm's most beautiful museums and they house one of the best collections of late 1800's and early 1900's Scandinavian masters... like Carl Larsson, Edvard Munch, Bruno Liljefors and Eugène Jansson to name a few. During our visit we were given a great guided tour of the building and collection. Very interesting!

By Carl Larsson

The building was originally the private residence of the banker Ernest Thiel which he built mainly for the purpose of housing his growing art collection (his apartment in town was getting too small for this purpose). Designed by the architect Ferdinand Boberg, who also designed the famous NK department store, the building was completed in 1907. The Depression in the early 1920's unfortunately ruined Thiel and he ended up selling both the house and his extensive art collection to the Swedish government.

By Eugène Jansson

Thiel was quite the active art collector and was, in fact, friends with many of the Scandinavian masters of his day. As the building was specifically designed to house and show an art collection, the space is pretty perfect with lots of wall space and natural light from skylights. Of special note is the "Munch room" which contains many works by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (best known for his painting "The Scream") among others. Beautiful room!

The "Munch room"!

An interesting side note, Thiel was a great admirer of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and in one of the tower rooms you can view Nietzsche's death mask. From this room you also have beautiful views of the Stockholm archipelago. Besides the collection, Thielska usually has a temporary exhibition or two. Currently the exhibition is "The Jobs Sisters - ceramics and textiles" (until June 2nd), and this summer they will take advantage of their beautiful grounds and be exhibiting the work of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland with "The power and feeling of sculpture" (June 15th to September 29th). This is part of the celebration of 150th anniversary of Gustav Vigeland.

Gorgeous views of the archipelago

Thielska Galleriet is located out at the end of Djurgården island, near the mouth of Stockholm harbor. The easiest way to get there is by bus from Nybroplan in the downtown area (Bus 69 - a 20 minute journey). This means that it takes a little effort to visit the museum. But it well worth it! Especially during the summer when the location is extremely idyllic.

By Edvard Munch

click here for an earlier article about the walk) and takes about an hour, depending on if you make any stops along the way.

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New! Baltic Sea Science Center

New! Baltic Sea Science Center

The other day, the Djurgården Society invited Stockholm hotel staff (including me) on a tour of some of the many attractions located on Djurgården ahead of the busy summer season. Djurgården is a big park complex (the world's first national city park) and the location of many of Stockholm's main tourist attractions, like museums, art galleries, restaurants, theatres and amusement parks. Because of this, it quite unique and attracts over 15 million visitors annually. Chances are, if you visiting Stockholm for leisure, you will spend some time in Djurgården.

While I have visited almost all of these attractions (and written about them), we were lucky enough to be given a tour of a merk new attraction here... The Baltic Sea Science Center. This is an aquarium and science center, dedicated to the creatures that make the Baltic Sea their home and the environmental preservation of this interesting sea. The Center is located within the larger Skansen park and is included with the entrance ticket to Skansen.

Skansen, in general, is an interesting place to visit. Not only is it the zoo, filled with Scandinavian animals like bears, moose, wolves and reindeer, it is also an open-air museum where you can see what pastoral and town life looked like in different parts of Sweden during the 1800's. In fact, created in 1891, it is the world's first open-air museum.

The Baltic Sea Science Center is the latest addition to the park and it was nice to see the sea life of Sweden highlighted. The Baltic Sea is quite unique as it is a large brackish sea (a mix of fresh and salt water). The only connection it has to the ocean is through a very narrow straight that separates Sweden from Denmark in the south.

The various tanks in the aquarium take you through the different habitats of the Baltic, from the shallows to the open ocean, and the creatures that live there. They have salmon, cod, herring, mussels, jellyfish, sturgeon, flounders and much more. One of the tanks has a tunnel, so you can walk through and see the fish swimming above you. The Baltic Sea has a fragile ecosystem and part of the Center is dedicated to the preservation of the sea, the different factors that affect the ecosystem and how countries around the Baltic are working to make sure this sea can be enjoyed by future generations.

Skansen and the Center, as I have mentioned, Djurgård Ferry from nearby Gamla Stan. The ferries depart every 15 minutes and it is just a 10 minute trip. You can also get there from the downtown area, using the Djurgård tram. Both the ferry and the tram are part of the Stockholm public transportation system.

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