Spring has arrived in Stockholm and one of the attractions is to go see the cherry blossoms at the Royal Garden. I did yesterday. As the otherwise venerated old elms trees withered away, they were replaced by Japanese cherry trees. For a week or two in late April they bloom with bright pink flowers and to walk under them and take in the spring is a bliss. I was not alone.
The Royal Garden — Kungsträdgården in Swedish — is one of the stops on my guided tour of Stockholm Inner City. A green oasis in the city, now treasured by the public, it started out as a field of cabbage for the king. Later kings had other desires. Karl XII drilled his army here while Gustaf III built the first opera house in Sweden here. The opera house where was later assassinated. Swedish kings rarely died of old age. Sign up to my tour and get the full story.
Another reason for my visit was to get a fresh picture of the cherry blossoms for my story game Clemency about commuted felons in Obama’s USA. Norman Brown, a character in the story, explains how much he appreciates the that he can now go see the cherry blossoms, after having spent decades in prison. You don’t know what you have until you loose it.
Take your loved ones in the hand and go enjoy spring.