By Bob Van Leer

  (STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, May 15, 1989) - This was a holiday in Sweden so very little was available. Most shops were closed, as were the post office and all government offices. This left the day free for sightseeing and relaxing.

  Across the street from our hotel is a small supermarket and we went in to compare prices. Because of the different language and different brands, some comparisons were difficult to make but some are not. Meats are very high. Beef pot roast (rostbiff) was selling for $7.62 per pound. Beef filets were priced at $17.58 per pound. Salmon was cheaper, $7.62 per pound.

  Produce wasn't cheap either. Red apples (from Argentina) and grapefruit (from Florida) both sold for $1.03 per pound.

  After breakfast at the hotel we took a subway to old Stockholm. The subway was clean and well maintained. Besides that, it was easy to use and cheap, 62 cents for the trip to old Stockholm on an island in the estuary. So far, this is the only thing we found in Sweden that was cheap.

  In old town streets are narrow with multi-story buildings built right to the sidewalk. All the shops were closed. Some of them look interesting but we will have no time to come back.

  On the northern end of the island is the Royal Palace. We visited there and attended a Lutheran Church service in a magnificent chapel in the palace.

  Most of the Swedes we talked to didn't seem to know what the holiday was about. We were told it was Whitsunday, but it was never explained why it was memorialized on Monday. The religious character of the day appears to be lost. Our group of about 25 made up most of the attendees at the service, about two-thirds of those in the chapel.

  The palace is no longer the residence of the king and queen but is used as the state guest house. We were told the chapel portion was built in 1754 and it is still referred to as the "new church". After the service we were permitted to descend to the Treasury where the crown jewels of Sweden are kept on display. Construction on the vaults was done in the ten years following a fire in 1697.

  The crown jewels are just that. Twelve crowns were on display, each elaborately crafted of gold and precious stones. Diamonds, emeralds and rubies appeared to be the most popular. Included were other regalia: scepters, swords and the coronation cloak of King Oskar II, made of ermine and red velvet.

  The earliest regalia are two swords from the time of King Gustav Vasa, who was crowned in 1528. These are two-handed broadswords and would have needed a powerful man to use them.

  Fresh water and salt water are kept separate by locks at old town. On the west is the Malaren, a freshwater lake. On the east is the Saltsjon, an arm of the Baltic Sea. Freight traffic is gone, but the harbor is busy with small boats and small and large passenger vessels.

  After lunch at a waterfront hotel most of our group took a ferry to the Skansen. This is a combination outdoor museum, zoo and amusement park. As this is a holiday, the park was filled with families with children.

  Betty and some friends from Wisconsin went downtown to Ahlens, the city's largest department store, which was open for a few hours on the holiday. She bought almost nothing and reported the prices were too high for the quality of merchandise offered.

  After leaving the amusement park we returned on the ferry to old town. A couple from Massachusetts and myself walked through the old city to the subway terminal. Along the way we met two young ladies who appeared to be in business for themselves, and they weren't selling shoes.

  The group assembled back at the hotel and we went back to the old city for dinner at the harborside hotel. The latitude here is almost as far north as Anchorage, Alaska and it doesn't get dark until about 10 p.m.

  The leisure is now over and tomorrow we have to make up for it. We have meetings with the Associated Press, the American Embassy, the Swedish government, and a tour of Sweden's largest daily before boarding a cruise ship for an overnight sailing to Helsinki, Finland.