Want to feel like a Nobel winner? Follow in the Laureates' footsteps! TEXT BY JANN MITCHELL PHOTO BY IMAGE BANK SWEDEN You don't have to make headlines on December 10 to feel like a Nobel Laureate. And you needn't excel in literature, science, economics or peace to pretend you've won one of the world's most prestigious prizes... If you're in Sweden, you can walk in the Nobel Prize winners' footsteps around Stockholm, the capital afloat on 14 island connected by 52 bridges. This year's laureates will discover the city in winter during the annual December awards, when the city sparkles like the fine crystal for which the country is famous... We would like to show you the steps they take trough the city... And who are they? They are David. J. Gross, H. David Politzer, Frank Wilczek, all of USA, for Physics; Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko (both of Israel), Irwin Rose, USA, for Chemistry; Richard Axel, Linda B. Buck, USA, Physiology or Medicine, Elfriede Jelinek, Austria, for Literature; and Wangari Maathai, Kenya, for Peace. Do you want to follow them? Here is what you should do... Begin at THE GRAND HOTEL - Echoing the grandeur of the Royal Palace across the bay, the venerable Grand (built in 1847), hosted the first Nobel banquets and still hosts the Nobel laureates. Splurge on the "Nobility Stay": two nights double room with harbour view, champagne, Nobel Museum tickets, a book about the prizes and breakfast beginning at SEK 3,420. Or just sip a drink in the Cadier Bar, enjoy sumptuous julbord (Christmas table) in the Grand Veranda Nov. 26 - Dec. 24, SEK 515 or catch the candlelight Lucia Day pageantry in the hotel's Winter Garden Nov. 17-Dec. 22. Then walk northwest through Kungsträdgården (royal garden) to… KONSERTHUSET (Concert Hall) - Nobel laureates accept awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf in the column-fronted Concert Hall at Hörtorget, an ancient market square which once hosted public hangings and floggings but now hawks fruits, flowers and vegetables. Home to the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the 1920 building features two concert halls. Now on to dinner, acceptance speeches and dancing at… STADSHUSET (City Hall) - With its three gilt crowns topping its 348-foot-high tower, this 1923 castle-like building of 8 million bricks is located on Kungsholmen island in Lake Mälaren; it houses some 200 city offices and host the longest of the Nobel festivities. Winners and royalty mix in the ornate Prince's Gallery (site of civil weddings) while some 1,300 guests are seated below in the Blue Hall by Swedish university students. Trumpets herald the approach of the Laureates and Royal Family on the mezzanine along one wall, and the 10,000-pipe organ thunders as they descend the granite grand staircase to take their places at the 82-foot-long head table in the middle of the hall. Invitations are coveted, with the menu a state secret but concluding with the traditional Nobel ice cream with lingonberry sorbet. More than three hours later, the party continues upstairs with dancing in the Gold Hall, with dazzling mosaic murals fashioned from 18.6 million tiny tiles of glass and gold. Visualize it all with a 40-minute tour through these rooms and more. And don't forget to climb the tower (closed winters) for postcard panoramas of Stockholm. Take the elevator half-way up, then climb steps and ramps through a small museum and narrow winding passages (kids love this). Tower open daily, 10-16, May-Sept. City Hall tours daily in English and Swedish, June-Sept. at 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15; daily, Oct.-April, at 10 and 12. NOBEL MUSEET - Opened in 2002 in Gamla Stan's largest square, the museum is a high-tech "intellectual Tivoli" detailing the life of prize-founder Alfred Nobel and the 700-plus winners via TV screens, computers, two theatres, transparent pillars depicting each decade of the prizes since 1901. Open daily mid-May through mid-Sept., closed Mondays in winter. Admission SEK 50; free English tours daily. Stimulating souvenirs in the gift shop. Website www.nobelprize.org for additional information on the museum, winners and online games. ADDITIONAL NOBEL-RELATED SIGHT AND BOOK STADHUSKÄLLAREN, City Hall basement's exclusive restaurant, features winning meals by chefs who create the Nobel feasts. Order last year's banquet fare for about SEK 700 per person - or with a week's notice, menus from previous years (pick your birthday or anniversary). THE PRIZE (1963) is a gripping, behind-the-scenes novel by Irving Wallace about the annual awards, which ticked off Nobel officials. It will definitely give you the sense of being there - or rent the video, starring Paul Newman. After following in these geniuses' footsteps, your IQ may be no higher. But you'll know far more about the Nobel Prizes and Stockholm too! NOBEL QUIZ 1. What American claimed the Nobel Prize twice? A. Jane Addams B. Saul Bellow C. Linus Pauling 2. Who hasn't taken the prize for literature? A. Ernest Hemingway B. Barbara Kingsolver C. James Michener 3. How many people can share a prize? A. Up to three B. None C. Unlimited 4. The awards are presented by: A. Last year's winners B. The King of Sweden C. President of the European Union 5. Nobel made his fortune by inventing: A. Dynamite B. Snapps C. Penicillin 6. The awards are presented in A. City Hall B. The Palace C. Stockholm's Concert Hall 7. Name the two American presidents who've taken the Peace Prize: A. Theodore Roosevelt 1906 B. Woodrow Wilson 1919 C. John F. Kennedy 1961 8. The purpose of the Nobel Prize is to: A. Applaud individual contribution B. Honor the country which accrues the most prizes C. Ease Nobel's conscience 9. Winners receive: A. Money B. Gold medal and diploma C. Fame 10. To see Sweden's Nobel Museum, you must go to: A. Södermalm B. Gamla Stan C. Hötorget 11. Alfred Nobel: A. Was fluent in many languages B. Suffered depression C. Wrote poetry, novels and plays 12. Nobel's will: A. Consisted of only one page B. Was contested by relatives C. Created a fund with the interest divided to honour people who "shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind". Answers: 1.C, for Chemistry in 1954 and Peace in 1962; 2.B; 3.A; 4.B; 5.A; 6.C; 7.A and B; 8.A; 9.A, B and C; 10. B; 11. A, B and C; 12. A, B and C © 2006, Swedish Bulletin. All rights reserved