• Here is a photo of the royal family. (from a Swedish post card without copyright statements.) The young lady (far right) wearing a tiara is the crown princess. The princess has a brother, but she is the eldest child. According to the Swedish constitution, the first-born will continue the monarchy.

Two hundred years ago, Sweden was invaded from both east and west. Russia occupied the province of Finland, and the province of Norway was captured by Denmark. To make things wore, the king of Sweden did not have children who could continue his monarchy. He thus decided to adopt a talented young man who could manage military affairs. He looked at Napoleon's army and invited a brilliant general named Jean Baptieste Bernatatto to become the prince and eventually the king. He became King Charles XIV of Sweden.

When the general came to Stockholm from France, he came with a French girl named Desiree. Desiree was Napoleon's childhood sweetheart in Corsica. After hearing Napoleon became great, Desiree went to Paris to marry him. But Napoleon was deeply in love with a widow named Josephine. Desiree became heartbroken, but was invited by Bernadotte go to Stockholm with him. She went and produced Bernadotte's children for the present Swedish dynasty.

Like Prince Charles of England, the crown princess of Sweden has many first names. I was very happy to note that one of her first names is Desiree.

When you go to Stockholm to pick up your Nobel certificate, you may need the following map and guide.

• Nobel Map. If you go to Stockholm to pick up your Nobel prize, you will need this map. This map contains four essential places you should go through.

• Grand Hotel Stockholm. You will be staying in this hotel. This hotel has its history.
  1. Another View of this Hotel (photo from public domain).
  2. One of the dining rooms. I was not allowed to take photos of the main lobby and other important places in this hotel. But I could use my camera in this lunch room getting ready for its opening at the noon.
  3. Sea food table for the lunch buffet. Pastry table.
  4. I dined there in 2005. The Swedish parliament building is seen through the window.
  5. When I dined there again in 2010, my table was served by a young professional. She majored in tourism and hospitality in her college.

• Concert Hall. You will pick up your certificate from the King of Sweden during the ceremony held in this concert hall. If you are young enough you will receive the award from the Queen.
  1. In 1963, Eugene Wigner received the Nobel prize in physics.
  2. This sculpture in front of the Building, means something, but I did not have enough time to study this aspect. Presumably, it means art, creativity, and peace. What else?
  3. Except the Nobel ceremony (one day a year), this Concert Hall's main function is to host musical events. When I dropped in, the usher was kind enough to walk with me to one of the doors of the concert hall while the maestro was conducting his symphony orchestra (seen from CCTV). We did not open the door.
  4. The interior of this building is not necessarily glamourous, but it has a very rich history. Many important people went through this stairway.
  5. PUB (in front of the Concert Hall) is one of the major department stores in Sweden. Actress Greta Garbo once worked here before she became famous.

• The City Hall. The Nobel Dinner and Gala Party are held here in December of every year. This building looks old, but it was constructed after World War I. It was designed to look old.
  1. The Nobel Dinner is taking at this lower lavel of the Gala Hall. When I was there in 2005, I met a group of Japanese tourists. I asked them who Japan's first Nobel winner was. They said "Yukawa Hideki San." I have a webpage dedicated to Yukawa.
  2. Golden Plaque of Alfred Nobel on the wall of this dining area.

  3. After the dinner, they walk through this stairway to the upper level for gala dancing.
  4. In 1963, thie group of people went through this dinner-dance process. The group consists of Eugene Wigner, his class mate at the Budapest high school, and their wives and daughters. Wigner's daughter is on his right.
  5. The upper level is for the gala dancing. Apparently, this space is used also for dining for non-Nobel events. When I was there in 2010, it was getting ready for a formal dining event.
  6. The Goddess of Lake Malaren is presiding over the event taking place in this area. She has large eyes to keep evil spirits away from this place.

  7. This City Hall is on the bank of Lake Malaren. I was there in 2005.
  8. The City Hall Interior is a collection of art works. There are many wall paintings like this.
  9. One of the ceilings is a inspired by Vikings ships.
  10. The City Hall's main function is to provide the administration for the city of Stockholm, but wedding receptions are held in this City Hall complex. I was an uninvited guest there.

• Nobel Museum in Old Town. This museum contains profiles of all Nobelists.
  1. Entrance to the Museum. I took this photo, but I did not go into the museum. I did not want to pay for the admission. About the people I am interested in, I should know more than this museum can tell.
  2. This Museum is located at the heart of the Old Town, rich in Swedish history. There are many beautiful buildings.
  3. The Royal Palace is in this area. Unlike the palace guards in other countries, the Swedish guards are allowed to talk to the people, and they speak English fluently. I asked man whether his rifle was loaded. He said "Yes," and his rifle is operational and he was ready to shoot if needed. I then asked what kind of rifle it was. He said it is a German Mauser of 1903.
  4. Women soldiers used to be exceptional until recently. I become happy when I see them walking like soldiers.
  5. Vikings Art. The history of the Old Town can be traced back to the Vikings era. This are could have been an important Vikings operational base.

• If you choose to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, you should go to Oslo (Norway) and stay at Oslo's Grand Hotel. All other Nobel events will take place in Norway's City Hall.
  1. Two City Hall Towers seen from the Oslo Bay.
  2. The Main Lobby of the City Hall where the award ceremony takes place on the 10th day of December every year.
  3. Photo of one Tourist.
  4. Another View of the Interior Walls.
  5. Floor of the main lobby.
  6. A view of the Oslo Harbor from the City Hall.

  7. Nobel Peace Center. This building contains a cafeteria, a souvenir shop, and an exhibition hall showing the contributions those Nobel winners made.
  8. Nobel Peace Prize Candidate. T-shirt for your children or grandchildren. I bought one for my grandson, and paid forty five US Dollars. Outrageous price, but people pay.

• Let us come back to Stockholm. I spent one of my two do-nothing days with these two Swedish ladies. They saw their father in Wigner's class photo of 1920. He was Wigner's classmate at Budapesti Evangelikus Gimnazium (Budapest Lutheran High School). I maintain a comprehensive Wigner page. They wanted to talk about their father. His name was
  1. Gabor Kornel Tolnai. He was a very handsome man. Here is
  2. His portrait painted by their mother, who was a talented Swedish artist.
  3. Photo of Their parents. After high school, their father studied engineering and started showing his creativity. He was invited by a Swedish telephone company, and he provided many technical innovations for the company. This Swedish company is known as "Ericsson." He came to Stockholm from Budapest and married a Swedish girl who became their mother.

  4. In 1963, Eugene Wigner came to Sweden to receive his Nobel prize, and contacted their father. Wigner came with his wife and his daughter. Their parents had three daughters. They all went to the Nobel dinner and gala dancing. Let me brag about the following two photos of mine, with three of the young ladies appearing in this gala photo.
     • with Wigner's daughter in 2002. This photo was produced in Princeton.
     • with two of Tolnai's daughters in 2010. The City Hall of Stockhom is seen in the background.

  To be continued. Please come again.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I was born and raised in Korea and came to the United States in 1954 after high-school graduation. During my time, Korea was a predominantly agricultural country, and farmers constituted 80% of the population. I heard about Denmark as an advanced agricultural country. I still remember a quotation from a Danish poet saying "God gave us the empty land as his best gift." There are many Christians in Korea, and I heard about Soren Kierkegaard as an influential theologian.

Danish hospital ship "Jutlandia" in Korea. photo from the United Nations.

Mahogany cabinet in my house. It came from Denmark.

• During the Korean War (1950-53), Denmark sent to Korea a first-class hospital ship with 300 beds. The ship was called Jutlandia. I was once on that ship and became impressed.

  How did I get on the ship? My uncle got his PhD degree from Northwestern University (north of Chicago) in 1933, and became a big shot among Korean medical doctors after Americans came to Korea in 1945. He had to pay a courtesy vivit to this floating hospital, and I accompanied him. My uncle was 15 years older than my father, and he was like a grandfather to me.

• In 1959, while I was a graduate student, Charlie Misner came back from Denmark after spending two years at the Niels Bohr Institute. He came with a Danish wife. I was envious. How could I pick up a Danish girl?

  When I got married and bought a house, I had to furnish my house. I bought many items from Denmark. My dining table and chairs were made in Denmark. My living room sofa, dining room cabinet, and coffee table in my recreation room are all from Denmark.

• Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport is a convenient stop-over place in Europe. If you wish to go to Copenhagen, you should get off here. There are also many connecting flights.
  1. The Hilton Copenhagen Airport is a nice place to stay. Its bedrooms are furnished in Danish style.
  2. The Dining Room serves rich and healthy items. You can tell you are in an exemplary agricultural country. When I was there in 2004, the dining room hostess was quite knowledgeable about the Washington are where I live. She spent ten years working at one of the Hiltons in Washington. I had a photo with her.
  3. Korean Tourists. I become very happy whenever I meet Korean tourists. Korea was a one of the poorest countries when I left in 1954, but these days, Koreans are spending their vacations in Europe and North America. Koreans like to stay at Hilton hotels.
  4. Airline Ladies brighten hotel lobbies. Since this Hilton is so close to the airport, many airline crews stay there. I was fortunate enough to have a photo with these KLM ladies (2006).
  5. To Sweden. From this airport, we can take an east-ward train going directly to Sweden across a long bridge. There are many windmills planted in the sea.

  6. To Copenhagen. We can take a westward train to reach the Copenhagen Central Station.
  7. Trains coming to the Central Station and a view of the city. This photo was taken from the 15th floor of the Radisson Blu Hotel across the street from the Central Station.

• Tivoli Gardens is next to the central railroad station. This is an amusement park for the people of all ages. I have been there twice, and took a number of photos.
  1. Northern Entrance to the Tivoli.
  2. Chinese Pavilion.
  3. Boat-riding Pond.
  4. Comedians, and another set of Comedians. They should entertain those who do not understand Danish language. They seem to speak their bodily language very well.
  5. Enchanted Children and Parents. They are all happy.
  6. Light Classical Music.
  7. Students of All Ages, from different countries.

• Copenhagen's City Hall has its its history, but many interesting events take place at the city hall plaza.
  1. For Freedom. I asked one of of these picket holders what they are for or against. She said the city of Copenhagen does not give enough freedom to new immigrants. I had a photo with her. She said all men and women should be treated equally.
  2. Bodily Language. These people are expressing their views uing bodily language. Here is another scenc.
  3. Vikings! I asked these Vikings what they are for. They are supporting the Danish footabll team at an international match. Here is another group of football enthusiasts.
  4. Hyundai Festival. This Korean car maker is giving rock concerts and other advertising efforts at this city plaza, using two stages. The company is showing off one of their models appealing to young people. I was very happy to see this scene, because Koreans could make only oxcarts in 1950 when Denmark sent the first-class hospital ship Jutlandia to Korea.

• Entrance to Fredericksburg Street of the Latin Quarter, Copenhagen's main shopping district.
  1. One of the non-American Burger Shops.
  2. She is showing off her talent. Creative Art!
  3. Korean Tourists in one of the gift shops. They are engineers working for Samsung. I become very happy when I meet Korean tourists in Europe.
  4. There are many classy restaurants.

  5. The Original Campus of the University of Copenhagen is also in the Latin Quarter. This site is largely symbolic. Most of the university's teaching and research activities are taking place at many modern facilities throughout the city.
     • Statue of Niels Bohr.
     • Courtyard with an Old Tree.
  6. Our Lady's Church is next to the University, the oldest church in Denmark!
     • Interior of the Church.
     • This Obelisk on the Church Yard tells thus church once played a powerful role in Denmark.

  7. There are many Amber Shops. Ambers are collected from Copenhagen's Baltic coasts.
     • This Amber Museum contains a collection of jewelries once owned by a wealthy family.
     • This Ukrainian Lady is happy because I bought some items from her amber shop.

• Hans Christian Andersen wrote many enchanting stories for young people. His stories are also educational.
  1. Photo with Andersen. It was a pleasure to have a photo with this famous man in Copenhagen.
  2. Also with Ms. Copenhagen Mermaid.
  3. Delicious Fruits and Vegetables are expected from this agricultural country.
  4. Danish Pastry in Denmark. There are many Danish pastry shops in the United States, but the shop in Copenhagen was special to me.
  5. Jensen's Beef House. Danish ham known to be delicious. How about Danish beef? Great! I had a steak dinner inside this beef house.
• City Center Park. Denmark is known as a garden state. This park is located at the center of Copenhagen.
  1. Nice Place to walk around.
  2. This Old Building enhances the park environment.
  3. Bicycles. We heard that Copenhagen is a flat city.

  4. Copenhagen's Dockside is also a very nice place where people can relax. There are many cafes and restaurants.
  5. These young people are expressing their views at one of the dining places.
  6. Dockside Houses. There are many beautiful houses. One of these houses (red one) was once owned by Hans Christian Andersen.

• Independence Day of the Philippines. I met these two Philipino ladies at a drinking room in Copenhagen's Marriott Hotel where I stayed in 2002. They told me they were making preparations for the celebration of their country's independence day on the 12th day of June. They then invited me to the celebration. At that time, I was going to Sweden for a conference and was going to come back to Copenhagen a week later. I thus accepted their invitation, and went to the party.
  1. Traditional Dance of the Philippines.
  2. Another Dance Scene.
  3. My photo with a Philipino lady with her traditional dress.
  4. Another Photo. I always wanted to meet Philipino ladies with their winged dresses. I was very happy.
  There are many immigrants from different parts of the world. There are some social problems, but they are for politicians to worry about. The immigrants seem to be happy to be in Copenhagen, based on what I observed at this party.

• MacDonald's and American influence.
  1. Audrey Hepburn was born in England, but she represents the United States throughout the world.
  2. Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken in front of the City Hall.
  3. New Yorker. I saw another New Yorker store in Riga (Latvia), but I have not seen this store in New York. In either case, this is an American influence.
  4. Seven and Eleven at the Central Railroad Station.
  5. To Las Vegas. These young men are heading to the United States for vacation. They are going to Las Vegas. They expect to make money there to pay for their local expenses. An American dream!

Niels Bohr and Soren Kierkegaard

Niels Bohr at the Univ. of Copenhagen (above), and Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

Evolution of the Hydrogen Atom. What can you say about this hadron?

Niels Bohr devoted much of his time to the hydrogen atom. In so doing he witnessed the transition from classical to quantum mechanics. Indeed, the present form of quantum mechanics makes sense to us thanks to Bohr's ideology known to us as the Copenhagen interpretation. We all are grateful to him.

Like all of us, Bohr had a great respect for Einstein. Whenever he mentions the word "space," he says "space and time" in his writings. He was very sincere to the questions raised by Einstein. Einstein's objection to the Copenhagen interpretation is well known, and is still being debated in the literature as the "EPR" problem. I have nothing to add to this debate on this webpage.

• Bohr did not introduce new dynamical variables to physics, but he introduced an important variable to physicists. His variable was "faith." He had his faith in physics and in his interpretation of quantum mechanics. How did he then develop the concept of faith?

  It is known that Bohr was influenced by a Danish philosopher named Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). Since Bohr was born in 1985, he did not have personal influence from Kierkegaard. Yet, Kierkegaard was an important figure to all Danish young students at Bohr's time. He is still influential throughout the world as one of the originators of Existentialism. I do not know too much about this branch of philosophy, but I like Jean Paul Sartre who was the ultimate existentialist. Whenever I go to Paris, the Cafe Deux Magots is my favorite place, where Sartre used to preach young men and women. I go there to meet existentialists.

• Kierkegaard was a theologian and devoted much of his efforts to define the word "faith," and concluded that the faith always invites "doubts." This could be an influence from Immanuel Kant (people have different ways to look at the thing). Naturally, Kiekegaard's definition of faith did not sit well with that of the Danish Church, and he was a controversial figure while he was alive.

  It is very safe to say that Bohr had his faith in the Copenhagen interpretation. He knew that his faith would invite doubts. This seems to the reason why he enjoyed receiving doubts from Einstein, and kept his respect for him.

  While Bohr used the hydrogen atom as a tool for making the transition from classical to quantum mechanics, he never considered the possibility of the proton in other than the absolute frame. At his time, it was not possible to conceive the hydrogen atom moving with a relativistic speed. But things are different these days. The hydrogen atom became the proton with the quarks as constituent particles. These new hydrogen atom can move with a velocity very close to that of light.

• We all respect Niels Bohr. The best way to respect him is therefore to augment Einstein's Lorentz covariance to his hydrogen atom and to his Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

  Niels Bohr was not the only one with faith in physics. Albert Abraham Michelson had his faith in the absolute frame, and his faith invited doubts resulting in Einstein's relativity. Joseph Weber had his faith in gravitational waves, but he invited doubts from all directions. Yet, thanks to his faith, many bright people are working on detection of the gravitational waves these days. I always brag about my photo with this man of fath.

• Geoffrey Chew had a faith in his bootstrap dynamics. His faith was echoed by Freeman Dyson in 1965. I raised my doubt on Dyson's interpretation of bootrapism in 1966. Chew also raised his doubt on his own faith. Yet, the Chew-Frautchi plot became the starting point for internal space-time structure of hadrons in two ways. Click here for details.

  1. It became the starting point for string theory, whose ultimate goal is to understand internal space-time structure of particles.

  2. In 1971, Feynman and his students converted the Chew-Frautchi plot into harmonic oscillator degeneracy. This aspect is too easy to understand, but this has been my faith since 1973. Good physics should be based on simple mathematics. This is the only way to make contacts with the real world. With this faith, how far did I go?

  Geoffrey Chew's faith had an impact in the history of physics. Physics is a difficult and highly competitive subject. One cannot survive without faith. If there are doubts about your faith, they are important components of your faith. This is Kierkegaard's ideology transmitted to us by Niels Bohr.

Finland was started by a Mongolian tribe called "Hun." How did they get there? During the 5th century, horse-riding Mongolians came to Europe causing many Western tribes to move around. Those Mongolians eventually went back, but some of them got trapped in the West. Those trapped Mongolians started a country known today as Finland. Since then, the Finnish people became thoroughly Westernized, and it is not possible to find Mongolian traces in their appearances. However, their language is quite different from those of their Western neighbors. For instance, instead of saying "I go to school," they say "I school go-to."

Finland had long been dominated by its powerful neighbor known as Sweden, like Korea dominated by China. After becoming strong around 1800 AD, Russia pushed away Sweden and occupied Finland, as Japan did to Korea. After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, Finland became an independent nation.

1. Swedish Lutheran Church in Helsinki telling the Swedish influence was and still is strong in Finland.

2. Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to Catherine the Great of Russia. Not many people are attending this church, but it tells that Finland was once occupied by Russia.

Marshall Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951) led the Finnish Independence Army against Russians. He used the rifles abandoned by disbanded German army after World War I.

1. Marshall Mannerheim's Statue is in the park front of the Congress building.

2. Photo with Finnish Students. Marshall Mennerheim's statue is seen in the background. These student speak English like American students, and they are very optimistic about the future of their country.

Thanks to Paavo Nurmi, who won nine Olympic gold medals in short and medium distance runnings, this new country was given the privilege of hosting the 1940 Olympic games, after the Berlin event in 1936. But the 1940 Olympic meeting was cancelled, and Finland hosted the Olympic games in 1952.

1. Paavo Nurmi's Statue at the entrance to Helsinki's Olympic Park.

2. Olympic Tower at the Olympic Park. You can go to the top of this tower by an elevator and take photos.

3. Olympic Stadium and many all of those sports facilities are still in excellent shape. They were built for the 1952 Olympic games.

Jan Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish composer. The symphonic poem "Finlandia" is his creation. This patriotic music is loved by all music listers throughout the world. I was am very happy to show my photo with the bust of Sibelius at Helsinki's Sibelius park.

1. My Photo with Sibelius.

2. Monument dedicated to Sibelius. It looks like a big pipe organ, but it is supposed to mean more than that. I am not able to explain.

3. Let us hear his Finlandia. Sibelius composed this symphonic poem in 1899 when Finland was still under Russian domination. This musical poem stirred up the nationalism among the Finnish people, and it made a substantial contribution toward the independence of Finland after the collapse of the Russian empire in 1917.

Norway occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. From there the Viking ships could sail to England and even to North America. Oslo is the capital city. I was there briefly during the first week of July of 2009, and brought some photos.

The most famous person from Noway is Henrik Ibsen, who wrote many impact-making novels such as "An Enemy of the People" and "A Doll's House." I read a number of Ibsen novels when I was a student. I forgot his stories, but I have a recollection that he was addressing social changes taking place during the latter half of the 19th century.

1. Ibsen's Statue in front of
2. National Theater. Norwegians also like music. Edvord Grieg's piano concerto is loved by every music listener throughout the world. Grieg was born in Bergen, another Norwegian city, and Bergen was his home base.

Norway has been and still is a kingdom.


1. Royal Palace where the King lives and invites many guests to this palace.
2. Royal Yacht is very modest looking.
3. Foreign Ministry Building. The old part of this complex was originally built for apartments. During World War II, Germans used the building as their headquarters of the Nazi party in Norway.

4. National Parliament Building. Norway is a democratic country.
5. Grand Hotel Oslo is next to the Parliament Building. I stayed there for three nights and four days when I was there in July of 2009. I was told that the Nobel Peace Prize winners stay there.
6. City Park and Restaurant front of the Parliament Building and the Grand Hotel.

Indeed, the Nobel Peace Prize is given in Oslo while five other prizes are awarded in Stockholm (Sweden). The award ceremony takes place in the city hall of Oslo. Let us look at some photos.

1. Two City Hall Towers seen from the Oslo Bay.
2. The Main Lobby of the City Hall where the award ceremony takes place on the 10th day of December every year.
3. Photo of one Tourist.
4. Another View of the Interior Walls.
5. Floor of the Lobby.
6. A view of the Oslo Harbor from the City Hall.

About 200 meters from the City Hall, there is a small building (former railroad station) called Nobel Peace Center, where you can learn how to get the Nobel Peace prize.

1. Nobel Peace Center. This building contains a cafeteria, a souvenir shop, and an exhibition hall showing the contributions those winners made.
2. Nobel Peace Prize Candidate. T-shirt for your for grandson or granddaughter. I bought one for my grandson, and paid forty five US Dollars. Outrageous price, but people pay.

The Vikings influence can be seen in many souvenir shops in Scandinavian countries. In Oslo, we can see the real Vikings stuff. The Vikings "religion" was so strong that Christianity could not come to this area until Martin Luther's reformation. Vikings believed sea dragons were holy creatures, and they chase away evil spirits.

1. Dragon Heads were on the roof of this early church building. They believed even Jesus had to be protected by their holy dragons. Another vie of this Church.
2. The Dragon Head like This was used for both decorative and "religious" purposes.
3. One of the original Vikings ships in their ship museum.
4. Another Vikings Ship.

Oslo's suburban areas are peaceful. Here are Norwegian houses.

1. Black-roofed House. Its roof is shaped to cope with heavy snow.
2. Red-roofed Houses. The color is different, but the red roof and black roof seem to perform the same function.

3. Huge Cruise Ships like this go to and come from major Scandinavian/Baltic harbors such as Copenhagen, Kiel, and Stockholm.
4. Another Cruise Ship. This ship is as big as an apartment building.

In preparation.