I suppose I should thank Haruki Murakami for putting the tune Norwegian Wood in my head when I visited Skogskyrkogården last month. Nevermind the fact that I was actually in Sweden, in a bucolic corner of its largest city -- the tune stuck with me as I wandered through the pines and birches, passing rows of graves. This was perhaps the most lasting memory of my visit to this Woodland Cemetery, and it was a good one.

I arrived at Skogskyrkogården in the golden hours of the second longest day of the year. A small waterfall tucked into the entry wall provided an appropriate sense of repose, allowing me to leave a busy day of sightseeing in the past. Skogskyrkogården opens up into a large grassy field, and the granite cross and the Woodland Crematorium and its chapels were illuminated by the setting sun as I approached them. The only other visitors I saw were coming down from Almhöjden, the meditation grove at the top of the hill to the right of the entrance, so I headed up there next to survey the grounds while they were still well-lit. Birds were calling in the trees, and I had a clear view of the crematorium reflected in its adjacent pond. About the only distraction were the silent electric mowers wandering the grounds, like roombas set loose on nature.

After descending to the woods, I wandered through the headstones, crosses, and markers set amidst the trees, sometimes following the path, and sometimes making my own way down the long axis of the park to the neoclassical Chapel of Resurrection. With the mental instrumental piece putting me in a pensive mood, I took time to note some names of those laid to rest in the woods and wonder about their lives. The sun was making long shadows through the trees as I circled around to the closed Visitor Center and the Woodland Chapel. While I'm not sure I appreciated the high pyramidal roofs of either site, I suppose in the midst of winter when snow-covered, they might seem very homely and inviting. What is more important is that none of the buildings distracted from the natural beauty surrounding them, and that is what makes the designwork by architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz throughout the grounds notable. I appreciate the solitude cemeteries provide to reflect on life, and upon the end of my visit, I was grateful the World Heritage Site list brought Skogskyrkogården to my attention as a place I should see while in Stockholm.

Logistics: As so many reviews have noted, the easiest and most recommendable way to arrive is by public transit on the green metro line heading south in the direction of Farsta strand; Skogskyrkogården is the eighth stop after Gamla Stan and the ninth stop after T-centralen.