Exploring Stockholm

Heavy shades, a cracked window with a cool breeze, and a clean comfortable bed worked their magic. We slept, and I mean slept, for ten hours. We must not be as young as we once were. The stress of traveling is more than we realize.

Breakfast was elegant with many choices including delicious Swedish Pancakes. Several items were marked organic and all of it was included in the price of the hotel. This mornings mood music was French as we watched very stylish city people come and go as well as jean clad weary travelers like us. Many were sneaking out bananas for the day ahead. Bob ate enough to carry him for sure!

We stopped at the front desk and talked to a nice young man about walking routes and the Hop On Hop Off Bus. He was so helpful, so we went on to ask him about getting to the airport Monday morning. He spoke of the walk to the subway and the train or the bus and I think he heard us audibly groan. So he pulled out his reservation pad with information on a fixed rate taxi. We had heard to beware of the very expensive taxi system with prices all over the board, but the hotel had a fixed rate deal with this company with a price of $65 for the half hour ride from the hotel door to the airport. Did we sign up? You bet your...YES! Ah! One less worry and my arms and nerves are most happy.

We started our exploration walking to the water near Old Town and stopped along the way in the shops. 

The shops were full of so many beautiful things with clean lines and soft colors, but the prices were crazy. I saw a book on Swedish traditions and recipes, but it was $50. A little wooden carved and hand painted traditional Swedish Dala Horse was $50 and a toy logging truck was $75. Yikes! So much for buying souvenirs.

We walked to the bridge across to the island of Djurgarden where there is a park and several museums. We wound around the paths to see the Vasa Museum that houses a restored Viking Ship. The line was huge as tour buses were unloading so we walked on around to the Spirit Museum. It was unusual and interesting, featuring displays of Swedish sins including free love, nudity and the abundant consumption of alcohol.

We had no idea of the degree this affected the Swedish culture. I remember when I was young hearing that life in Sweden was pretty relaxed and liberal, but it was out of control and a huge problem. The funny part was that they were most ashamed of the alcohol.

The displays were very well done and informative, with many interactive exhibits, but still, it was a little unnerving.

We went back to check on the Vasa Museum and the line was much shorter and moving quickly. We stood by people who were speaking English and found out they were from New Mexico and on a cruise. It turns out they were on the same ship we were on, just finishing up the Baltic Sea Cruise. We had fun comparing experiences and talking about our favorite crew members. It made the time pass very quickly.

We walked into the museum and our mouths fell open.

 

 The ship was so huge and ornate. We had thought it would be a large row boat with curled wood on each end, but it was a proper ship with several floors. The artistic work and carvings were  beyond beautiful. It sunk on it's first sailing in very cold water into a clay bottom and is in incredible shape. It was raised in 1960. They now keep it in a warm, moist, dark atmosphere to help preserve it. I took about a million pictures and will probably have to delete most because of the lighting.

We could go up stairs to 5 different levels for views and on those floors they had other artifacts and information so you could get a feel for the rough life of those days for the men onboard. It was most interesting.

We finally maxed out on what we could absorb and left the museum heading right for the Glass (ice cream) Stand. We sat eating delicious ice cream resting our feet and watching all of the action around us.

Rested once more, we headed up the hill to the Open Air Museum to observe life on a farm in Sweden a few hundred years ago. People were dressed in period costumes and performing activities like making flat bread (that we got to taste) and weaving, etc. It was so interesting and once again I took many pictures. I kept thinking of my Great Grandparents and wondering if this was what their life was like.

They even had a small zoo of typical Swedish wildlife and we got pictures of moose, bear, and seals. But, it made my heart hurt to see them in captivity.

I did have to make a quick stop at the life sized Dala Horse.

It started to spit rain, so with Bob reading our little map, down the hill we went and across the bridge to find our way back to the hotel. It was surely a "Bob & Cherie" kind of day as we never did take a tour and we walked so far (later Bob measured with Google Earth and we walked at least 8 miles), I'm not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow. The lovely hotel, Happy Hour, and a free dinner called.