Making the Most of Our Last Day

Morning came and surprisingly, we could walk. So after a hearty breakfast, we started out walking again to see Old Town and maybe take a boat tour. We both agreed not to walk as far today as we both felt a little tired and shaky. There was that age thing creeping in again. However, once we got in the cool air with a rhythm to our walk, we gained energy. It was rainy, but we had good rain jackets and didn't want that to stop us. We laughed that we were out with only short sleeve shirts under our jackets and comfortable with the expected high today of only about 44 F. We surely have thick skin at the moment and 80 F back home is going to cook us.

Stockholm is built on many islands with bridges and canals everywhere. We had trouble following the detailed map and finding the right street names. It was very confusing but we finally found the Palace and a Hop On Hop Off Boat Tour. We decided to take the tour and relax and get our bearings. It was wonderful to be out on the water and the sky was clearing at least for a while.

We saw a big Regatta passing right near us with fairly large crews. It was fun to watch.

 

We got off at Old Town and wandered through the narrow, shop and café lined streets and alleys.

We ended up at the Palace just in time to see the changing of the guard and then to see the Royal Stockholm Marching Band.

 

We were very lucky as we had no idea where we were going. We also went into the Palace Chapel which had incredible paintings and sculptures. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I'm glad I got to see it.

We were getting tired so we went back down to the water and got on our tour boat. We decided to just sit there and listen to the speaker through all of the stops, which was a lovely, informative 50 minutes.

I had taken a picture of the beautiful, huge Grand Hotel. Then on our tour, I learned it was the first modern hotel in Stockholm complete with lifts/elevators and the practice of changing the sheets after each guest. I'm glad they started that!

Our guide told us that the waterfront in Stockholm was once filled with farm land, huts and dirty, poor housing for waterfront workers. He said it was a pretty unpleasant place with a lot of disease. Then in the 1860s, it was transformed with ornate tall buildings with grand apartments some of which have as many as 20 rooms.

We saw some big ships, cruise ships and ferries. Our guide pointed out a Viking Ferry that has a regular route across the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland.

We also learned that there are 60 ship wrecks in Stockholm ports and over 20,000 in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic has relatively shallow water and low saline which helps preserve the wrecks. He said there was a lot of opportunity for discovery and adventure.

We got off the boat, and stopped and bought some yummy rolls for our walk back to the hotel. Our time is surely winding down and home is sounding pretty darn good. Now to pack everything and get through that plane ride. I'll be skipping and singing when my feet hit the ground in Michigan!

We had a last Happy Hour in the hotel sitting room and listened to a family chatting in Swedish on one side and an enthusiastic , athletic (I think an adult soccer team) group animatedly chatting on the other side in Italian. It will be weird when we once again understand what people are saying.

The hotel served a very nice light meal with baked salmon , salad and new potatoes followed by sorbet for dessert. It was just what we needed. 

Here's to tomorrow, easy, safe travel and home....Home Sweet Home!