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I guess some good that came about from the boat tour was a bit more of an introduction into Stockholm and it's sights. One of which was the Vasa museum, which Ulf, a friend from Compuware who lives in Stockholm, had mentioned as well. In 1628, Sweden's largest man-of-war ship ever to sail was launched. Within minutes, the ship capsized, and sunk - taking the lives of about 25-30 crew members and their families. In 1961, the ship was raised, and the 14,000 pieces of the original ship were put back together. It was a beautiful ship, with intricate woodwork detailed from bow to stern. We enjoyed seeing a ship almost 400 years old, but, of course, there were many tour buses constantly arriving, so getting around the 7 floor building which was built to house the ship was difficult. While we probably only needed 20 minutes to admire the ship, it took about an hour with all the fumbling around with people.
Day 150 - Stockholm < | Index | Photo Galleries | > Day 152 - Stockholm and wrapping up Sweden © 2007 Blue Ocean Studios, LTD. All rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Services | About | Contact Prints | Return Policy | View Cart World Travel Galleries | World Travel Blog | Links |
Rain, sun, and more rain. That was today's theme. We recovered from our jet lag pretty fast, and were up early for a free buffet. It was packed - the hotel has 153 rooms, and it looked like everyone was down at breakfast. At least it was good :). As Jaimie mentioned yesterday, we ran into a pair of Brits at the Ice Bar the previous night and at the Pelikaan the night before that. We laughed, and wondered if we would see them at breakfast, as it was so packed. Of course, we did. We walked over and told them our plans for the day to make sure we were doing the same thing :0. 
There was a light rain outside, which was slightly discouraging. We stalled for about 10 minutes after breakfast, in hopes of the rain stopping. It did lighten up even more - and we caught the subway to central station. We then walked very briskly to one of the many marina's to catch a Royal Canal tour which was included in our tourist Stockholm Card (otherwise $14). We arrived with about 30 seconds to catch the boat (and we're happy we didn't have to wait another hour until the next tour! :). Nothing like cutting it close :). The tour itself took us through the waterways around a couple islands, including Gamla Stan and the old castle we had visited yesterday, as well as around a few of the other main islands which make up Stockholm. In total, the tour was only 50 minutes. I was glad it was free, as it wasn't an incredibly fun or informative tour - and in the rain (it was enclosed, just not as beautiful as it would have been on a sunny day). From our sightseeing tour, we walked over to Djurgarden, an island close by which had a few beautiful attractions to visit.
By the time we were ready to leave the Vasa museum, the rain had picked up again :(. It was lunch time anyways, so we headed to the Nordic Museum to find some food. While I'm sure the exhibits at the Nordic Museum fascinate some, we weren't captured by the works (at least on the main floor), and headed straight for the museum's restaurant to grab a bite to eat. For some reason, a German tour group was getting a kick out of us trying to translate the menu (?) - which seemed odd, since one of them had just translated the menu for the rest of the group. At least the translater saw us struggle, and helped out by translating the menu for us :). We opted for the fish, which was delicious - a lightly battered fish with potatoes and a cream sauce. 
The rain cycles continued, and it was now time for the rain to stop, and us to continue our tour of Djurgarden. A major attraction in Stockholm is Skansen, the world's first open-air museum. Surprisingly, in 1891, Artur Hazelius began collecting houses to show how Swedes live in past times. Over 150 houses were donated from all across Sweden, along with school houses, glass blowing factory, barns, etc. In total, Skansen felt like a walk through the countryside, providing an authentic feel of how Swedes live all around the country (for us, it felt both like past and present in some respects). They also had a variety of Scandinavian animals - all of which were very active compared to other "zoos" we have visited. Our favorites included the bears fighting/playing in the water, the lynx, and a great gray owl who looked human-like and kept flying at us as we stood in fear outside the cage. It was a lovely stroll until it started to rain (again :(). We took shelter in a labourer's house, where a fire was lit in the stove, and a man stood in old 1900 Swedish dress. He turned out to be a history teacher, and told us many of those working at Skansen were history students living history to really learn more about Sweden's past. Interesting - he said he thoroughly enjoyed his day working there. Nothing like someone really enjoying their job! 
After a stroll through the school house across the way, we ended up meeting up with Ulf and his daughter, Freeda. Ulf picked us up in his car, and gave us a tour around Stockholm, pointing out way too many facts for us to remember or write here :) . It was a great trip, to learn about Stockholm from a local. He also took us out to Drottningholm, the King and Queen's living palace. Marvelously, the grounds are open to the public, and many come in the summer for a day in the yards and a picnic. When the King and Queen are away, parts of the inside (excluding their living quarters of course) are open to the public as well. How nice! :) We walked on the grounds for just a few minutes, and while in route to Kina Slott, a renovated Chinese Pavilion which was a birthday gift from King to Queen in the mid 18th century, it started to rain. We headed back to the car, also missing out on Drottningholm's Slottsteater, an 18th century theatre in its original state (no renovation). It's the world's oldest theatre that hasn't been renovated. Each summer, performances are held using the original 18th century machinery, including ropes, pulleys, and wagons. Ulf mentioned that there was a 3 year waiting list to view such performances! :) . Ulf dropped us off at our hotel, and we made arrangements to meet up with him tomorrow to view Skokloster Castle in the morning, with his other 2 kids as well. 
We had passed a few Sushi places during our ride and we couldn't resist. We found a sushi restaurang (restaurant in Swedish) just a few blocks from the hotel. Unfortunately, the tuna was just tiny pieces, but the salmon was great, and we enjoyed the meal :) Did I mention that salmon seems to be on every menu in town :)? We called it a night, and are excited to see another Swedish castle in the morning.