Sailing in and out of Stockholm is one of the best ‘attractions’ of Stockholm. Our ship was set to dock at 8:30. At 5:30 I woke up to look out the windows. It was light but overcast so the morning sun wasn’t hitting the Archipelago just right. Still, it was beautiful. Small and extra small islands on either side. Since our room’s windows look straight out the front I was able to watch as the boat navigated through the islands coming very close to islands on both sides. Small lighthouses, big and small isolated homes with docks and boats dotted the islands. It was quite something. With no morning sunlight I headed back to bed until 6:30. Then the 4 of us got up and ready with the windows wide open watching as we sailed in. At 7:30 we went to the dining room for breakfast. Ryan had a whole bowl full of watermelon to start his breakfast. He’s in heaven. Watermelon, Caesar salad, pasta and strawberry ice cream EVERY DAY.
We headed off the boat at 8:30 and opted for the small passenger boat connected to our ‘hop on – hop off’ bus ticket for the day. Four different companied competed for our business telling us which ship (and bus ticket) to pay for. When we turned the corner for the boats, 4 different ships yelled for us to come. It made us laugh. We already had our eyes on the first one, we hopped on and they took off for the first stop…
The Vasa Museum. We wanted to get it done early before the crowds and timed it perfectly. No line and straight into the 9:00 English movie about the ship. There were big lines after us and we were grateful to have missed it.
You can see the ships masts sticking out of the top of the museum…
“The glamorous but unseaworthy warship Vasa – top heavy with an extra cannon deck – sank 20 minutes into her 1628 maiden voyage when a breeze caught the sails and blew her over. After 333 years at the bottom of Stockholm’s harbor, she rose again from the deep with the help of marine archaeologists. Rediscovered in 1956 and raised in 1961, the Edsel of the sea is today the best-preserved ship of its age anywhere.
The vasa, while not quite the biggest ship in the world, had the most firepower, with two fearsome decks of cannons. The 500 carved wooden statues draping the ship – once painted in bright colors – are all symbolic of the King’s power. The 10 foot lion on the magnificent prow is a reminder that Europe considered the Swedish King Gustavus Adophus the “Lion from the North” With this great ship, Sweden was preparing to establish its empire and become more engaged in European power politics.” Rick Steves – Scandinavia
It was really fascinating to learn about the ship. A guide took us around to different parts to explain the ship and the story of what happened. It if had been only a couple feet wider it wouldn’t have sunk. But it being as narrow as it was and having the cannons up too high (a request of the king that the builder was worried about) made it sunk. No one was found ‘at fault’ because so much of it had been at the King’s request but certainly he wouldn’t have found fault himself. An interesting museum.
After the Vasa we walked along the harbor…
We walked along the harbor and all the way into the old town. .. Gamla Stan. The old city center square was charming.
We walked around until just before noon when he headed to the royal Palace to watch the official changing of the Guard. Very impressive – especially the band on horseback. It was awesome. We ate almost a whole pack of red licorice while we watched, which ended up being our lunch.
We headed out just before it was over to go hop on the Bus but waited for 25 painful minutes. Once on, we headed up to the top uncovered part of the bus and sat down to relax, listen to the Stockholm commentary and enjoy the overall sights of the city.
We stopped at the City Hall to climb the tower – beautiful view of Stockholm.
Ryan’s favorite shirt… and favorite shoes. He wanted me to take a picture of them.
I think Ryan and Dad were having some sort of war as they hung from the railing. I love this kid.
Then we ‘hopped on’ again and ‘hopped off’ at the main downtown shopping area. Fun to see the more modern area of town. We bought a couple scoops of ice cream (not gelato) and headed down the cobblestone pedestrian shopping zone enjoying the atmosphere but without time to really check out any of the shops.
One of my favorite parts of the day was watching Ryan and Katie laugh and act silly together while we waited for the bus. They definitely annoy each other but it’s fun to see them in the same silly mood at the same time. One more ‘hop on’ and our bus took us right back to the ship. It was a great day.
I saw this bill board and am happy to add one more city to the growing list of ones I’ve visited. Fun!
A couple more pictures as our boat cruised out of Stockholm and back through the Archipelago.
Right after dinner Ryan, Katie and I headed to the Centrum to learn some 70’s line dances. Monday night’s entertainment was ABBA MAX… since ABBA came from Stockholm. Two gals and a band singing and dancing with their 70 style choreography and costumes to all the great ABBA songs. We sat up on the front row and loved it. Then a game of Dominion and off to bed.
1 comment:
Wow, that ship is amazing. That would really be fun to see for real. Looks like another great city!
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