Sweet Sweden

After a long 8-hour drive, we arrived to Stockholm, Sweden.  Our hotel was actually located inside a shopping mall, which has its benefits I guess, although I am not one for shopping and usually buy very little when I travel.

Our evening began with a trip to Kaknästornet, the highest point in Stockholm.  The tower is 155 meters tall and offers panoramic views of the city. Nice. Then we headed to a local place for a dinner with Swedish delicacies. It was yummy! However, it was the dinner conversation that I'll probably remember more.

  

The next day we did a city tour of Stockholm. It's quite a beautiful and sophisticated city. It includes so many islands that there are 50 bridges. 80% of Stockholmers live in apartments and according to our local (Swedish) guide, Swedish people are "very good at complaining," haha.  There are pedestrian walkways and cobblestone streets, and many fascinating and colourful buildings.

We went to the building where the Nobel prizes are awarded and where the celebration banquet is held (all Nobel prizes are awarded in Stockholm, except for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo).  The "Gold Room" was amazing and filled with golden mosaics from floor to ceiling. Lots of photos there!

Then we went to the Vasa Museum, which is where the great Vasa galleon was rescued from the depths of the waters where it sank, and restored. It had been under water for 333 years and was amazingly intact.  It. Was. Awesome!! I wasn't expecting much but was totally blown away when we got in there.  I took photos but that is something that'll never do it justice. A must-see for anyone visiting Stockholm (oh, but a tip: go with a group guide in order to avoid a VERY long line).

Free time downtown had us walking around the pedestrian area, looking in shops, stopping for an expensive cup of tea (tea + apple strudel = $15), taking photos, taking in the views, and people-watching. There are gypsies here, or at least they look like gypsies. There were also people in costume that looked like street performers, but they didn't perform; they just went around begging from people.

After that, we were headed to our cruise ship for our overnight sailing to Helsinki! I've never been on a cruise, but this is apparently a mini version of the real deal. There were shops, a casino, a sauna/pool, restaurants, buffet, live music, cabaret shows, etc.  Certainly enough to keep us busy until we crashed into our cabin for the night. When we woke up, we'd almost be in Finland!

More to come...

Elaan :D