Stockholm, Sweden - Pt 1

It's a good thing yesterday was a sea day because I needed all the energy I could muster for our day in Stockholm. By Ronnie's calculations, we walked 5.5 miles. I didn't even know I was capable of that much walking and my body wasn't convinced of it either. ha! Seriously, I can't ever remember being as tired as I was last night. Since being off of my arthritis medications, my body isn't nearly as cooperative as it was even a few months ago.

That said, I still enjoyed seeing the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden. Our goal was to visit the Vasa Museum and spend a little time walking around the Old Town. We were able to accomplish both, although I would have enjoyed staying longer in Old Town if our time had permitted.

 

Grand Hotel (1874) occupies prime real estate on waterfront

Gustaf III and many others docked in harbor

kayaks and paddle boats for rent

The museum was incredible and deserves its own post (too many photos) so I'll start with Stockholm itself and our walk through Old Town (Gamla Stan) which is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe.

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, an archipelago that includes 14 islands and 57 bridges. It was founded in 1252 and signs of its history are everywhere. It is home to the Nobel Museum, the 13^th century Storkyrkan Cathedral and the Royal Palace, one of largest castles in the world with over 600 rooms!

However, without booking a palace tour, there wasn't much we could see from the outside due to the ongoing restoration of its facade. The guards were changing as we walked by but it was nothing as elaborate or impressive as Buckingham Palace. Our walk through Old Town was much more picturesque.

 

Palace guard

Carl Johan statue in front of palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ongoing restoration of Royal Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

walking toward Old Town

narrow cobbled streets entering Old Town

Nobel Prize Museum

fountain in Stortorget square - Old Town Stockholm

artist sells his wares in historic Old Town

winding cobblestone streets and colorful buildings give Old Town character

narrow cobbled streets

in the Viking spirit

 

sidewalk cafes, pedestrians, shops, souvenirs

Stockholm has almost 100 miles of shoreline, 96 beaches, and its citizens own around 200,000 boats. Most locals speak at least some English. It's expensive to live (and shop) there. Many businesses do not accept any form of currency. I used my credit card everywhere, even if buying a single post card or a cup of bubble tea.

The entire Stockholm archipelago consists of over 30,000 island of various sizes. This means that Sweden has the most islands of any country in the world - 267,570 islands at last count, though most are uninhabited. However, many of them do have houses scattered around. I can't imagine living in such a place. There would be no running to Walmart for eggs or bread. And likely no neighbors close enough to borrow them from!

 

houses scattered along an island shore line

We saw a ferry carrying cars to some of them but mostly the people just use boats and anchor them at the shoreline. Some of the houses were built rather high up. I can't imagine what it would be like trying to get in and out of these houses in the winter with snow and ice on the ground. 

But Stockholm is a wonderful mix of old and new with far too much to see in a day or even a week. I will add that it was a beautiful experience to cruise through these islands. It took a long time to get through them all and it required having a pilot come on board to navigate our ship both in and out. We sat by the window at dinner as we sailed through miles and miles of small islands - as far as we could see in any directions.