Last week Stacie and I took the opportunity to indulge in gluttony and exploration throughout Scandinavia aboard the Vision of the Sea. A cruise wasn't actually our first choice but it was the easiest way to get into Russia without excessive visa preparation. Plus, once you're on the boat it's all you can eat, so really who's to argue.
Stockholm was our port of departure which meant that we got to spend time exploring the city the day before and after the cruise. This was lucky happenstance because we both favored Stockholm to the other cities we visited (Tallinn, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia).
For anyone who is familiar with flying Ryanair you know that they take you to an airport close to, but not actually in, the city you're flying to. Fortunately the 90 minute bus ride gave us an opportunity to see some of the beautiful Swedish countryside. It actually reminded me of parts of Western Washington. Stockholm is loaded with great architecture, historical sites, museums and friendly people.
Speaking of people, after we rode the bus to the city and found our hotel it was around 10pm and we were hungry! We found a street vendor selling hot dogs and sodas but she didn't speak English ( I'm pretty sure she was a Spanish or Portuguese immigrant to Sweden). Anyway, we ordered and ended-up helping a French couple decipher the Swedish menu then translated their order to the vendor (by translate I mean say the same thing over and over in English but get louder and use grandiose hand gestures). When we got our hotdog it had two scoops of mash potatoes on it!
Enough rambling, here's some pictures. Stockholm is built on many islands, one so small it holds only one house. The waterways are beautiful and it was sunny for us so people were out and about on their boats.
Like most ancient European countries Sweden has a figure-head monarchy. We strolled around the palace and watched the guardsmen in their bright blue uniforms with pointed metal helmets. Here's a shot of the palace entrance.
Palace Entrance
Palace Guard
Gamla Stan is a historic district of Stockholm that is home to boutique shops, cafes, restaurants, artists... you name it. The Gamla Stan area is it's own island as well.
Gamla Stan
Stockholm is home to Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and namesake of the Nobel Prize. The building below is named after him and houses Stockholm's city hall. It is also where the annual Nobel prizes are awarded (except the peace prize which is awarded in Oslo, Norway, at Nobel's request).
Nobel City Hall
Who couldn't resist snapping a cheesy love-bird shot with a Swedish gnome?
Stockholm was very impressive. My only regret is that we didn't have more time to explore but I'm glad we got to see what we did. Stay tuned, we'll post pictures of Tallinn and St. Petersburg soon.
-Kyle
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