Stockholm: No one does it like librarians.

Saturday began at 4:30am so I could catch the 4:55am night bus to Liverpool Street and take the 5:30am train to Stanstead so we could arrive two hours before our 8:35am flight. People on the night bus at that hour are NOT a pretty bunch. We however, were surprisingly perky.



We arrived at our hostel in the early afternoon. This is a view out the window of our private room. It's very typical of Stockholm architecture: about 5 floors high and very colourful with lots of flowers. It also reminds me of a puzzle I had circa 1986.



We spent Day One exploring the city on foot with a bit of shopping, of course. We struggled to find a place to eat that had an English menu AND that was relatively afforable. There is an H&M on every corner, literally. It was really something. I didn't see a single Starbucks though. We stopped to rest on the above bench. I turned around and this boat was headed straight for us. I asked the girls if they were worried about it and they ran off screaming. The relationship between land and water is somewhat undefined. There are no fences or guard rails, just sidewalk and then a drop right into the water. Apparently, we were sitting at some kind of ferry dock but there was no visual indication that it was a place where a boat actually docked.



Showing off our new purchases while predrinking on Saturday night. Swedish posse!



We went to three bars that night. This is the second bar. It was open-air [so cool!], which meant it was a little cold, but there were heaters to keep us warm. Michelle and I were twins/models in our scarves. At the third bar, we met an Australian guy and Italian girl from Amsterdam who commented on our similar appearances.



A post-bar horror: The vegetarian feasts at McDonald's. How many vegetarians will I convert?



Many of the streets look like this photo. This central zone for pedestrians and cyclists shaded by a generous tree canopy divides one or two lanes of traffic and a dedicated transit lane in both directions. It made for a pleasant walk to the Vasa Museum.



This photo shoes the relationship between the land and water. This parking job made me nervous. Certainly, I am not that skilled behind the wheel.



We decided to visit the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a 17th Century double-decker warship that sunk on it's maiden voyage and was underwater for about 300 years until 1951 when it was found and lifted out of the water. This entire museum is dedicated just to the ship with artefacts, models, reconstructions, films, and of course the massive ship, itself. When you walk in, the museum is very dark and quiet. It felt like we had arrived at a funeral, except that there were intermittent camera flashes from all around. The photo does not capture the massive scale of the ship. But it was taken from the highest possible point in the museum. I think Derek and Joey would have enjoyed it.



Afterwards, we went to the park across the street. Dracine sat down to rest [we were all tired from the night before] but Michelle and I were determined to keep going strong. We stumbled upon the Secret Garden [play the video]!





After the park, we went back to Gamla Stan [the old part of the city]. The sun was setting and all the lights were coming on. It was so beautiful to see the light reflecting in the old squares, on the cobblestones and across the narrow streets and alleys. We had our 'nice dinner' this night. We ate at an Italian restaurant and drank lots of wine!



On Monday, we went to Skansen. We had a very friendly bus driver who was quite intereted in chatting with North Americans. We were caught off guard. We live in London. Bus drivers here are feared. Skansen is an outdoor museum of Swedish history. Buildings of all periods have been moved here from around the country so you can walk around this contained area and view all kinds of examples of Swedish architecture and building types. They also had native animals. There were bears, lynx, moose, reindeer, seals and a crazy little wolverine.



Bears.



19th Century green roof.



The view.



Stay away from that tree!

When we left Skansen, we got the SAME bus driver. I couldn't believe it. He gave us a free ride! I could believe that either. As we drove through the streets, he provided us with a guided tour. He asked if we'd heard of the Stockholm Syndrome [that's when a kidnapped person starts to sympathise with their kidnappers]. I thought, 'Oh my God, he's going to kidnap us.' But actually, he showed us the bank where the Stockholm Syndrome originated. He asked where we were going and we told him we were on our way to the airport and were catching a coach from Central Station. He told us he would go off route to drop us off at the front doors of the station. We were all pretty stunned. Michelle tried to tell him that it wasn't necessary but he made an announcement in Swedish and all of a sudden he was navigating some extremely narrow streets that clearly pre-dated mass public transit. I thought we were going to take out a building or five. But we made it to the station and gave a big thank you.

We ate dinner at McDonald's in Central Station [we were in a rush]. I can justify it because it was a nice McDonald's with a carved wood ceiling, mood lighting and tvs on the wall. I recognised the station on one of the tvs. Four girls were walking through it. I commented that it would be funny if it was live. We left McDonald's and saw the same four girls. We thought they might be Swedish celebrities so Michelle snapped a photo.

It was such an amazing trip. The recap was slightly censored. I need to do another.