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This morning we woke up just as the ship was traversing through the dramatic entrance into Stockholm. Passing Vaxholm, a city on the largest outer island, we then zigged and zagged around the numerous islands in the Archipelego…thousands of islands surrounding Stockholm, most containing cute summer homes. More on that when we take a more detailed tour tomorrow. While there were high clouds making it a little dreary on the way into the port, it turned out to be a beautiful and warm day in Stockholm.
Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden and is home to approximately 22% of Sweden’s population. Founded around 1250 AD, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden’s cultural, media, political, and economic centers and is spread across 14 islands and is surround by another 900+! Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks.
Stockholm is the site of the national Swedish government, including the Parliament of Sweden and is the official residence of the Swedish monarch (the King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustafts) as well as the prime minister. Sweden is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system based on popular sovereignty, the Monarch has a purely ceremonial role, though officially he or she is explicitly designated as head of state and holds the highest state office in the country.
We have both been to Stockholm many times, so we opted to go into town independently to have a walk around. Oceania offered a free shuttle bus that dropped us off in front of the Royal Palace which is located on one of the many islands in the downtown area, all connected by bridges. We heard that there was a changing of the guard ceremony at noon so we decided to head over to see it. After standing around and waiting for about a half hour in the sun we found out that it actually didn’t start until 12:15. We opted to go look for a spot for lunch and as we were walking away from the Palace we saw the procession, including a marching band and 30 or so soldiers, march right past us. First two mounted guards, then a marching band, then soldiers marching with guns complete with bayonets. We heard that they go into the huge square inside the palace (there are actually two of them), play some music, do some marching maneuvers and then do the typical changing of the guard ceremony like we’ve seen at Windsor Palace, Buckingham Palace and in front of the Parliament building in Athens last year.
One of the sights that both of us have seen in Stockholm before is the Vasa museum. The Vasa was a huge warship that was built back in the 1620’s for King Gustavus Adolphus. It was a typical case where the King wanted what he wanted, in this case, lots of cannons, and no one had the guts to tell him it wouldn’t work. So, the ship was built with it’s huge complements of cannons and, after it was launched into the harbor, a breeze came up and the ship lilted to one side, tipped over and sank. It stayed at the bottom until 1961 although several efforts were made to raise her. In the 1960’s they finally succeeded and she is now resting in the beautiful Vasa museum. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)
We knew we had another full day in Stockholm tomorrow, so when we didn’t find a lunch venue that suited us, we couldn’t decide whether to keep looking or head back to the ship. We finally opted to hop the shuttle bus back to the ship. ending our “Vasalating”. OK, the title was a bit of a stretch but it’s what we do. We remained on board so that Margaret could pack in preparation for our disembarkation tomorrow morning while Dale attended another painting class, becoming the official photographer documenting the class for Noel, the instructor. Later, we had drinks in the “purple” trendy Martini bar with Jim and Mo followed by dinner in Jaques, the French themed specialty restaurant which was excellent. Also got a shot of the impressive as the “Super Moon” moonrise over the oil tanks. It’s not what I wanted but it was all I had.
Margaret’s Top Picks:
Stockholm Day 1 Full Gallery: