May 14
After a long day of train rides yesterday, we spent today visiting Stockholm. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and mid 70s. We decided to get the 2-day Stockholm Card which gives us free entry to over 60 attractions and museums. It also gives us the hop on/hop off bus and boat as well as several different cruises. We’ve had plenty of cruises, so we probably won’t do any of those, but we did get on the hop on/hop off boat for a couple of stops. Instead of getting a transit pass, our plan is to use the hop on bus as transportation. The pass paid for itself today so everything we do tomorrow is “free”.
We started our sightseeing with a 70-minute panorama tour of the city. We didn’t get off, but it was a nice way to get an overview of the city, especially areas we probably won’t get back to. Then we headed to the Gamla Stan (Old Town) and visited the Royal Palace. We got there just in time for the changing of the guard and then toured the state apartments, chapel and treasury. Compared to what we saw in France, this was pretty understated but still very pretty.
After the palace we walked to the Cathedral. Again, compared to other places we’ve visited this one is very small and simple, but it was actually quite beautiful. There is an amazing sculpture of St. George and the Dragon made out of things like oak and elk horn. It was gorgeous.
Then we sat in one of the squares for a quick beer and the sandwiches we brought from home. After strolling a few of the walking streets, we walked to the harbor where we caught the hop on boat. We only went a couple of stops as we wanted to catch the bus to take us as close to our flat as possible. Well, the bus didn’t stop at the #10 stop, so we walked to the #15 stop. We only stayed on for one more stop then walked home. It took longer than it should have as Lynn’s hip is really bad today, so the 20-minute walk took closer to 45 minutes.
We had a very special dinner tonight with Lynn’s cousins. A bit of family background…. Lynn’s maternal grandparents were both from Sweden. Mom was born in Chicago, but her brothers were born in Sweden before coming to the States with their parents in the middle 20s. So, most of mom’s family is in Sweden. The family in Stockholm is Lynn’s grandmother’s side of the family. Bengt and his son Bjorn took us to dinner at a lovely restaurant not far from our flat. Lynn took a walk on the wild side and tried a local dish, braised ox cheek cooked in red wine. It was delicious. Peter played it a little safer and had the spiny lobster. Lynn hadn’t seen her cousins since 1992 when she was stationed in Italy and spent the Christmas holiday with her Swedish family. So, it was good to catch up. Hopefully it won’t be another 25 years before we see them again.
Tomorrow we’re going to continue our tour of Stockholm with a visit to the Vasa Museum and the Skansen Open Air Museum. Not sure where else we’ll visit but we’ll be sure to take lots of pictures. Night everyone!