Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Yes, there is a budget airline that has flights for under 100 quid to Stockholm....well 1hr 20mins from the city of Stockholm actually.
Overcoming the hurdle of getting into town, it was a relief to have two days of consistent sun as we soaked up the culture in the Swedish archipelago. Day one was museum day. Firstly to Vasamuseet – The Vasa Museum, to view the spectacular ship that only sailed for 20 minutes before sinking in the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage. Devastating to the country at the time, but for us it was a rare opportunity to see a well persevered 17th century ship in it's (almost) original form.
Next on the list was Skansen Open Air Museum, conveniently located very close by. An ethnographic experience that I would describe as the Swedish equivalent of Sovereign Hill, we wandered the afternoon amongst recreated Sami villages in search of the traditional town bakery. The highlight was the zoo, home to native Nordic animals and very cute baby lynxes with the experience only diminished by stupid British tourists taunting the mother lynx by dangling their Sports Direct hoddies into the enclosure.
With the sun setting late in the evening we made the most of the extended day by taking a sight seeing boat tour around the islands, happy to see the locals enjoying their afternoon swim or cruise in the city's clean waters.
Day two had us up early to visit the old town, Gamla Stan, of the capital. Cobblestone paths directed us to the Royal Palace. We watched the changing of the guard and joined the 11am English tour of the Royal apartments which was very informative and detailed changes triggered from historic wars between Poland and Russia, then took us to the reception rooms of recent Swedish royal weddings.
Being in the home of H&M and Cos, we finished the afternoon with a spot of shopping for Scandinavian design before traipsing back through to the central station to get the Flygbussarna back to the airport.
Overcoming the hurdle of getting into town, it was a relief to have two days of consistent sun as we soaked up the culture in the Swedish archipelago. Day one was museum day. Firstly to Vasamuseet – The Vasa Museum, to view the spectacular ship that only sailed for 20 minutes before sinking in the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage. Devastating to the country at the time, but for us it was a rare opportunity to see a well persevered 17th century ship in it's (almost) original form.
Next on the list was Skansen Open Air Museum, conveniently located very close by. An ethnographic experience that I would describe as the Swedish equivalent of Sovereign Hill, we wandered the afternoon amongst recreated Sami villages in search of the traditional town bakery. The highlight was the zoo, home to native Nordic animals and very cute baby lynxes with the experience only diminished by stupid British tourists taunting the mother lynx by dangling their Sports Direct hoddies into the enclosure.
With the sun setting late in the evening we made the most of the extended day by taking a sight seeing boat tour around the islands, happy to see the locals enjoying their afternoon swim or cruise in the city's clean waters.
Day two had us up early to visit the old town, Gamla Stan, of the capital. Cobblestone paths directed us to the Royal Palace. We watched the changing of the guard and joined the 11am English tour of the Royal apartments which was very informative and detailed changes triggered from historic wars between Poland and Russia, then took us to the reception rooms of recent Swedish royal weddings.
Being in the home of H&M and Cos, we finished the afternoon with a spot of shopping for Scandinavian design before traipsing back through to the central station to get the Flygbussarna back to the airport.
Item 90: Stockholm? CHECK!
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