Day 12, Sunday, August 6th, Stockholm Sweden
Posted by Max Dunn Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:16:44 GMT
(Suzanne) It is our second day in Stockholm. We got a late start this morning and finally headed toward the end of the pier where the Hop On Hop Off boats pick you up (yes, they have boats too). Our plan today was to take the tour on the water this time since we had Claire. It took you to Old Town, the Stockholm Palace, the central downtown area, Vasa Museum (which houses an old Viking ship that sunk 20 minutes into its maiden voyage), and Grona Lund (Sweden’s oldest amusement park).
Maxie’s plan was to get off at Old Town to do more shopping. Since we’ve been giving the kids $20 per day to spend on souvenirs when we are in port (and they have to actually step on dry land and see the city to spend it), Maxie doesn’t want to stay on the ship anymore and is determined to buy something from every country we visit. We walked back to what we think is the main street in Old Town and spent an hour shopping before getting back on the boat.
Once we got back on the boat, Claire was determined to get back to the ship. So unfortunately the kids (at least Claire) didn’t really see as much of Stockholm as I would have liked. We were determined to get to the Ice Bar which is a bar completely made out of ice. They give you arctic gear to wear when you go in and even serve you drinks in an ice glass. With little time left, we ended up staying on the ship.
We started meandering our way back out of the archipelago and said good bye to Stockholm. A lot of people were hanging out on their docks as we passed by. A bunch of kids were standing on a floating dock/platform near the shore anxiously anticipating the arrival of the ship’s wake. They started screaming as if they were thinking “abandon ship” and each one jumped into the water seconds before the wake reached them. It was fun to watch. There was a kid at another dock who ran full speed down his dock and leaped like a madman into the water. It seems like such a simple life away from the city….
For dinner I had a seafood medley of sorts with salmon, squid, cod and scallops (without the sauce). It was good but definitely not as good as the seafood skewer that Max had the other day out by the pool. Now I’m getting into the chili and fries out by the pool for an afternoon snack. :-)
Stockholm? Well, I think it’s a very nice city. It’s a modern city like Helsinki but with more older buildings from long ago and waterways galore. I’ve never seen so many Volvos on the streets – even their taxis are Volvos. It’s definitely a city that I would love to come back to visit.