Weekend in Stockholm Day 2- Touring Tuesday

After Saturday's epic walking adventure, we were pretty tired on Sunday morning.  Of course not too tired to partake in breakfast.  Once we were fueled up on carbs & coffee, we were back out on the street.  The goal for our day was to visit the Vasa Museum, which was a thirty minute walk along the waterways of Stockholm.    

The Vasa Museum is all about a boat - a seriously impressive boat.  The story goes that King Gustav Adolf commissioned the building of four boats.  Hundreds of men work tirelessly for almost two years to build the first one, and everyone turned out to watch the launch of the ship in August 1628.  

The ship was delivered with 68 cannons and over one thousand trees were used on the hull alone.  It was a celebratory affair with families and friends of some of the craftsmen on board for the maiden voyage.  

As the ship was on her way out of Stockholm Harbor the supporting cables from shore were released.  To everyone's surprise the ship started to list (tip!).  Water entered the gun portholes and the darn thing sank!  It only ventured approximately 1300 meters (about 4000 feet).  It is stated that around 30 people died on the ship.  

Obviously the Swedes wanted to find out what caused the disaster.  The final verdict was that the lower hull of the ship was too small to compensate for the weight on the top; the ship had two levels of gun portholes which proved to be too much for the vessel. 

The next part of the story is quite unheard of - they forgot about the ship for the next few hundred years.  I'm sure it wasn't forgotten accidentally; the King's inner circle probably made sure no one spoke of it to avoid embarrassment for him.  Explorers attempted to locate the ship over the years, but it wasn't until 1956 that two men found the wreckage.  An immense effort was taken to release the ship from many years of silt, and it wasn't until 1961 that the team successfully reunited the ship with land.    

The brackish water where the ship rested for hundreds of years preserved it so well that only 5% of the ship's structure had to be replaced.  The overall lighting in the museum was low, I suspect, to protect the ship.  In person the detailed carvings on the ship is astonishing.

We continued to walk during our final hours in Stockholm.  It just so happens we ended up over by the cafe where Matt had his soup bowl of coffee the previous day.  I'd had my eye on the Prinsesstårta, and it did not disappoint.

I'd been pining for a piece of this cake after it was on The Great British Bake Off.  If you can get the You Tube video below to load, skip forward to the 22 minute mark to hear the master Mary Berry explain the cake.  

After that calorie-free snack we slowly made our way back to the airport for our trip back home.  

Did we see all there was to see in Stockholm?  Not a chance.  Warmer weather is definitely the time to see this country, unless you fancy time on the ski slopes.  Our short weekend in Scandinavia certainly gave us a taste for this region.  

The best part about our flight home?  We walked in just in time for the latest episode of Downton Abbey!

Weekend in Stockholm - Touring Tuesday

Matt and I went to Stockholm for the weekend in early October.  It was the perfect chance for a get away because my mom was still in London for a visit.  We got out of town and she got quality time with the Kiddos before she flew back to 'Merica.

Our weekend started off with a flight out of City Airport.  I've never flown out of City, and when we got through security I immediately figured out why.  City Airport caters to business people with flights on smaller planes to major financial destinations.  Neither one of us had ever traveled to Scandinavia so we were pumped for the weekend.

We arrived long after sundown so our first glimpse of the city had to wait until morning.  Well, maybe wait until after breakfast.  If there is one thing I can say, the Swedes know how to put on a breakfast spread. The single photo was all I took for two reasons - I was starving and it was packed!

  

Just imagine tables lined with pastries, sausages, eggs, lunch meats, cheese, cheese, cheese, and the most interesting tubes of squeezy fish pastes.  I passed on the fish although it's a traditional Scandinavian food.  After breakfast, we finally got out into the city.  Oh my goodness was it worth the wait.  

We had no destination in mind for our walk, but we covered a lot of ground.  

Stockholm City Hall was across the narrow waterway from our hotel.  The building was closed at the weekends, but the outer architecture was beautiful on the sunny morning. 

The remainder of our morning was spent meandering the streets of Stockholm.  The cathedrals were beyond gorgeous.

The Riddarholm Church

In between cathedrals we stopped for lunch.  One guess what I ate.

The highlight of my day was a tour of the Royal Palace.  Act surprised.  I have to say, the Swedish Royal Family is one beautiful group of people.  Please follow the link to see them.  If we lived in Sweden I would carefully keep tabs on their lives as I tend to of William & Catherine.    

Photos were not allowed inside the palace.  We were surprised to see that pointing and ice cream were also prohibited.  

We needed some refueling after walking the halls of the Royal Palace.  Thankfully the most adorable cafe was nearby.  Matt tried to explain to the barista the recipe for a flat white coffee. Imagine the sheepish look he gave me when his drink arrived in a soup bowl.  I guess a double shot of espresso meant a double dose of milk, too.  The apfel strudel was phenomenal.      

The break gave our feet just enough of a rest to get back to our hotel.  Along the way we stumbled upon a small cemetery in the garden of the Adolf Fredrik Church.  The arrangement and style of the headstones and markers kept us engaged longer than I expected.  

  

As you can see the fonts on the headstones are beautiful.  We talked about so many of the people who rested here and speculated about their lives.  There were couples that lived long lives together and those that lost a partner early in life.  The families that lost children at very young ages, of course, were sad to see.  We were very pleased that we found this gem in the city.  

Our feet told us it was time to call it a day.  Overall, we walked an impressive distance across Stockholm.  We had a few hours to spend in the city on Sunday before our flight back to London.  

A4 Update - October 2014

October was the most tame month we've had since moving here!

• The first few days of the month spent with Nana as she wrapped up her visit.
• Matt & Holly spent a weekend in Stockholm Sweden.
• Holly volunteered for two of Oldest Kiddo's school trips to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum.  Taking 20 kids on the Underground is exhausting.  
• The kids had their autumn half term break, and we kept the kids busy!