Does this mean that we have been to Sweden twice?

About 10 days ago we stayed a night in Gothenborg, Sweden on our way to Norway. Now we are back in Sweden, in Stockholm in fact. We believe that this entitles us to claim two visits to Sweden - what do you think?

We are here for the next two nights. The Swedish landscape in comparison to Norway, is rather ordinary. We spent the day mostly on the freeway apart from two small detours that Chris led us on. The country is flat and mostly green with tinges of browned off vegetation due to the recent hot spell. There was plenty of light industry beside the roads and we saw the Volvo plant but only one IKEA shop in the 400km we have travelled through Sweden so far. The rest must be overseas? Our two night Stockholm stay will allow us to get a taste of the capital city. Our hotel is 4 Metro stops from Central Station so nice and handy and the bike is secure in undergroud hotel.

The day started with a short walk to the Metro station which took us passed the clubhouses of several Stockholm motorcycle clubs. We took the train to the closest station to the Big Red Bus for the usual tour. I'm sure these bus companies get together because the fare is always the same, doesn't matter what city you are in. We headed towards the Old Town or Gamla Stan where the history of Stockholm began. This is where the most historical buildings are located. We saw the Royal Palace which is not only a Royal residence but also the work place of the Royals. The Grand Hotel is also in this area - apparently the Nobel Peace Prize winners stay here and Barack Obama had the whole place for his entourage when he was in town in 2013.

Strandvagen, the shopping district was very busy today, there are statues of lions guarding all the entrances to this shopping area. We drove passed the ABBA Museum but decided not to get off - we are a bit museumed out! The bus took us out passed the Cruise ship port where we spotted the Celebrity Silhouette, a huge ship on which a couple of Aussies we had met were travelling. On the way back in to central Stockholm we passed by City Hall - this is where the presentations are made for the Nobel Peace Prize recipients.

We continued passed the Royal Opera and travelled out to the Viking Line, Stadsgarden Cruise Berth - this is where we leave from tomorrow by ferry to Finland. After completing the circuit on the bus we got off and checked out Riddarholmskykan, the final resting place of the Swedish kings and Stockholm's only preserved medieval monastery church. Dinner was right in Drottningg which is a pedestrian only area filled with shops and eateries.

The train from Central Station had us back at our hotel in no time at all.

Stockholm is a beautiful city, our favourite of the Scandinavian capital cities we have visited so far. It is a city of beautiful tree lined streets, magnificent buildings and friendly people.