We arrived in Nynashamn, the gateway to Stockholm, Sweden’s capital city. Stockholm was founded over 7 centuries ago and the historic old town, Gamla Stan is one of the largest and best-preserved medieval city centers in Europe. One third water, one third parks and one third city and surrounded by woods, the city is built on an archipelago of islands connected by bridges - very picturesque. It is a beautiful city but you pay dearly to be here. To us it is on par with Iceland for affordability.

We took a 1 hour train ride to get to the city from the port and headed directly to the Vasa Museum. It took some figuring out of the public transit system but we did it! The Vasa Museum was built to house the Vasa (go figure), a 226-foot-long warship that sank, on its maiden voyage, in the middle of Stockholm in 1628 (it never made it out of the Stockholm harbor). It wasn't properly balanced with enough stone ballasts in it's hull to offset it's 4 storey height. A light wind hit it and threw it off balance causing it to list to the port side and causing water to rush on board through the gun turrets. She sank quickly and 30 men drowned. She remained at the bottom of the harbor for 333 years before a salvage company figured out how to raise her. They've taken very good care of her restoration using 98% of her original materials in her reconstruction. Incredible! This museum is the most visited in Scandinavia. It was breathtaking to say the least. A real 17th century warship restored and on display! Who would have thought that possible? It was incredible to see. We spent over 2 hours looking and learning about the ship and its restoration. I think this was one of Vic’s highlights on the trip.

Then we took a ferry to Gamla Stan, the old town. The city is gorgeous with all the canals and history but I wasn’t as impressed with the old town as I though I would be, to be honest. Maybe I’d just seen so many old towns on this trip that it lost its lustre for me. We walked through this area which is one of the largest and best preserved medieval city centres in Europe with cobblestone lanes and charming buildings. We saw all the historic statues, buildings, and churches. One thing that stood out for me was the Iron Boy statue. This is the tiniest statue in Stockholm. Legend says the statue honours the orphans who had to transfer cargo from sea ships to lake ships before Stockholm’s locks were built. One girl was enamoured with the little guy and Vic took several pictures of her posing with the statue.

We had lunch in a cafe in Stortorget, Stockholm’s oldest square lined with colourful old buildings, including the Nobel Museum, where we had to pick up our awards. This Square is the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 when many of the aristocracy who challenged Danish rule were rounded up and beheaded. It’s said that rivers of blood flowed through the streets.
Lunch was fun! Vic had a huge argument with the waitress about the bill. It cost over $120 for a modest lunch with 3 beer. A bottle of water that we think was tap water cost CDN $12 and a juice glass of peanuts they plopped on the table cost $10. :(

We returned to the ship and spent the rest of the evening on the balcony enjoying the view.

Tomorrow is a sea day before coming back to Copenhagen and flying home.