Up early again to catch the tender over to meet up with our
Alla Tour guide. (actually got to move our clock BACK an hour, so we’re now
just 7 hours ahead) Got a little
peeved with Alla today….tickets and “instructions” are clear about the pier
meeting time and they stress that they will wait 15 minutes and then you will
have to catch up to the tour at your own expense wherever the next stop
is. Well, 98% of us all were on various
buses and they us kept waiting on tender boats to come over with people. If 98% of us could get up and get on a
tender and be in place by 7:40, so could the rest. There were several a little put out with the waiting. We finally got underway at 8:35 and I ate my words…..never to get
back on a big bus. We got shuffled here
and there and had to get off the van and into a smaller big bus (get the
difference?) There were only 26 people
and it was very roomy, huge windows, so I didn’t gripe too much. Not like others we’ve been on.
Got to Stockholm about an hour later and took a grand tour
around the city. It’s so much prettier
than Helsinki, IMHO. Lots of older
buildings (lots of history here).
There’s a section called Old Town, near the Royal Palace, which is
beautiful with really narrow, cobblestoned streets…buildings dating back to the
1500’s.
Driving around the Harbor, it was noted that many people
actually live year-round on boats docked in the harbor. Even in wintertime when it’s frozen over,
they stay on their boats.
Stockholm is also the birth place of Abba, the singing
sensation, and there is a museum here dedicated to them.
We did a stop at the Vasa Museum which was great. On August 10, 1628, Vasa set sail on her
maiden voyage and sank in Stockholm Harbor immediately. It is said that the King insisted that the
ship sail even though the builder said it wasn’t ready. The King wanted it in Poland where he was
fighting his cousin in a war…typical politician.
The cannon windows (whatever they are called) were opened at
sailing and the boat tipped and the water came in through the cannon
openings. Then it sank in 20 minutes in
30 feet of water. No one was ever
blamed for the embarassment because it was the King who had insisted on
launching it before it was ready. Over 1000
oak trees were used in the building of these ships….to the point of finally
having to regulate the cutting of the trees.
Only hand tools were available to use to build the ships.
In 1961, the wreck was salvaged after 333 years under the
sea. The reconstructed viking ship is
98% original and is beautiful with huge wood carvings all over it. The bodies of the crew and passengers were
almost all recovered and are placed under glass in the museum with details of
their diet, health of their teeth, bones, etc..with names. They even recreated their images from the
skulls. It detailed how much money was
found with them, what items they carried and the location of their deaths. It really made it real. We spent over an hour there and enjoyed it a
lot.
Then we had free time in Old Town. Ronnie and I got a small cup of ice cream each, a non-cold coke
without ice in a glass for 176 Kroners.
Well, we had no Kroners, so we put it on the credit card…it was
$21. Oh, well. We walked a bit, but then sat and waited on
the bus to come back. It was a crazy
madhouse all over town. Three big ships
are in (yes, Celebrity is still stalking us) town and there are hundreds of
buses everywhere.
Got back to ship around 4ish, ate a bite, and got our feet up
now. We are so tired….I am very glad
that we don’t have another tour tomorrow!!!
Just packing.
Stockholm facts and pics:
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| Panaram |
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| The Vasa |
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| tools used for making the Vasa |
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| Recreated Gustav |
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| Gustav facts |
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| Stockholm |
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| Old Town-ice cream shop on left |
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| Boats for living |
Stockholm is the largest city in Scandinavia, with about 1.8
million residents in the metropolitan area -- about one-fifth of Sweden's total
population. The city, founded in 1252, comprises 14 islands, and is a popular
port of call and turnaround port on Northern Europe cruises.
Stockholm's premier tourist attraction is Gamla
Stan (literally, Old Town), one of the largest neighborhoods of 16th-century
buildings in Europe. Block after block of these four- and five-story structures
are painted in vivid colors typical of Mediterranean villages and occasionally
feature wrought-iron signs symbolizing ancient craftworkers' guilds or faces of
religious figures. Cobblestone streets and arms-width alleys criss-cross Gamla
Stan. There, you'll also find the 18th-century Royal Palace atop the crown of
the hill upon which Gamla Stan is located. (Sweden is a constitutional monarchy
and has a one-house parliament).
