Things Schwegfam Likes: Boats. And we spent a more-than-proportional amount of time on them in Stockholm, a city built over 14 islands!
During our walking tour with Tours by Locals, we took the Stockholm Ferry over to the Vasa Museum to start our morning.
Jonathan's inner monologue: "God, I haven't had a glass of wine for like twelve hours at this point. This is bullshit." (We did a LOT of cocktailing/wining on that trip...apparently it's a trend for us!)
Stockholm couldn't be lovelier from the water...I really adored the architecture and gorgeous reflections.
The Vasa Museum holds a ship that was built in the 1600s for a Swedish king as the centerpiece of his fancy navy. Though the shipbuilders knew it wasn't seaworthy, the king insisted on hosting a huge launch of it. Having sailed under 1500 yards, the ship foundered and sank right in the Stockholm canal, where it stayed buried in mud until a crew of scientists and engineers raised it in the 1960s, almost totally intact.
Photos don't do it justice, and the museum built around the ship's dry-dock was incredibly informative and well-done. We spent a little under two hours there and I'd highly recommend it to anyone visiting Stockholm!
That evening, we went for a sunset cruise on Lake Malaren! It's sort of the Gold Coast of Stockholm, home to stunning summer escapes and the Royal Family's preferred residences.
As mentioned, we drank a fair amount of wine on this trip...including on boats.
We spent several hours on board, taking in the sights...
...and getting out our giggles.
Eventually we made it to Drottningholm Palace, the actual residence of the Swedish king and queen. Dick's commentary: "Man, this place would be a perfect lake home if it only had some tiki torches."
We turned and cruised home after spending some time chilling at Drottningholm Pier, taking in the castle views.
Stockholm, you're beautiful.
Stay tuned for more Scandinavia!