S T O C K H O L M - Sweden
Because of some type of weather...or maybe a tide...the ship docked in Nynassham this morning...so it was a little trickier than we had expected.We caught a shuttle and then a train for the 1 hour journey into Stockholm.
Of course all good things come from the unexpected because this meant we had a lovely view of the countryside from the train as we travelled each way.
Once in Stockholm we knew our time would be limited...so we caught a taxi to the Vasa Museum which we we did not want to miss.
The story of the Vasa was incredible.... in 1625 the Swedish King Gustav 11 contracted a ship builder to build the most powerful war ship in the Baltic. When the ship was complete in measured 69 metres long...50m tall. She had one of the shortest maiden voyages in history...just 1300 metres when she leaned over in a gust of wind allowing water to rush in her open gun ports. Within minutes this giant ship was lying on the sea floor. 32 metres below. 50 people drowned that day and she laid there for the next 333 years.
In 1961 the 17th century warship was brought to the surface and was incredibly well preserved. The preservation of this ship was an enormous undertaking and this was a real highlight of the trip.
We caught the water taxi across the harbour to the 'Gamla Stan' (old city) - one of the largest and best preserved medieval city centers in Europe.
We found a lovely underground cafe ' Cafe Sten Sture' .. tucked away underground it what used to be a medieval dungeon. We tucked ourselves in a tiny nook that fitted just the three of us for our coffee.
We walked past and took some photos at the Royal Palace (1760) it is the official residence of the royal family...and huge...with over 600 rooms.
We certainly enjoyed our day in Stockholm.... but the highlight was the Vasa Museum for sure.
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