Sweden: Day nine

Today was the day we determined we would head back to Gamla Stan and to some more of the sites and do a little shopping, but I also wanted to see about getting up to the top of the Stadshuset (city hall, left) tower to get a view of the entire city. This would be one of those things that was new to both David and me, and I was excited about it.

We made our way to Stadshuset and walked around the grounds a little. It was a beautifully sunny day, which was a nice change from the couple of grey days we'd had prior. There were a lot of other tourists in the area, as well as people who had simply decided that the front lawn would be a nice place to sit and read a newspaper or a book.

There was some construction taking place on the railings down by the water, so there are some photos that really aren't worth sharing, but I think we'll make up for it!




Though there was a long line to make the climb up into the tower, we decided to wait it out. We were tempted to leave a few times because of how long it was taking, but didn't want to miss out on a potentially wonderful view of the city. We were not disappointed.

Riddarholmskyrka

Another church

Globen, the entertainment arena

There were also interesting shots to be taken on the tower itself:

Frid på Jorden
(Peace on Earth)

The walk back down gave us a little more time to take some pictures, too, as there is a museum of artifacts about halfway up and all sorts of artwork here and there along the way. But mostly David had fun with the interesting interior architecture:

Having enjoyed the view from atop Stadshuset, we set out for Gamla Stan. The buildings are so quaint and colorful, and the photo opportunities are endless.






































One of the things I wanted to show David was the narrowest street in Sweden. I'm not 100% sure of the history of why it is called a street (or how/if it has changed in the many years since it was first called a street), but we turned the corner onto Mårten Trotzigs Gränd.


The streets of Gamla Stan are always buzzing with people perusing the many shops and eating in the various restaurants.


This square was particularly charming -- I wish I could remember the name.


We walked toward the water and saw a ship of which David's great great uncle was once the captain, the A.F. Chapman. It is now permanently moored and used as a youth hostel. We were unable to go aboard, but the photos serve as a nice memory.


While down by the water, we purchased tickets for a dinner cruise that would take us out into the Stockholm archipelago. It was our biggest splurge of the trip (other than the trip itself!), but we had a few hours to wait before we could board. Seeing as we hadn't had a real meal, we stopped at a waterfront cafe and ordered shrimp salad sandwiches and a glass of wine. This shrimp salad was much like the salad our friend Stefanie bought for us the night before. Det smakar jätte-gott! (It tastes VERY good!)


Our timing for this late lunch couldn't have been better. As we sat down under the large orange umbrellas, it began to rain. We stayed perfectly dry and enjoyed eating down by the water. The rain passed quickly enough, and we found the S.S. Stockholm in plenty of time for our cruise to begin.



It was a beautiful night to be out on the water. The food was delicious, and the sites were stunning. Unfortunately, the motion sickness pills I took didn't really do the trick, so I wasn't feeling all that well for a portion of the night. I took a couple more and they kicked in quickly, allowing me to enjoy the rest of the evening.

The ship's interior

Sunset on the ride back

Sweden is a beautiful country, no matter how you look at it.

Note: I added a few more photos to day eight -- I felt like I skimped a bit upon my first posting!