Our sixth day began with a five hour train ride from Malmo
to Stockholm. Train travel is much more spacious and comfortable than an
airplane. We napped, read, and watched the beautiful scenery zip by. Our hotel
is right across from the Stockholm central station, very convenient. After
dropping off our bags we hit the streets for some urban explorations. Since the
weather was so warm and sunny, the streets were jammed with people. Stockholm certainly
feels like a big city, lots of activities, shops, and hustle and bustle. Bicycle riding in this congestion would be
scary.
We first visited the Vasa Museum, which houses a Swedish warship
that sank in 1628! It was salvaged in 1961, and has since undergone significant
restoration. Its massive scale was daunting and amazing--hard to believe we
were looking at something nearly 400 years old.
Continuing on, our journey took us to Tivoli Gröna Lund
(an amusement park). There was a similar park in the center of Copenhagen, but
we didn’t have a chance to go inside because of all the rain. Similar to
amusement parks in the US, there were plenty of people of all ages, games,
food, and rides. After a quick look around we left with ice-cream in hand.
Next we strolled along the waterfront towards Galma stan (Old
Town), an island where the entire city population used to be located during medieval
times. During our stroll we noticed how uniform in height the skyline is, most
buildings look to be 5-6 stories. The city colors seemed extra vibrant today—the
golden hues of the buildings, the deep brilliant blue of the water, and
the bright green foliage of the street trees. We also noticed the vast amount
of cobble stone streets and pedestrian areas. Though it looks nice, they hard
on the feet!
We decided to have dinner in Stortorget (which means the Big Square in Swedish). It is
the oldest square in Stockholm and full of charm. Its name is a bit misleading because
the scale and proportion of the space, and surrounding buildings, create a
quaint and cozy feel. The square offered us some great people watching while we
ate our Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. On our way back to the hotel we passed by the Royal Palace and over one of the city's many bridges.
-Jessica
