This morning we arrived back from our whistle stop tour of the picturesque Swedish capital.
Our journey began with an overnight ferry from Turku Harbor on Silja line's ship 'Baltic Princess', which had everything that we needed to keep ourselves entertained for the evening including shops, bars, an arcade, a casino and even a sauna. There was too much to do in one trip! We opted for a night of card games and a few drinks at the "Starlight Palace"Disco. We made a quick trip up to the "Sun Deck", but the -8°C temperatures quickly persuaded us to go back inside.
After a unexpectedly long evening, we woke up at 6am the next morning to begin exploring Stockholm. We began by using the underground train system, which is known for its art and decoration, to get us into the heart of the city. From here our first stop was a coffee house as it was still early, we all needed breakfast and the city hadn't quite woken up yet It may have also perhaps been an attempt for a few of the group to shake off the previous night!
After refuelling we began ticking off some of Stockholm's many landmarks, the city chambers was the first of these and presented both brilliant architecture, which is in no short supply in the city, and a decent photo op.
Along our route we came across the royal palace, a commanding building with over 600 rooms over 11 floors, unfortunately His Majesty King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus was not available to meet with us but we did get a nice example of his Uber service which is a little more decadent than what we are used to. From our vantage point at the entrance to the palace, we had a brilliant view over the surrounding city. Stockholm is somewhat of an archipelago in itself. With numerous small islands all interconnected by road, rail and tunnels, the city is characterised by the Baltic sea which dominates the landscape and often rapidly flows through the natural channels formed by the islands.
Continuing on we found ourselves ice skating at the outdoor Kungsträdgården. After a tentative start with many of us clinging to the barriers for life, we found our skates and were soon slicing our way around the ice.... well most of us were. Skating is hard work and we had quickly forgotten the cold climate, shedding our many layers as we became more confident. By the time we finished our session we were all starving and so set off in search of some lunch. Finding it in the lovely Sjöcafeet, overlooking the city from "Museum Island". The food was lovely and it was on the more reasonable side of the usually eye-wateringly high pricing typical of Sweden.
Our journey continued around the harbor to the famous Vasa Museum, the home of the 17th century warship the "Vasa". Completed in 1628 the Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in the Stockholm harbor area, after a gust of wind made her list heavily to the side and caused water to flood in through her lower gun deck. Having travelled only slightly over a kilometer from her launch site. A poor design, they obviously didn't have as talented engineers back in the 1600s. After her demise, which killed around 30 of her crew and passengers, the Vasa lay in situ for 333 years until her near perfectly preserved hull was salvaged in 1961. A 20 year long conservation campaign then ensued which involved impregnating the ship with Polyethylene Glycol, which replaced the water within the timber and stopped the ship from deteriorating from drying-out too quickly. The polymer also gives her a nice shine, so she looks good for a woman of 391 years. Since then she has been re-homed, and the museum that houses her today was built around her to protect her from the elements. At 67 meters long, 11 meters wide and 30 meters tall (with a further 20m missing, presumed salvaged in the 17th century) just her shear size is impressive. However, she is decorated with over 500 different sculptures, which at the time would have been painted in a flurry of golds and reds, making her as ornate as she is imposing. It's estimated that the cost of the Vasa would have been around 1% of Sweden's GDP at the time, with her 62 bronze cannons costing an additional 1-1.5% of the GDP. It's little wonder that most of these cannons were salvaged in the 17th century. The ship and the museum dedicated to her is absolutely brilliant and was the highlight of our trip for many of us, if you are ever in Stockholm it's a must-see!
Returning home on our ferry that night we had a decidedly quieter evening after our full on day walking around the city. Today we arrived back in Turku having had a brilliant time even if our bank balances are a little worse for wear!
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