Stockholm

Travelled:34km to Stockholm

Stay: Stockholm- parking area 120sek/24hr 59.3138 18.0520

We decided to get an early start to beat the traffic into Stockholm and put the alarm on for 5:45am. We were happy we did as we managed to get into the city without too much trouble and got a parking spot before it got full. There were a few other Motorhomes already parked that had stayed the night. 

We the set off to the Vasa Museum. To save our legs we took the ferry from Slussen to Djurgardsfarjan (public transport ticket SL - 43sek/75min). 

It was just before 9 am when we got there and we walked straight in, after parting with 120sek each. It was well worth it. There is so much to say on this amazing conservation project of this massive fighting  vessel which sunk on its maiden voyage, killing 30 people, in 1628. It lay at the bottom of the harbour for 330 years before being found and salvaged, then it was sprayed with some preservation liquid for 17years. Then it had to be left to dry for another 9 years! We were happy we went so early because the crowds were huge and the line outside was long.

The boat was adorned with more than 700 carved sculptures that were originally painted.

More than 1000 oak trees were used to build the ship, some selected due to their shape to be used in certain aspect of the ship.

Diaomrama of what it was like to live on these ships.

A scale model all painted.

 We made our way down to the water and had a look at a couple of old boats. An 1915 icebreaker Sankt Erik and the 1903 lightship Finngrundet. 

We then went onto the 'mainland' and walked up to the Historical Museum and had a look at Swedish history.  A little further on towards the centre we popped in to have a look at the War Museum, which had some great live size diaomramas depicting Sweden's war history.  

Mark trying out the wooden horse torture, luckily his feet could touch the ground, but it was still a tad uncomfortable!

Then we had a walk through The Hallwyl Museum which is a beautiful palace with some lovely rooms from 100 years ago. 

A very modern marble bathroom for the era.

All these were free to visit! By now we were getting thirsty so we stopped at one of the many little restaurants in Gamla Stan, the old town to have a beer. 

We then went to a restaurant Ba Dorren, where we were joined by new friends Cheryl and Brett for an enjoyable evening before finally making our way back to Bluey.