Stockholm started out with pleasant weather, overcast and a little cool, but the forecast was for rain later. There are many cruise ship terminals and we were berthed at the one furthest from town.
We had a 5 hour tour planned as part of our package. Today was rather disorganised, and the tour guide's transmitter was faulty so our headsets kept cutting out and we didn't get a lot of useful information.
We were driven around many of main sites throughout the city, but with few photo stops. I didn't realise that Stockholm was built on a collection of islands, connected by bridges and tunnels. It is very picturesque and many buildings are painted nice vibrant colours.
We stopped at the Vasa Museum. I wasn't aware of this, but the Vasa Ship sank on its maiden voyage out of Stockholm, only shortly after leaving port (just nearby where our cruise ship was parked) back in the 1628. The ship was left there for 300 years, before being salvaged. The wood was largely preserved due to the lack of sea termites and the water being less salty here. The ship is now preserved in a museum for all to see. It is absolutely incredible - of the style we would generally consider a "pirate ship" and presented complete with only certain pieces of wood replaced to help with the integrity of the ship. The museum was darkly lit, and the ship is very large, so good photography was a challenge. Here's what we saw.
Next we were driven to the old town. We were given a walking tour, but given our headset problems this wasn't very informative. Also by now it had started to rain making it less pleasant.
We were given one hour spare time to look around, then we were to meet back to be returned to the ship. We decided to depart the tour, opting to walk back to the ship ourselves.
The walk around gave us the opportunity to discover some nice shops, including a lovely cycle shop which specialised in high quality cycle gear. Here we saw a cycle air-bag helmet, which is worn around the neck and deploys to surround the head in the case of an accident. Also they had a really nice wooden bicycle frame made in Lithuania, all ready to add components and wheels to make your own bike. I bought some nice fingerless leather gloves there.
We stopped for lunch in a shop that was pretty much randomly chosen by us. It turned out to be the oldest cafe in Stockholm, established in 1785. It was very nice inside, the service was fantastic, and the food was nice (always a bonus!).
The walk back to the ship wasn't pleasant, the rain had become heavier and the day colder. It took about an hour walking along the port area, past various ferry and cruise terminals, before we were back on our ship. We dried off and relaxed for about 2 hours before departure. We sat on our balcony as we cruised out of the harbour, seeing a few sights. We then went for an early dinner so we could return to our balcony.
We sailed about 6pm, and it would be about 10pm before we passed through the narrow shipping lane, all the way out to open sea. Although it was cold and wet, the views were beautiful and we were followed out by two other ships. A nice way to end the day.
Our visit to Stockholm was hampered by weather and the tour itself. I am sure sure that given another opportunity, there would be plenty to see here. Certainly visiting by ship is probably a more complete experience sailing through the Archipelago than travelling in and out by plane.
Tomorrow is a sea day, as it takes two days to get to Kiel, Germany. A welcome break, after all this is a holiday!
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