Stockholm

Quite surprised with how much I liked Stockholm. Copenhagen was good, Helsinki I could have skipped but Stockholm was a great combination of old town, street cafes and park areas. I would love to come stay here for awhile.

We did not have an excursion so we planned the hop on hop off bus/boat combo. It was not a great plan. The boat was fine but you didn’t get much information. The buses were packed and you couldn’t always get on so we either had to wait or walk to the boat spots. We did get on one bus but it was so crowded and hot it was not enjoyable. If I had it to do again I would just go with the boats or just taken the shuttle and walked around the old town. The only thing good about the bus was the free wifi that actually worked. I was able to upload posts and photos while stuck on traffic.

Our first boat tour took us the full circle before we got off to transfer to the bus that went the opposite way to head to the royal palace and old town but the bus was full and we had to get back on the boat. Instead of circling again we decided to visit Skaasan the open air museum that included the zoo. At first it had an amusement park feel but once inside I was really glad we did it. They had basically moved farm houses from various times to the grounds. It was very peaceful after the bustle of downtown and the bus issues. It also was on an island across from old town so we were able to get some great photos of the skyline. It also had free bathrooms which was a plus since we didn’t have any Swedish coins for the public facilities.

About the time we were finishing up it started to rain so we headed back to try our luck with the buses again. After a horrible ride through traffic we finally got to the old town. We both wishes we had more time to wander it was a really cute part of Stockholm. The streets were narrow cobblestone and filled with cafes and bars. We passed the Texas Longhorn Steakhouse and were tempted to check it out but time was a premium and we still wanted to shop a little. Margaret found a cute children’s store and bought the cutest outfit for her new grand baby. All I bought was a magnet ( but I have made up for it at other stops).

I definitely want to come back to Stockholm bit in the shoulder season when it won’t be so crowded. However I don’t think I will do the bus again.