The Grand Plan

Midterms are over and fall break is finally here!  Whoo!  Our bags are packed & we're heading south to warmer weather.  Can't wait!  Here is our route:

Prague --> Madrid, Spain --> Marrakesh, Morocco --> 
Barcelona, Spain --> Prague

Adios!

Stock-home

After a bit of confusion with booking Dillon's plane ticket, we were able to leave Friday morning to fly North to Stockholm!

Midterms started the day after we got back, so we tried to mask our anticipation by studying on the plane. We landed and took a bud from the airport to Stockholm city.

The temperature was FREEZING! It made even Prague seem warm

Immediately upon arrival, we found ourselves buying warm hats and fuzzy mittens.

Exploring was so much fun. The city of Stockholm is dispersed among many islands. There are so many bridges that make walking from island to island easy and picturesque.

We had no idea how expensive it would be! It was pretty outrageous, but it makes sense where all the tax money (25%!) goes-- the entire city was beautiful and clean. It is one of the few cities where you can swim the the surrounding water. (we would never step foot in the Hudson...)

Saturday was a jam-packed day. We had a bit of an idea how it would go... but we never actually thought it would work! Here's how we planned it:

(no tour guide!)

9:30-11:30 Drottingholm Palace

12:00-1:15 Chocolate Festival

1:30-3:00 Parliament Tour

3:00-4:00 Lunch

4:00-6:00- Vasa museum and exploring off the main island

6:00-7:00- Sunset ride back on the ferry/walk along Söder Mälastrand (on the water)

7:00-8:00 Cafe in Södermalm!

8:00 Search for authentic Swedish dinner

Here's how it actually panned out:

9:30 - Drottingholm Palace

We traveled by metro and bus to the gorgeous palace of the Swedish royal family. It is built on the island Lovön and dates back to the 16th century.

Even the metros were cool!

Our first view of the royal palace

We had a great time walking through the expansive royal gardens.

It was the perfect time of year to visit because the foliage was ablaze in brilliant yellows and oranges!

Playing in the leaves

Swedish Ducks ...that eat Swedish fish?

SInce the Swedish Chocolate Festival was a very high-priority destination (at least for one of us), we rushed back to the main island to get a taste before our tour of the Parliament building. Unfortunately, somebody gave us the wrong location, and we couldn't find it! On the bright side, we got to see the National Museum and some beautiful scenery in an uncharted area of Stockholm... Skeppsholmen.

Finnish Flag! Right next to America's on the top of the Grand Hotel overlooking the water. The Ritz-Carlton of Stockholm, this made us feel very "cozy" about our hostel.

So many sailors were out on the water during the beautiful sunny day

A random crown in the middle of the Skeppsholmsbron Bridge

Another MASSIVE sailboat

1:30 - Free English Tour of the Parliament

As we were wondering the new city on Friday night, we stumbled upon a magnificent building on the water:

Turns out, it was the Swedish Parliament building, the 'Riksdag.' The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. Its located on the island of Helgeandsholmen and it is the direct Swedish equivalent of the German Reichstag... which we just was a few weeks ago! As we investigated the building Friday night, we saw a sign for free English tours every Saturday! Perfect! (and educational, Mom and Dad)

This is a picture from inside the meeting room where 349 Parliament members gather for elections.  The mural on the wall in the back contains over 200 different shades of gray!  (Our tour guide was very informative)

View from the Parliament building

Swedish Coats of Arms painted around the ceiling dome

A day in the life of...

This entry was specifically designed to impress, as it serves as the main entry way for visiting politicians.  It certainly served its purpose.  

3:00- Lunch (So far so good)

We found a very cozy, very New York style cafe where we sat on couches in the window to refuel and let our legs catch up with us.

....hot chocolate.  What else?

4:00- Vasa Museum and exploring!

As usual, the walk from the cafe to the water was full of beautiful scenery.

There are rescue ladders and floating devices placed all over the piers... fortunately we never had to find out if they work

Till farjan was our water taxi sendoff point.  Note the gigantic cruise ship in the background.  How does that thing even float?

Another enormous cruise ship was docking right in front of us as we waited for our ferry boat to the island of Djurgården.

The Vasa Museum holds a fully intact 17th century Viking warship that set sail in 1628.  At the time, it was the largest in the history of the Swedish fleet.  Shortly after setting sail, a wind caught its massive sails and tipped the ship over, allowing water to pour in and ultimately sink it.  30 years ago, it was lifted out of the water.  It took nearly 30 years for the Vasa to be preserved, restored, and displayed in a new museum.

View from the outside

We got inside only to find out that tickets were 100 Swedish Krona, about $15.  Since there were no ATM's on the island, we only had enough cash for one.  When I told Natalie to go in and I would wait outside, the guard saw how upset she got and let us both go in... for free!  The Swedes were always very nice and spoke perfect English. 

The intimate detail was still captured in the carvings on the hull of the ship.  These were once painted in beautiful, bright colors.

Amusing signs in Swedish

Walking back to the water taxi.  (Apparently Natalie's legs never caught up with her)

The sunset over the water was breathtaking

Overall, Sweden has been one of our favorite cities so far!  Despite the expensive prices, we plan to visit again in the future, only next time during the Summer.

...also staying in the Grand Hotel instead of a hostel.