The Cornells Invade Sweden

Compared to our previous border crossings, our entry into Sweden was a bit of an anticlimax. No snarly border guards, no grim immigration officers and no strip searches. We just walked off the ferry, a short stroll and we successfully invaded Sweden. No grudges here. A free bus dropped us off two blocks from our hotel. It was early so our room was not ready, but with our bags stored for the day, we headed out for a peek at Stockholm.

Stockholm is surrounded by water with plenty of water borne options to see the City. For not a huge fee, leaving something for the kids inheritance, we bought tickets on a "hop on, hop off" tour boat that stopped at just about everything we wanted or needed to see. The tickets were good for two days. Our first stop was Gamla Stan, the "Old Town". It seems like every city in Europe has one. This one was not unlike most of the others. Well maintained, manicured, lots of souvenir shops, restaurants and full of tourists. We spent most of our time exploring it then jumped on board one of the beautifully restored tour boats and took the full ride to check out and discuss our options for the next day while watching the sun set over Stockholm. A perfect end to the day.

Next day, with a belly full of free breakfast buffet we jumped on a vintage 1oo year old ferry and headed to our first stop. The Skansen Museum is a park where the Swedes have for over 100 years been storing historical buildings from all over the country. The buildings have been lovingly derected and rerected in the park. There are hundreds to choose from. As an added attraction, they have populated the park with staff dressed in period costume doing everyday stuff like baking bread, making furniture, glass blowing, equipment repairs and my favorite, a fully operational power plant from the late 1800s. Three hours turned into six hours as it was a big park.

A short walk from Skansen brought us to the Vasa Museum home to a perfectly preserved ship built in 1628. The ship was constructed in Stockholm for some invasion or other. About one hour into its maiden voyage, it sank. The design was poorly thought out. It was twice as high as any ship of the time but with a very narrow beam. The ballast was made up of round rocks that had a tendency to roll around. The ship had two decks of cannons. As the ship made its way out to sea, a strong wind came up rolling the ship on to its side. The ballast rolled to the listing side of the ship causing the ship to list even more. Water began pouring into the open gun ports. Thirty minutes later the ship was on the bottom of the harbour where it remained for over 400 years. The ship was recovered in 1962 almost intact and placed in a climate controlled environment. The boat contains over 95% of its original wood. It was an awesome sight. We arrive late so only had an hour to appreciate its beauty. Put this one on your must see list.

Feeling a bit nackered, we jumped on another gorgeously restored boat, this one a large teak and mahogany cruiser for another Swedish sunset and a return to our hotel. Time to prepare for departure to our last stop before we set foot in Canada again. Tomorrow we head for Iceland.