Stockholm

None of us had been to Stockholm before so it was a day of discoveries and pleasant surprises.  The forecast was for rain, and rain it did, but mostly at the most opportune times, so it didn’t dampen our day one little bit – literally or figuratively.

We all went to bed so early last night that we actually woke up early enough to be in the city by eight o’clock.  The mass transit system in this town is amazing.  I’m so impressed already with so many aspects of Stockholm – as they seem to be on the cutting edge of many things and not just their transportation systems. The grocery stores, for example, have more organic products than I’ve seen anywhere in my life, and all the restaurants have “heart healthy” options.  It’s like this town knows what’s important – so cool!

Our first stop today was “old town” – the little island where the town began about a thousand years ago.  It’s so hard to imagine it that far back, but we went to enough museums that proved it.  We spent several hours in the royal palace and went to all the museums there – the royal “apartments,” the treasury, the chapel, the old palace and Kaleb’s favorite - the armory.   (He’s very much into weapons these days.)  I kinda liked seeing all those royal jewels, myself.  We stayed long enough that we even saw the changing of the guard. 

The whole royalty thing is just so foreign to my American brain.  I kinda feel sorry for them – not being able to live normal lives. And it’s also disturbing to see the opulent lifestyle they lead, and have led over the centuries, all paid for by the taxes they imposed on their “subjects.”  So much for socialism.

A friend of ours recommended getting the “Stockholm Pass” which allows entrance into all 84 museums in this city, as well as a sightseeing tour from a boat and all the major transportation systems.  (A city with 84 museums!) It’s a deal that can’t be beat.  We bought the pass for 48 hours and I think we’ve already paid for it in just 12 hours of use.  It’s such a bargain and so nice not to have to keep digging out my wallet when we go somewhere.

After a wonderful lunch in the old city (lentil soup, salad and bread), we ended up on a sightseeing boat tour around the harbor for an hour.  The second we stepped on the boat, the skies opened up and it rained like the dickens.  Talk about timing.  It was great to see the city from the water too, as this city is all about the water.  I’ve never seen so many boats in all my life.  They said 7% of all of Swedes owns a boat.  Incredible.

The rain came and went today and it was gone by the time we left the boat, so we just walked along the harbor down to the amusement park about a mile away.  Kaleb’s been chomping at the bit to go there, and he wasn’t the least bit disappointed.  He had a blast, and I enjoyed that it was free entrance with the Stockholm Pass. As a bonus, tonight was half off the cost of the “unlimited rides” bracelet for Kaleb,  so for $25 he had five solid hours of entertainment – going on one thrill ride after another and never standing in line for more than about a minute as there weren’t many people there.  He went on rides multiple times and never once got sick.  Kory and I just found places to sit and rest while he ran around seeking one thrill after another.  We were so happy for him to have some free time to just have fun.

It wasn’t much fun for me when at 7:30 I told him we needed to go soon, so he could do two more rides.  He went into the “fun house” and it was after 8:00 before we saw him again.  We started getting worried after about 15 minutes, not knowing where he’d gone or what he was doing.  I started praying as I didn’t really know how to handle a lost kid in a foreign place, but it turned out to be me stressing for nothing because he just stayed in the fun house extra long, knowing he had to go home soon.  He soon found out we were worried sick about him and that was the end of everyone’s fun for the night.  At least I got my boy back.

It rained so hard at times when we were at the amusement park that they shut down some of the rides because of the lightening and thunder.  Kory and I were standing under an overhang near a building and the gutters were so overloaded with water that some of them sagged and just dumped a huge waterfall right in front of us.  It was intense rain, but Kaleb just found indoor rides and he kept going strong and didn’t miss a beat. 

The public transportation got us back to our hotel where we all watched yet another rousing episode of “Myth Busters” before heading off to bed.  We all agreed it was a wonderful day.