A good incentive to get out of bed is a windowless hotel room! Another lovely warm day greeted us so we walked along to Slussen ferry terminal and had breakfast sitting outside watching the world pass by.
Then we hopped on the ferry and headed to the Vasa museum which is on an island filled with museums and amusement activities. It took a leisurely 15 minute cruise. The museum is built entirely for the warship Vasa which was built for the Swedish King in 2 years by 400 men in the 17th century. It was launched and capsized 25 minutes later. It was top heavy. Not much was understood about the centre of gravity back then. There were also 64 cannons on board at 1000kg each. This ship was doomed. It sank in 30 metres of water in the middle of the Stockholm harbour.
The sea water here is dark and brackish and preserved the oak timbers. Then 333 years later the ship was refloated in 1961 and has been preserved. The work to restore it has been incredible. This ship is a must -see. We had seen some reviews showing the ship but it really takes your breath away when you see it for the first time.
We then hopped on another commuter ferry and headed further out to the suburbs. It was a very cheap way to explore the harbour and check out some amazing houses. We got off at the more commercial port and it was interesting to see the contrast. We took a metro train back into town. It’s alway nice to sit back and watch the view and the people.
Lunch was near the main shopping area then a dive into Uniqlo for clothes shopping which was a chance to top up the basics Julie loves at Uniqlo. As our 24 hour travel pass had expired we walked back along the harbour edge to the hotel for a break.
Dinner was watching the England vs Congo World Cup match outside in the nearby Pelarbacken area. So many people and all restaurants were very busy. Such a good vibe on a warm evening. I think the locals make the most of the long warm summer days. Winter here isn’t that nice.
Tomorrow we board a fast train south to Malmo to meet up with our family.Read more
July 1 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C