Free Day in Stockholm

Stockholm Weather – Mild and sunny (a welcome change)

Yesterday we completed the journey from Turko to Stockholm and thus finished our time in Finland. After walking our cases from the hotel to the Turko Rail Station we caught a very comfortable train for the two hour rail journey back to the outskirts of Helsinki.

We had arranged to be met by a shuttle bus for the journey to Helsinki Airport. To our surprise the driver was an Englishman who had made his home in Finland after falling in love with a Finnish girl some 19 years earlier. During our drive to the airport he gave us an interesting insight into life in Finland.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and then had to spend more time waiting when our flight was delayed by an hour. To my surprise the entire check in process was automated and we did not have to produce a passport (or any other form of ID for that matter) at any time. Any person could have flown in my place using only my booking reference number.

The short flight was achieved uneventfully and we loaded into two taxis for the journey from Stockhom airport to our hotel in the centre of the city. On first impressions we could see that Stockholm was a busier and apparently more flamboyant city than the understated Helsinki. The traffic was busy but flowed freely and we finally arrived at the Rex Hotel around 6 pm that afternoon.

The diminutive size of our hotel rooms gave ample evidence that floor space in Stockholm is at a premium. I had thought that hotel rooms in Paris and London were small but I had never had to stand in the hallway to blow my nose before.

Our arrival in Stockholm gave us another chance to catch up with the members of Group 1 and share some of our experiences with them. In spite of the unseasonably cool weather we had been experiencing they seemed in good spirits and were keen to resume their Scandinavian Ride the next day.

After dinner in the hotel restaurant I went to bed early and slept for a solid 8 hours. Although the room was tiny I was pleased that I was able to open the window wide and I am sure that this helped me to sleep much better than I had been in the hermetically sealed rooms of Finland hotels.

To my delight the next morning dawned fine and clear and gave a suggestion that summer might finally be arriving in Sweden. Although I am not the sort of traveller than runs frantically about a new city to see all the famous “tourist landmarks”, there was one thing that I really did want to see. In 1626 the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus ordered the construction of the Vasa, which was intended to be one of the most heavily armed warships of its time. It was also richly adorned with colourful sculptures and it must have made an impressive sight as it left port on its maiden voyage in 1628. Unfortunately its maiden voyage only lasted about 15 minutes as the poorly designed and top heavy ship listed with the slight wind and allowed water to enter the gun doors. Within minutes the pride of the Swedish navy was at the bottom of the harbour, along with about 30 of its crew. And there it remained for the next 333 years.

Somewhat ironically, by sinking so quickly the ships designers actually made it possible for generations in the far future to experience a unique insight into this bygone era. The ship was eventually raised to the surface in 1961 and has now been restored and is housed in an impressive purpose built museum which is visited by millions of people each year. I can honestly say that this was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

I spent the remainder of the day doing what I love to do in every new city I visit – that is wonder the streets and observe the people. This practise has allowed me to meet some fascinating people all over the world and today was no exception. After a couple of hours of wandering I noticed a young man walking with a tiny little dog. I smiled and asked him what sort of dog it was. That led to a most interesting conversation that stretched to at least half an hour. He explained that he was a Christian Kurd from northern Iraq who was currently working in the Iraqi Embassy. It was obvious that he cared deeply for his people and was greatly concerned about the rapidly deteriorating situation in his country. We only stopped chatting when he realised that his dog had wandered away while we were distracted. Fortunately it was soon found and we parted company with a warm handshake.

In spite of the prosperous nature of the city of Stockholm, one disturbing feature was the large number of gypsy beggars that were seated near most street corners, soliciting for money. Apparently this is a recent phenomenon and a similar trend is happening all over Europe.Leer más