Stockholm, Sweden

Well, all good things must come to an end and after our final breakfast in the Grand Dining Room, we bid adieu to the Marina and set foot on Swedish soil. This was a very interesting cruise. The history of the whole area shares one major common thread - the Nazis. In fact, they did a nice job of attempting to erase history, but all of these countries have rebuilt to blueprint, which is a testimonial to their spirit.
Rebuilding was not a easy task and not just from a monetary point of view. If they had photos of interiors of churches and palaces, they were black and white, which meant studying artwork in similar periods to get the colours right. Fortunately, there remained a solid body of skilled artisans in these countries capable of undertaking such rebuilding. If we tried to do this in the "new world" we'd be screwed.
Regarding the Marina, I think the jury is still out. Yes they have more restaurants and larger public spaces than our last Oceania ship. But there are potentially also twice as many annoying guests on board. The mean age on this cruise seemed to be a bit older and the mean fitness level also seemed to be a bit fatter. Also, exiting this ship always took longer. So, I think we're leaning towards the smaller ships.
Once we finally got all of our luggage and waited through a long queue for a taxi, we were on our way to our hotel, The Best Western Time Hotel. Of course we were too early to get rooms, so we left our bags and set off for the historic heart of Stockholm.


The walk from our hotel to the original old town was straight down one avenue to the island of Gamla Stan, about 3.5 kilometres. Once again we were impressed by the volume of grand buildings. The waterways threading their way through the city also make for great vistas.

One of the squares in the heart of Gamla Stan contains probably the most photographed buildings from the 14th century.

We quickly discovered that the most sought after item for tourists was the dalahorse. We actually know nothing about their origin - maybe tomorrow.

Sweden still has a royal family and in the heart of Gamla Stan is their palace. You can walk through their courtyard and freely view both chapel and the main entrance hall.


Most of Gamla Stan is in its original state, but on its periphery are some modern structures.

We noticed everywhere we've been on this trip that when small children go out from their daycares or kindergartens as they call them, that they seem really well cared for - often with reflective vests. In this case, the little ones had donned - well at least some of them - flowered garlands, in honour of today which is the Summer Solstice.

Although not hot, it was a delightful day today for our extensive stroll. We continue to be amazed by the beauty of these Baltic cities. And then there's Bill the Viking?