Saturday, September 12, 2015

Stockholm - Day 2


Thursday, September 10
With only a few hours left this morning, our tour guide suggested a simple walk on the island of Gamla Stan where the old city is located.
We caught a cab to the far end of the island and began our walk through the narrow streets on our way to Stortorget, the town square. Along the way we passed "Sally's," a popular restaurant that had been recommended by friends.
We also saw some day care children on their way to "school."
We were delightfully early and had avoided the hordes of tourists who would soon descend on this area.
Stortorget was typical of most European cities with its old facades and wide open area suitable for dining, socializing and assemblies.
Today the assembly was students probably on their way sightseeing.
On one side of the square is the Nobel Museum, which opened in 2001 for the 100th anniversary of the prize.
No time to view it today. And a short distance from the town square is the Cathedral,
which is located next to the Royal Palace.
The latter, designed in Italian Baroque style, was completed in 1754 after a fire wiped out the previous one. I walked down to the water for some more great views
and caught this shot of the Af Chapman, a 3-masted sailing vessel that has been located here and used as a youth hostel for decades.
How do I know? I stayed on it 45 years ago when I spent 3 months backpacking through Europe. When I mentioned that later on board our cruise ship, a woman behind me said she stayed on it 46 years ago. Small world. 
Then we headed back to the hotel, met up with the Regent cruise group and headed to the terminal. After some computer delays, by 2 pm, we were having lunch outside on the deck and preparing for our departure at 5 pm. We sat on our balcony for an hour, enjoying a glass of champagne
and watching as we passed by some of the 24,000 islands.  
The views were relaxing and the sunset made the day. 
We had a late dinner and straight to bed. 

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