Arriving in beautiful Stockholm with an aerial view of the 24,000 islands and islets that make up the archipelago of the city. For a city that is surrounded by water, what better way to experience it than by staying on a boat during our visit!
The M/S Birger Jarl was our home for the weekend, but with budgets in mind, I think we were travelling “3rd class” but I am assured they also have Titanic style suites available to those who want to splurge. But unlike the Titanic, our ship was not travelling anywhere and we simply enjoyed the stunning views of the city from the deck bar.
Speaking of sinking ships, we visited the museum of the recovered ship Vasa which was built in 1628 under the orders of King of Sweden Gustavas Adolphus but sank just 20 minutes into it’s maiden voyage.
It turns out that no one at that time actually knew how to build a ship that size and they simply guessed the dimensions prior to setting sail. 30 people died in this disaster out of the 200 on board, which we were told was good odds for that era. Many of the occupants simply held onto the masts above sea level as the ship was still in shallow waters just 1.5km from the port when it sunk.
Now this famous ship has been turned into a museum attraction, and the extraordinary conservation efforts definitely show.
Having explored the Vasa for the morning we then opted to get some sunshine and sit by the harbour at one of the many bars along the promenade. It seemed that the hot weather had brought locals and tourists outside to enjoy the beautiful city.
Stockholm is also the home of the Nobel Prize, with the ceremony each year taking place at Stockholm Concert Hall on 10th December, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel. We took a look inside the Nobel museum to see the awards that were given to each laureate since 1895.
With a few museums, great harbourside life and excellent atmosphere, Stockholm was a relaxing and interesting weekend which left us with fond memories of Sweden.
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