Enjoy a stay in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm. Disembark your ship and transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is free for you to relax or begin exploring the city on your own. Perhaps take a leisurely walk to the Royal Palace and Stockholm Cathedral. A Viking Host is available to help you plan your time in Stockholm so you can make the most of your visit.
Moving day!We had our luggage in the hall at 10 pm the night before. I was shocked to see that disembarking from the ship started at 2:45 am and went on through the night. We were one of the last groups off the ship. Our group met at 9:15 am in the Atrium.
We were up and moving before 6:00 am. I went and got some coffee from the World Cafe; there wasn't any coffee service in the Explorers' Lounge. We had to be out of the room by 8:00 am. We had a leisurely breakfast in The Restaurant.
They finally called our group (Orange 2) and loaded our bus after 9:30 am. On the way to hotel, we did a guided bus tour of of Södermalm island where the main action in the book Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes place.
We also stopped at City Hall. We had a guided tour including the Blue Hall where the Nobel Prize banquet is held annually and the Golden Hall.
They dropped us at the hotel just after 11:30 am. We are staying two nights at the Reisen Hotel. They told us that our room wouldn't be ready until 3:00 pm. The hotel is in a great location for a base of operations for the next two days.
After checking our luggage, Sharon and I did the Rick Steves walking tour of Gamla Stan (Old Town), including:
- the Royal Palace;
- the King Gustay III Statue;
- the Obelisk;
- the Miliary Parade and Changing of the Guard;
- the Iron Boy Statue;
- the St. George slaying the dragon statue;
- exploring Köpmangatan Street, a historic Merchant Street, it is one of the oldest streets, with its name first mentioned in 1323;
- lunch at and people watching in the Stortorget;
- the Nobel Prize Museum (a bust!);
- the Cathedral, and;
- a Viking Rune stone.
We walked all the way to Lake Mälaren and the locks that separate the lake and the Baltic Sea. I had a hard time keeping Sharon moving forward; she kept wanting to stop and do some shopping...
Wandering back to the hotel, we finally got into our room. Getting cleaned up, we walked to Mister French for a glass of wine. We had a nice table with a view of the harbor and the Viking Venus.
From there, we walked to dinner at Kryp In. I had the three course menu, including: Asparagus soup [smoked salmon, cream cheese, potato chips]; Venison topside [potato purée, green asparagus, lingon berry, red wine sauce], and; Chocolate lingonberry truffle [berry couli, dulce de leche]. Sharon also the Asparagus soup. For an entree, she had Cod with shrimps [pickled horseradish, boiled potatoes, browned butter]. She had some of my dessert.
Wandering back to the hotel, we crashed very early just after 9:00 pm. It has been a long three weeks.
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