Last full day in Stockholm and last day of touring. I am looking forward to going home.
My first event, the boat tour, is not until 10:30 am, so no rush. I don't want to be walking around that much since I have to walk later in the day.
Breakfast was boring. I have been eating too many eggs. Left hotel at 9:45 am. Took the #7 tram to Styrmansgatan. It is the close to the where the boat tour will be. As I am walking and taking photos of buildings and trees, I see these two small towers with lights lighting in them to a particular height. On reading, I find out that the two towers - total eight sides are measuring 8 different environmental details - particulate matter, nitrogen, phosphorous, quality of river water, CO2 etc...This is so cool!! I am sure there are sensors somewhere.
The boat starts boarding at 10:15 am. It is crowded! I guess it is a popular tour. Mine includes lunch which I find out will be served at 11:30 am. It is super cold outside with the wind, but it is a beautiful sunny day. The boat ride is fun, see different islands, learn about the settlements and see huge houses and wow all those amazing apartment buildings. The narration was quite good with a sense of humor.
Lunch was hopeless - mashed potato stuffed with mushrooms and fried - why does it have to be mushrooms? There are so many beautiful and tasty vegetables out there. I removed all the stuffing and ate the potatoes. They decorated the plate with god knows what - parsley? kale? what the heck was all that?? They could have just made some rice and decorated or some carrots and broccoli would have been okay. Dessert was included but my hot tea was not. Dessert was a brownie decorated with some cream and blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Why can't they remove the green leaves of the strawberries?? Not impressed with the chef. The tour was good though.
Went back to the bus stand to take #7 to the museum. Walked the long route to Vasa museum, should have gone right of Nordic rather than left. Anyway got there...entry is $19. The guided tour started in 5 mins. It was nice. I heard on the boat tour also about Vasa ship sinking within the first 30 min of the maiden voyage. It was in the water for more than 300 years, until in 1060s the Swedes found it again and decided to dig it up. It was amazing! They restored it almost to its original glory and is more than 90% original material. It is a beautiful ship! Apparently no one was held responsible for the ship sinking - terrible.
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| Vasa |
Now for my last thing to do in this trip...walk the Gamla Stan. Took the #7 tram now to T-Centralen. From here tt's a straight walk to Gamla Stan. It was about half a mile from here. The walk was nice going through a whole lot of shops just like it is towards my hotel. Cross the canal and I am in the Old Town. Well...it's a mountain of a mole hill, at least for me. It was the old town converted to a shopping area. Lots of tourists shops and eating places. Reminded me of Salzburg when I was walking near the castle. Anyway it was still nice to walk. Saw some classic things, like the Noble Prize museum, some other building that I have to figure out, the classic houses next to each other, the narrowest lane in Gamla Stan and Stockholm and so much more. It was a fun walk. And since I did have some room in my luggage, I bought a couple more souvenirs, light ones though.
Sat down and has a cup of tea and cinnamon bun. Sad that even if you are paying customer, the shops don't let you use their restrooms.
Started the 1 mile trek back to the hotel. It is a nice walk. Reminded of the day I came on Monday when it was jam packed and I was just in awe of the shops and crowd. Now I am getting used to and now its time to go.
The one thing I miss doing is riding the red T to see some stations. I don't have the energy to go out anymore.
It's been a good day and I want to leave it like that.
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