Skip to main content

Stockholm

 


We took a quick flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm to continue our Scandinavia adventure.  

More Stockholm photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/P9CcUCkXJkz9Dp4v5

Fri, 8/15 - Copenhagen → Stockholm

We hadn't planned a food tour in Stockholm, but these things tend to happen.  We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed to Östermalms Food Hall.  The tour guide was more awkward than other food tour guides we have had.  Hard to describe but he reminded me of a young George Michael. Not a bad thing but he did not fit the typical profile of a food tour guide. On a very positive note - there were more meatballs on this tour! 


Sat, 8/16— Stockholm

We did a walking tour in the morning with another fairly entertaining tour guide and even more information about the historical Sweden/Denmark mortal enemy situation. 

This statue is to honor women in leadership given most of the history involved men being in power and making "interesting" choices.


Super tiny walkway that is a thing people like to walk through in Stockholm:

Sun, 8/17 — Stockholm to Helsinki

We planned a 2 night cruise to Helsinki so we could experience a little of Finland and Sam could see what a cruise is like. We boarded the Tallink Silja Line ship in the late afternoon and promptly found a spot at the front of the ship to look out at the Swedish archipelago. Archipelago means a bunch of islands (in case I was the only person who didn't know that).  Fun fact is that Sweden has the most Islands of anywhere in the world.  






Harry the Seal was the ship's mascot.  Sam enjoyed his interaction with Harry but not so much the Bingo we were playing at the time this photo was taken.  

Overall I think the cruise was a success.  Our cabin was small but manageable for 2 nights.  Sam enjoyed the multiple kid's play areas and the buffet dinner we had one night.  I enjoyed that he had independence but I was reminded why I do not enjoy buffets. Over-indulging in mediocre food is not my thing, but is exactly Sam's thing. 

Mon, 8/18 - Helsinki

See separate blog on Helsinki

Tue, 8/19 — Stockholm Part 2

We arrived back in Stockholm in the morning, and checked back into the same hotel stored our bags again (we’re regulars in the hotel luggage room now).  Based on the recommendations of the tour guide we had for our walking tour, we visited the Vasa Museum.  The museum houses the Vasa ship which is a war ship that sank pretty much immediately after its maiden voyage in 1628.  The ship was recovered many years later and is now in this museum.  


Wed, 8/20 - Stockholm --> Olso

Before heading to Olso, we had a "choose your own adventure" museum morning.  I chose the ABBA museum and Sam chose the Skansen Museum (and obviously by default Ryan went to the Skansen Museum with Sam). 

Skansen is an "open air museum", and mostly a zoo (per Sam and Ryan since I did not go).




And the ABBA museum speaks for itself.  The museum reignited by love of ABBA!



I learned a lot about these four.  I really did not know about all of their ups and downs before the museum.


With my reignited love of ABBA, I began listening to their music obsessively and then Sam became obsessed.  It's interesting for a kid who likes classical music to be into the popiest pop band of all time.  Here is a video of him after teaching himself Mamma Mia on the piano:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YPEnZ6WAFN6kTKYE8



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Broken Bones & Dutch Healthcare

  It seems inevitable that we would have a medical emergency while living here resulting in a test of the Dutch healthcare system. The image above accurately reflects the perception and often reality of the healthcare here. We have been lucky so far with getting the care we need by 1) being prepared with medical records from the US to prove our case, 2) researching and advocating for ourselves and 3) annoying the huisart (primary care doctor) enough that she gives us what we want so we stop asking. 😝 During recess at school, Sam fell while playing a game with his friends and another friend fell on top of him. I was told that he initially wanted to keep playing but the teachers had him go to the nurse, who then sent him back to class. His teacher reached out to me since it seemed like he was in pain and I picked him up.  I spoke to the nurse when I picked him up who said he seemed fine and to monitor him. Fast forward to us realizing he was not fine. We called the huisart (a r...
1 comment
Read more

Morocco

For Sam's February school break we went to Morocco.  We were looking for warmth and also ready to explore beyond Europe. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency (amazing resort) in Taghazout, a small fishing village that is south of Marrakesh and north of Agadir.  More Morocco photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/eATCUb6Cc4rRoyLYA February 17:  As per usual we opted for a flight that was not ideal so we could save money.  It was a later flight with a connection through Casablanca, arriving in Agadir airport close to midnight.   Sam slept on the car ride from the airport to the hotel but perked up when we found out we had been upgraded to a room with an ocean view (thanks to friend Jasper!!).  This kid continues in his quest for only the finer things. Very elaborate towel and curtain art! View from our balcony at night: View from our balcony during the day: February 18:  Today was dedicated to nothing except explo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Milan

  (Feb 14 - 17)  The plan for the February school break was to ski in northern Italy for a few days.  With Sam's collarbone injury (see separate blog entry ) we had to pivot.  We had already booked flights to Milan so decided to spend a weekend there.  Ryan and I had been before but not Sam.  More Milan photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/J6rzoDWXCcatyKvg8 We did our typical food tour on our first day in Milan which included Roman-style pizza. Compared to Neapolitan pizza (Napoli), which we usually have in Italy, it is thinner and crispier and has a wider variety of toppings. We had it topped with potatoes.  We discovered Rosso frizzante wine which is a lightly sparkling Barbera wine.  There was also a delicious traditional risotto for Milan.   Barbera + bubbles + thin, crispy pizza + risotto resulted in a very good tour.  Roman-style pizza with potatoes Risotto Milanese On Sunday we toured the  Duomo di Milano  inclu...
Post a Comment
Read more