Armed with our trusty transit pass cards, we walked a slightly more round-about route than necessary, enjoying the neighborhood, and eventually finding our way to the appropriate bus stop (and we only had to ask directions once!). The forecast was for dreadful weather, including snow, but it was a beautiful, bright sun-shining morning, even if a bit on the cool side for May.
The bus delivered us to Gamla Stan, the island that comprises the old city of Stockholm. Here most of the buildings are more than 150 years old, a number dating back to the early 1600s. However it is a bustling place with lots of cafes and shops for tourists, as well as a good number of residences and apartments.
First stop was the “castle,” although the fortress was long ago replaced by an 18th century palace for the royal family. We did not buy tickets for the palace tour, but we did get far enough to snap photos of the throne room and the chapel.
After completing the walking tour, and visiting as many little squares and walking as many quaint, narrow cobblestone streets as possible, we walked to the nearest Metro station and rode the underground back to central station. After a bit of confusion in the large and crowded transportation hub, we found our way to the correct tram for a ride to Skansen. Every mother’s child in Sweden seemed to be going there, as well, because the tram was packed.
Skansen is a sort of Living History Farms (if LHF had 500 years of history to represent) combined with a zoo and a dash of Disneyland. It is probably Stockholm’s leading attraction. It covers acres and acres and is populated with characters dressed in costumes ranging from 17th century to 1930s, depending on what their assigned area may be.
When we first arrived, we were afraid that it would be entirely for kids and that we would be the only old folks there. But the first clue was that we got in on a senior discount. We found it to be quite fascinating, and the costumed characters were both very knowledgeable and very quick to switch to English for our benefit. Most of the buildings are authentic, having been move to the site from places around Sweden, and the several period farmsteads even had breeds of farm animals appropriate to their time period.
We rode a combination of tram and metro back to our hostel, pausing along the way to scope out a place for dinner later this evening. Even though we only had a day, we feel we’ve at least hit the high points of Stockholm and will be ready to fly off to Tallinn tomorrow.
The bus delivered us to Gamla Stan, the island that comprises the old city of Stockholm. Here most of the buildings are more than 150 years old, a number dating back to the early 1600s. However it is a bustling place with lots of cafes and shops for tourists, as well as a good number of residences and apartments.
First stop was the “castle,” although the fortress was long ago replaced by an 18th century palace for the royal family. We did not buy tickets for the palace tour, but we did get far enough to snap photos of the throne room and the chapel.
From here we continued to guide ourselves using a Rick Steves tour book, visiting the Lutheran cathedral (site of a recent royal wedding) and even getting to hear the organist practicing for tomorrow’s services. Around the streets we saw so many representations of “the three crowns” that you might have convinced us that we were on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College!
After completing the walking tour, and visiting as many little squares and walking as many quaint, narrow cobblestone streets as possible, we walked to the nearest Metro station and rode the underground back to central station. After a bit of confusion in the large and crowded transportation hub, we found our way to the correct tram for a ride to Skansen. Every mother’s child in Sweden seemed to be going there, as well, because the tram was packed.
Skansen is a sort of Living History Farms (if LHF had 500 years of history to represent) combined with a zoo and a dash of Disneyland. It is probably Stockholm’s leading attraction. It covers acres and acres and is populated with characters dressed in costumes ranging from 17th century to 1930s, depending on what their assigned area may be.
When we first arrived, we were afraid that it would be entirely for kids and that we would be the only old folks there. But the first clue was that we got in on a senior discount. We found it to be quite fascinating, and the costumed characters were both very knowledgeable and very quick to switch to English for our benefit. Most of the buildings are authentic, having been move to the site from places around Sweden, and the several period farmsteads even had breeds of farm animals appropriate to their time period.
We rode a combination of tram and metro back to our hostel, pausing along the way to scope out a place for dinner later this evening. Even though we only had a day, we feel we’ve at least hit the high points of Stockholm and will be ready to fly off to Tallinn tomorrow.
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