Travelled: Into Stockholm on the Metro. SEK20pp per 75 minute journey.
Visited: More of the Palace Museums and the Vasa Museum SEK130pp on Djurgården
Stayed: 2 nights in Stockholm Stellplatz Långholmen SEK320pn, all the usual services. N59.32031, E18.03251
We have a reasonable sleep overnight, there was some duff duff music in the distance but not loud enough to be a problem. Expecting to wake up to rain as the forcast predicted we were happy to see it’s still dry. After yesterdays long walk into town we will walk up the hill and find the metro station today. The tourist office gave us some advice on the train, so we will give it a go after breakfast.
Looks simple enough !
As we walk into the metro station we spot a Pressbyrön, its a 7/11 style shop and the best place to organise a rail pass. The girl in the shop is very helpful explaining more than one person can use the card and how to make sure we get the senior’s rate. I can tell Pam has a real affection for this young lady. Ten minutes later we are in Gamla-Stan.
First stop this morning is back to the Royal Palace for the next museum, The Royal Apartments. This statue dominates the entrance foyer.
The ceiling above the grand staircase. The Royal Apartments are still used for official functions, but the family have not lived here for many years.
Pam and I wander about taking in the history of the Swedish Court.
More big mirrors and marble statues lines the galleries.
Another example of the wonderful pieces on display in the Bernadotte Gallery.
The Karl XI’s Gallery designed on the theme of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
Our last stop in the Royal Apartments is the Royal Chapel. As you can imagine its lavish and opulent.
Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
We still have another museum to go at the Royal Palace however our metro ticket includes ferry journeys so we make our way to the ferry terminal.
The ferry is full as we dock in Djurgården. Another of Stockholm’s many Islands, Djurgården is all about museums and parklands. Gröna Lund is a Luna Park type of place and we won’t be going there.
You can tell from here Gröna Lund is not for Pam.
However Pam is a huge fan of the Swedish supergroup ABBA. So we wander around to the ABBA museum which is also on Djurgården. No wonder Pam keeps whispering ‘more Benny more’ in my eye !
The ABBA museum, it was full and the queues long. Let’s do a quick reality check. The ABBA Museum cost SEK250 or €26pp for entry, a quick check on Google, a ticket for the Louvre Museum in Paris is €19.90. So its less expensive to visit the world finest museum of art and antiquity than watch a short film and look at some photos and costumes of ABBA. Reminds me of their hit…Money, Money, Money..
We actually came here today to visit the Vasa Museum and this it is.
The Vasa, the museum documents its remarkable story.
The 69 metre Vasa set sail on its maiden voyage in 1628. Sailing 1200 metres from its mooring before floundering and sinking in Stockholm harbour. Designed by the king it was the largest and most elaborate ship built by the Swedish Navy at the time.
The Vasa was found predominantly intact 333 years later and salvaged from the harbour in 1961.
Moved to a dry dock, the Vasa and all the various pieces found near the wreck were sprayed with a special fluid for 17 years before reconstruction and restoration work commenced. The museum building was constructed around the Vasa and over the drydock in which it was stored.
It’s an amazing story and much less expensive to visit than the ABBA museum. We watch the film, did the guided tour (in English) and found the whole experience well worth the visit.
Pam and her new friend enjoy the Vasa.
It’s well after lunch time when we walk out of the Vasa Museum and go looking for somewhere for lunch. We find a cafe with a view of the harbour, order a pizza and a couple of drinks and sit down for a rest. Suddenly we find we are sitting next to a couple from Western Australia. We have a good old chat about travel and family. They are departing on a Viking cruise of the Baltic tonight.
Back across the ferry to Gamla-Stan we do the final Royal Palace Museum, the Antiquity Museum. It only takes 30 or so minutes to wander through the galleries of marble busts, figurines and statues. We watch a short film on why the King collected this and that. It was very interesting, so we went back and had a second look at some of those items on display.
That’s just about how I feel at this stage of the afternoon. Time to catch a train home and have a beer.
Walking out of the Museum ? The Stockholm half marathon is on this afternoon, now ! We thought it was over and done whilst we were at the Vasa, but no it’s just starting now. Look like its going to be a slow trip to the railway station.
Anyway we get back to the safety and security of the Hymer without too much delay. So that’s Stockholm done, we’ll continue south in the morning and hope for some warmer weather.
