Tourist stuff.
I had a sandwich of two bright sunny days with a wet one as filling between them.
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| New buildings |
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| And old |
The train arrived at Stockholm Central exactly on time but we didn't have to vacate until 06.15, time for breakfast in the dining car and a chat with the driver who was waiting to move the train to the cleaning area before going off duty.
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| Coffee shop |
I walked to the hotel, which was about an hour and a half away, to leave my rucksack before returning to the centre on a commuter train.
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| Traditional boatbuilding |
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| Nice view when drinking coffee |
The public transport system is excellent. Trains, commuter trains, metro, trams, buses and ferries all accessed with a single 3 day pass that only cost about £25.
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| King Eric the something surveying a museum entrance |
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| At the waterfront |
The centre of the city was very busy but it is the height of the tourist season so only to be expected.
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| Commuter line sttion |
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| Seagull feeling important on a statue outside Central Station |
It is a big city with a prosperous feel with it's wide streets and many shops and cafes. I was staying in what I can only describe as a business suburb with lots of new office buildings but even here it is as clean and tidy as the tourist spots.
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| Old bits between the new |
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| Wide streets and trams |
I wandered through the streets looking at architecture, shops, etc. until I reached the waterfront, not difficult here as Stockholm is built with waterways all round and through it.
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| Lots of open spaces |
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| Metro station painted like a dungeon |
The waterfront is amazing, there are boats old and new of all types, shapes and sizes. It was even good when it was pouring with rain.
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| A passing squirrel |
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| The hotel area |
The Vasa museum was excellent but very popular, I went early in the morning which seems to avoid some of the queues and congestion.
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| The Vasa |
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| An unfortunate sailor from the Vasa |
The ship and the conservation efforts are incredible but how on earth they thought that such an obviously unseaworthy vessel would survive is unbelievable.
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| The Vasa |
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| Model of one of the Salme ships |
Another museum, Stockholm is full of them, had an exhibition called "Vikings before the Vikings" which was about the Salme ship burials in Estonia. All fascinating stuff.
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| Stockholm waterfront |
I took a couple of ferry trips rather than pay extra for a tourist boat which was good way to explore the area.
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| One of the many ferries |
Prices are high but not ridiculous and the shrimp sandwiches delicious.
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| Sailing in |
It is the Baltic sea here but there are almost no tides and the water is only brackish which is why the timber wrecks can survive as there are no shipworms.
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| From the ferry |
Lots of things to do and see, it wouldn't be difficult to spend at least a week here and there would still be plenty more to experience.
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| Coming back to the centre of Stockholm |
The new EU passport control measures held things up a bit but the airport was otherwise easy to negotiate with plenty of shops to waste money in.
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| Going home |
The plane left on time and arrived half an hour early but things got back to normal on arrival.
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| Typical British Rail |
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