Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden. Stockholm has a population of about 4.32 million people. Sweden has both a parliament and monarchy.
Our journey to Stockholm begins in Bergen where we took the train to Oslo S and then from Oslo S to Stockholm C. (green line)
Our journey was a distance of more than 1,000km.
Stockholm Sights
City Hall
Stockholm City Hall (Swedish: Stadshuset) is the building of the Municipal Council for the City of Stockholm. It is the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet. (The Nobel Prize is given out in Oslo)
Royal Palace
The Stockholm Palace (Swedish: Kungliga slottet) is the official residence and royal palace of the Swedish monarch. The private residence of the royal family is Drottningholm Palace. The Palace is located on Stadsholmen (City Island) in Gamla Stan (Old Town) in Stockholm.
The offices of King Carl XVI Gustaf and other members of the Swedish Royal Family as well as the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst he performs his royal duties as the head of state.
Palace Guards...
Changing of Guards
Military Band!
There was this soldier playing the saxophone! He was really good and they didn't just play military music. They played hip hop and jazz as well. =)
Gamla Stan (Old Town)
The Old Town is here the Royal Palace. It has a certain rusty charm to it. Quiet and peaceful place. There are lots of people drinking coffee and having pastries in the cafes lining the streets.
Vasa Museum
The Vasa Museum (Swedish: Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum in Stockholm. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th century warship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. The Vasa sank because the base of the ship was not wide and deep enough to hold enough ballast (rocks that weighs the ship down). As a result, the ship tipped over to her side and sank. She was eventually salvaged and preserved and moved to her current home, the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. (for more info please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship))
I loved the Vasa Museum! It was fascinating and enriching. I learnt lots about ship building, engineering, ancient Sweden people and Swedish history. The museum is like one big classroom with knowledge waiting to be discovered. The process of preserving the ship intrigued me the most. =) The museum was 7 storeys high including a basement. You can just imagine how huge this prehistoric ship is. It was unfortunate that they don't let anyone on board the actual ship. I would have liked to explore the ship's interior.
The Vasa Museum from across the harbor.
The Vasa Museum...
And... Finally... The VASA!!!
That's pretty much the end of my Swedish adventure... And a long train ride back to Bergen...
