The shipping routes from the Baltic to Stockholm pass through the approximately 30,000 islands and islets of the Stockholm Archipelago. Cruising between these small islands is an amazing experience. Unfortunately, our visit to the Stockholm area falls on the rainiest day of our cruise, but Gary and Bob are undeterred. They spend much of the early morning viewing the islands of the Archipelago from the ship's helipad, which has been opened especially for this purpose.
Our tour bus drives from the port to Fjaellgatan for a wonderful panoramic view of Stockholm and its inner harbor. We drive through the northern outskirts of the city into the Swedish countryside to the idyllic little town of Sigtuna, with its wooden houses and narrow alleys. Sigtuna's Town Hall is the smallest in Scandinavia, dating from 1744 and constructed in wood. Founded by the first Christian King of Sweden about 1,000 years ago, Sigtuna is set on lovely Lake Caelaren.
After touring Sigtuna, we drive to Stockholm's Gamla Stan, the enchanting, medieval Old Town where we park adjacent to the dominating Royal Palace. Free time allows us to walk through the rain along the narrow, twisting cobbled streets of Stockholm's oldest and coziest quarter. Bruce and Jan leave the group to shop. Bob, Christine, Gary and Rhonda duck into a cozy Ratskeller for a quick lunch before returning to the bus for the drive to the Vasa Museum.
In its day, the early 17th century, the Swedish battleship Vasa was the pride of mighty Sweden's navy. While preparing to set out on her maiden voyage in 1628, she capsized and sank in Stockholm's inner harbor. In 1961, 333 years after the tragic mishap, a Swedish team succeeded in salvaging the great ship, which was astonishly well preserved. Painstakingly restored to its original magnificence, the resurrected Vasa today is the dramatic centerpiece in the new Vasa Museum -- an authentic piece of living history.
