Sweden - Day 5 - May 4th, 2024

 Did you know that Sweden has 267,000 plus islands?  I thought I heard our guide say 33,000 islands, but when I just googled it - Google says 267, 570.  How many lakes do you think Sweden has?  Well, I'll tell you - 95, 700.

Today was another beautiful day weather-wise.  We took the morning to go take in the cherry trees in a nearby park/square.  There were many vendors out selling their wares.  The trees were beautiful.


Stockholm, May 4 2024

  We walked across the street from our hotel and boarded a boat for the "Under the Bridges of Stockholm" boat tour.  It was set up so you could scan a QR code and listen along as the boat hit certain checkpoints.  I did not have headphones with me, so I put it on a low volume and held it up to my ear.

Under the Bridge boat (all inside)

Dave and I on the boat tour

We start on the Baltic Sea and then eventually enter a Lock where they raise the water and then when it gets high enough we are let out on Lake Malaren (the 3rd largest lake in Sweden of the 95, 700 lakes).

Entering the Lock

Private boaters were handed a credit card swiper via a long pole.
They had to pay to use the Lock.

While out on the lake we saw a fancy boat being readied for King Frederick and Queen Mary of Denmark who would be visiting the next day.  

We saw many outdoor gyms which have become very popular in Stockholm.  Stockholm has over 100 outside gyms.

We also learned about the "right of public access."  That was very interesting.  The guide made it sound like if you had an apple tree on your property, the people were allowed to pick an apple for themselves, or if someone wanted to put a blanket out and sun on your property, they were allowed to; BUT now as I google it, that does not seem to be the case.  I guess you can't always believe what you hear, right?

That evening Hunter Douglas bussed us to the Vasa Museum for a farewell dinner.  Once again we were treated to a lovely evening of networking, great food, and plenty of history.  The Vasa is a Swedish warship built between 1626 and 1628.  The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628.

The ship was built on the orders of the King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus as part of the military expansion he initiated in a war with Poland-Lithuania (1621–1629). She was constructed at the navy yard in Stockholm under a contract with private entrepreneurs in 1626–1627 and armed primarily with bronze cannons cast in Stockholm specifically for the ship. Richly decorated as a symbol of the king's ambitions for Sweden and himself, upon completion she was one of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world. However, Vasa was dangerously unstable, with too much weight in the upper structure of the hull. Despite this lack of stability, she was ordered to sea and foundered only a few minutes after encountering a wind stronger than a breeze.

She fell into obscurity after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century, until she was located again in the late 1950s in a busy shipping area in Stockholm harbor. The ship was salvaged with a largely intact hull in 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Vasa Shipyard") until 1988 and then moved permanently to the Vasa Museum in the Royal National City Park in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has been seen by over 35 million visitors since 1961.[2] Since her recovery, Vasa has become a widely recognized symbol of the Swedish Empire.



Vasa



It was far more beautiful and massive and detailed than any of these photos could show.  Our hosts (Hunter Douglas) told us there would be no dancing tonight because we didn't want to cause too much vibration that might upset the ship.  Even the music for the night was played at a much lower volume - which I actually enjoyed.

All in all it was a great day.  I'll finish the post out with photos of our meal.  White Asparagus is a thing.  I did not know.

Dessert




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