Sights of Stockholm

Since we only had one day to spend here, we had to get a move on! Jeremy and I went straight to Skansen today, the open air museum. Eleanor had warned me that it would be expensive, but we both got in for about $35 total, as compared to, say Colonial Williamsburg at $40 per person. Of course, food was an issue (although they do allow you to bring in, but we weren't really in a position to do that), but no worries...plenty of restaurants!

This is an overall map/representation showing its size

First stop: Glassblower's hut!

Next stop: machine shop from 1920s ish

View from Skansen

Skansen is the world's oldest open air museum, having been founded in 1871, and consists of a (contrived) "village" (with many crafts and professions being exhibited), zoo with Swedish animals (reindeer! Seals!), farmsteads, and more. We had a delicious "traditional" lunch (I had meatballs with mashed potatoes, while Jeremy had a roast with new potatoes...both delicious) with the most amazing dessert ever: stewed rhubarb puree with sliced fresh strawberries and seriously vanilla-y ice cream. Having spent 5 hours at the museum, we wanted to move on to see some more of Stockholm. Off on the ferry to the old town. A yarn shop, cafe, and palace later, we were back on the ship (did I mention we're staying on a ship?) to hang out a bit and enjoy the ambiance.

An old farmstead

A Viking rune, repainted based on paint traces

We liked the geese

This farm building dates to the 1300s, supposedly

Barrels were made out of hollowed tree sections

Geese with goslings!

More prosperous farmhouse...this belonged to the grandparents

The entrance door (at right of photo) is 3D painted and carved.
The walls are all painted

The walls are all handpainted. Again this is the grandparents'

Cool sidesaddle

Flax mill. Linen was used
until cotton was widely available as an import.

A Sami house. 

So adorable!!

Don't you hate it when you have itchy antlers?

Lynx

This was one big wild boar. Must have been nearly 4' tall

Baby boar...all sacked out

Bison!

Daddy was HUGE

Wolf...right in the middle

Domestic pigs! So adorable with their spots.

Flowers at the restaurant...lovely color combo!

On an island we passed on the ferry

View of the old town from the ferry

Our hotel!

We were scratching our heads on this...
Until we saw people pushing strollers up!

Old town

Hurray for St. George!

Coming back to our hotel

View of the palace from the hotel

A goose on every rock

A few cultural notes based on grocery story observations: the Swedish appear to eat more breakfast cereal than the Norwegians, have an extensive array of junk food (including lots of flavors of chips and so on, as compared to Italy where you can buy approximately 3 flavors), and have generally lower prices than Norway (this was a surprise to both of us). The Swedish are also more willing to admit to having traditional foods; it is quite easy to find Swedish food here, although other ethnic foods are available. The coffee here is nice, a bit stronger than basic American coffee and with a good flavor, but the cappuccino is undrinkable. That said, my sample size is obviously not large.

And tomorrow we go back to Italy! It has been lovely to have a few days of cooler weather and to see a region of Europe I have always longed to visit. While it is relatively expensive compared to Todi, given that there are no tips required on restaurant food, my experience is that it's not that bad compared to the US. The difference appears to be that there doesn't seem to be a "lunch" pricing...so you pay for lunch AND dinner at restaurant prices. Obviously, that can get pricey in a hurry.

Love,

Alexandra