Stockholm Day 2-Vasa and Skansen

After our long travel day we all slept pretty well. Ali woke up just after midnight with leg pain, she gets that from time to time but she went back to bed quickly. I woke up at about 5:00 am. I spent some time checking emails and looking on Facebook and finally got up at 6:00. We woke the kids up around 6:30. We were pretty amused to find them sleeping in totally different spots than they fell asleep. Ali's head was by Connor's feet and they'd switched the sides of the bed they were on!

My crazy sleeping kids

We headed down to breakfast at about 7 am and my parents were already down there. There was hardly anyone at breakfast. The breakfast buffet had plenty to choose from and everyone found something they liked. It is so nice to have breakfast and dinner included at the hotel, it just makes things so much easier. When we were finished with breakfast I checked with the person at the desk to make sure my plan of taking the bus to where we were going today was the best choice, she assured me it was the best way.

Ali and I had matching braids today

We came back up to the room to get what we needed for the day and then set off to find the bus stop. Since we are only here for 3 days we decided not to get a prepaid card for our unlocked cell phone so we only have data service in wifi areas. It is making us a bit crazy though because we underestimated how much we rely on things like GoogleMaps when we don't know where we are going. Luckily we found the bus stop without a problem and we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the next bus (we'd just missed one). I was impressed that at the bus stop they had a computerized sign that updated how long until the next bus would be there. It was very nice to not just have to stand there and wonder.

The bottom screen shows how long until the bus arrive, it wouldn't show up in the picture but it was nice!

The bus came and we had no problem getting on with our Stockholm Cards. It was a short bus ride to our destination. Once we arrived we had a very short walk to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa Museum is a very popular tourist attraction in Stockholm. The museum opened at 8:30 and we arrived at 8:35. There was no line when we got there and the museum remained pretty empty until about 9:00 am when the tour groups started rolling in from the cruise ships, by the time we left at 10:30 it was packed with people and tour groups. Arriving early was a very good choice!

The Vasa Museum is amazing! The Vasa is a Swedish warship that sank just outside Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. The ship was top heavy and apparently a small gust of wind came up and the ship went over. The ship remained underwater until it was raised in 1961. The ship is in amazing condition for spending 333 years in water. The cold temperatures and brackish water in the harbor were apparently the perfect conditions for preserving it.

At the Vasa Museum you can see the ship today and they have many interesting exhibits about life on board the ship in that time period, the building of the ship, the sinking of the ship, and the recovery and conservation. We learned some fun facts, like with the sailors rations they were given 3 liters of beer a day because beer stayed good longer than water. We also learned the the barber on the ship also served as the doctor on the ship. If you visit the museum I encourage you to watch the 19 minute movie they show, it was interesting and we learned a lot that we wouldn't have otherwise.

Aren't the carvings amazing!

 

These are the colors that the carvings originally were

When we left to Vasa to head to Skansen we saw that that the line was very long to get into the museum, we were so happy that we'd arrived when the museum opened! It was a short walk to Skansen. On the way we stopped at a street vendor to buy a bottle of water, I told Dan to be sure not to get one with bubbles (mineral water) and he thought it didn't have bubbles but it did. Nobody in our family drinks mineral water so it went in the trash, next time he'll ask if it is "still" water. It was a pretty funny mistake and one I'm sure a lot of Americans make, we just aren't used to having more than one choice for water. Skansen is an open air folk museum. Entrance was included with our Stockholm Card, when we went through the entry gate they asked us if we'd like to pay extra to take the tram to the top of the hill. My parents opted to take the tram, my family opted not to. Honestly it was a short but kind of steep walk to the top of the hill. We actually arrived at the top the same time my parents did. I was happy to save a few dollars and just walk.

Skansen has homes and farm buildings that have been moved to the museum from around Sweden. It is a living history museum so there are also demonstrations you can see. We visited many of the homes, in the homes that were open there was a person inside who was happy to tell you about the home if you asked. We visited the post office and the kids were able to deliver mail to one of the farms. They were given a mailbag and a horn to blow to announce their arrival at the farm. It was a fun activity and both kids enjoyed it. When they delivered the mail, the lady at the farm building gave them a letter to take back to the post office. The kids were given a free postcard when they returned the mailbag and the horn to the post office.

Ready to deliver the mai

Connor's band skills came in handy with the mail horn

The kids loved this climbing structure!

We had an early lunch at the Skansen Terrace, we were early enough (11:45) that it really wasn't crowded. The food was very good. Everyone but me had Swedish meatballs and I had a cheese and veggie sandwich. The restaurant was self service so you went through a line and ordered and then carried your tray to the table. There were great views of the city from the restaurant.

Connor skipped the lingonberries with his meatballs

After lunch we explored some other parts of the museum. At one of the farm houses they had activities for the kids, Connor learned how to make a boat from a long leaf. Both kids tried carrying the water buckets with a yoke, I don't think heavy labor is in either of their futures. They also have animal exhibits at Skansen. We walked through some of them, the kids especially enjoyed seeing the Reindeer. I had pretty high expectations for Skansen, I think the Ballenberg Open Air museum in Switzerland is better but we still enjoyed Skansen.

This peacock seemed to want to walk with Dan

"This is heavy!"

"I'm smiling, can I put it down yet?"

Connor learning to make a boat from a leaf

Reindeer

Allotment Garden from the 1930's

On our way out we stopped at the Skansen Aquarium. It is a separate admission fee but was included on our Stockholm Card so we figured why not. They had a strange variety of animals including different kinds of monkeys, squirrels, fish, rodents, snakes, and lizards. To be honest I wasn't at all impressed. I was rather concerned about the living conditions of some of the animals, especially the monkeys. The tamarins were in an enclosure that wewere allowed to walk through, I wasn't concerned with our safety but it just didn't really seem fair to the tamarins to have a steady stream of people walking through their home all day. The Aquarium (with more furry animals than fish) wasn't my thing but I am sure some people would like it.

When we were done with the Aquarium we make a quick stop at the Skansen gift shop and headed to the bus stop. After a short bus ride and walk we were back at the hotel. We all rested before heading down to dinner at 6:30. The dinner buffet was busy again but we had no problem finding a place to sit. Tonight they had salmon as a main dish, my family doesn't eat fish but we found plenty of other things to eat on the cold buffet. It really is easy just to have dinner at the hotel and to not have to worry about heading out to a restaurant when you are tired from a long day!

I'd say our day today was a definite success! I'd recommend both the Vasa Museum and Skansen to visitors from Stockholm.

Tomorrow: Gamla Stan, the Royal Palace, and City Hall

 

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Stockholm Day 1

Our flight to Stockholm was scheduled to leave at 4:25 pm, we left home at around 11:15 to make sure we made it to O'Hare in plenty of time. My parents were on the same flight so they drove with us. Our drive was easy despite the always present road construction in Illinois. We parked at Blue Sky parking and they quickly shuttled us over to the terminal. There wasn't a line at the SAS counter so we got checked in quickly. We lucked out with short security lines too! We ended up arriving at our gate two hours before our flight. Luckily the kids had plenty in their backpacks to keep them busy.

We boarded on time and quickly found our seats. We took off on time and everything seemed to be going well until about 20 minutes into the flight the pilot made an announcement that we'd be turning around and heading back to Chicago. Apparently there was an issue with a latch on a cargo hold. We ended up back at the gate at O'Hare and we sat on the plane for a couple of hours while the repair people checked the plane. In the end it was just a faulty indicator light and the latches on the cargo hold were just fine. We were back on our way to Stockholm 3 hours after our original departure time. The delay was frustrating but I felt like SAS handled it pretty well. They kept us updated about every 30 minutes about what was going on. The flight attendants also brought around activity books and games for the kids. Ali enjoyed both and it helped pass the time.

Ali playing with the activity book

We played the SAS memory game to pass the time

Once we were finally back in the air they fed us dinner pretty quickly. I'd ordered a vegetarian meal and it was kind of icky ( to be fair, I'm very picky). Dan liked the chicken dish that was served as the normal meal. After we ate, we tried to sleep. Ali probably slept the most, I slept the least. About an hour before we landed in Stockholm we were served a light breakfast, it was a sandwich. Apparently sandwiches for breakfast are common in Scandinavia, I don't think my family will be partaking in that tradition any time soon.

When we arrived at the airport in Stockholm, everything went smoothly. It took a while for our bags to come off the plane but we were happy to be up and stretching our legs. After we got our bags we followed the signs to the Arlanda Express, the Arlanda Express is a fast train from the airport into the Central Station in the city. We had pre-purchased our tickets online and the process was very easy, they just had to scan the card I purchased the tickets with to verify us onboard the train. We arrived at the Central Station in Stockholm and decided to take taxis to the hotel, since there were 6 of us we needed two taxis. This is where I made my first mistake of the day. I had read that in Stockholm the taxis are not regulated and that there can be price gauging. I got sucked in by the aggressive driver in the taxi line. I had a bad feeling as soon as we got in but at that point it was too late to do much about it. When we got to the hotel he charged us 450 Krona which is the equivalent of $70!!! My parents driver charged them 200 Krona for the same trip :-( Our guy was bad news! He said his credit card machine had been ripped out of his car so he told us half way through the trip that he took cash only. What a yucky experience and I'm still mad at myself because I knew better. Stay away from pushy taxi drivers, go with the ones waiting politely in the taxi line!

When we arrived at the hotel they told us our room wouldn't be ready until 3:00, it was noon. We expected that so we weren't disappointed, we asked if they had a place we could change our clothes and we were directed to very nice bathrooms downstairs in the hotel. The hotel also had a place for us to store our luggage.

The front desk staff was great and they gave us directions to the subway station. Before leaving home I purchased 3 day Stockholm Cards, these cards cover public transportation and museum entry for most museums in Stockholm. We arrive at the station and after a few minutes we figured out what to do. We headed on the red line to Gamla Stan. Gamla Stan is the old part of Stockholm, dating back to midevil times. It has narrow cobble lined streets and alleys. We were looking for a place to have lunch. We wandered several of the streets/alleys looking for a place to eat. There were a lot of choices but nothing seemed perfect. At this point everyone was tired and kind of grumpy. After about 20 minutes we settled on a place in the cellar of an old building. The food was OK, nothing to write home about but we were tired and hungry and they had room for all 6 of us to sit down.

After lunch we debated what to do. It was 3 o'clock and we could head back to the hotel as our room was ready. I suggested that we take a boat tour that was inclulded with our Stockholm Card, as it was closeby an would allow us to see some of the sights in the city. It took a little convincing with the kids but we decided to do it. I wasn't sure exactly where the boat dock was but luckily my navigational instincts were pretty good and I got us there after a 10 min walk. We checked in and the next boat was in 25 min. There was an ice cream shop right there so my dad got ice cream for the kids and we sat and waited. Everyone was still tired but seemed happier after being fed.

The boat pulled in and we got on, we sat inside as the space in the back outside was filled. It wasn't terrible sitting inside but they are having a bit of a heatwave in Stockholm right now so it was warm. The tour was OK, it was about 50 min long and they pointed out some interesting sites in Stockholm. It was nice to see the city from the water. Stockholm is spread out over 14 islands. It really is a beatiful city. I'd suggest the Historic Canal tour if you have the Stockholm Card and can go for free, I'm not sure it would be worth paying for though. It was obvious how tired my family was as both Dan and Ali fell asleep on the ride.

Our tour boat

House boats

View of the city from the boat

Dan and Ali were tired!

After getting off the boat we headed to the Central Station to catch a subway back to our hotel. It was a quick ride. When we got back to the hotel our room was ready. I reminded the kids that hotel rooms are really small in Europe. We rented a suite (the only option for 4 people) and I was very impressed when we got to the room. The room is lovely. We have a bedroom with a queen sized bed and there is a seperate room with a pull out couch for the kids. Everyone collapsed when we got to the room, at that point we'd been up for about 28 hours minus the bit of sleep that we had on the plane.

Our room, we look out on the street but it isn't too noisy

The kids room (living room)

The bathroom, not too tiny especially for Europe

 

At around 6:15 we decided to head downstairs as the hotel offers a free light dinner buffet. We weren't too hungry but we knew we'd be starving in the morning if we didn't eat a bit more. We knocked on my parents door and they had fallen asleep. They met us downstairs a bit later. The dinner buffet was very nice, they had both cold and hot food options. I know it is advertised as a light buffet but unless you are a huge eater I think most people can easily make a meal out of it. Having free breakfast and dinner included at the hotel really adds value and it was one of the reasons I chose this hotel. I have to say that I am super happy with my choice and would definitely stay at the Clarion Hotel Tapto again!

After we ate we headed out for a walk to find an ATM. After a bit of a search a nice local man directed us to a nearby bank. The neighborhood we are staying in is a residential neighborhood away from the hub bub of the touristy part of town, twice today we had locals offer their help near the hotel when we looked confused. We found the ATM and took out some local money. Then we headed back to the room to turn in for the night. Everyone was in bed by 9:00. We are pretty far north so it was still very light out at that time and the kids had a hard time settling down but they eventually did. Tomorrow we are heading to the Vasa museum and to Skansen.

 

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