Note: Unfortunately, this blog site doesn’t enable me to upload any photos from my camera, so you won’t see any pictures for the duration. My apologies.
Friday was our day to explore the Old City of Stockholm more. At 10:00, we ate a hearty breakfast from the Hilton’s buffet. Several of us enjoyed some pickled herring and European-style (liquid) yogurt, plus cucumbers and tomatoes, which are prevalent in all Swedish breakfast buffets. Plus there were lots of varieties of breads and fruit, waffles and omelets to choose from. It was an impressive buffet.
Then we walked over the bridge, in the sunshine and warmth of late morning, to Gamla Stan. We retraced some of our path from last evening, but added in sights from Rick Steves’ walking tour as described in his guide book. With our Stockholm Pass cards, we got easy admission into Stockholm’s Lutheran cathedral, which is very old and has an amazing ebony and silver alter, as well as other sculptures and burial crypts. We also stopped outside the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guard. Then we went inside to visit the Royal Apartments, the Royal Chapel, and the Royal Treasury where the crown jewels are kept.
We decided next that we needed to take part in the Swedish tradition of “fika” or coffee break. We stopped at a coffee shop in one of the Gamla Stan squares that had several tables under umbrellas in the square. We sampled their cinnamon plus cardamom buns called “kanalbullar” with a beverage of our choice, while people watching on the square.
We returned to the Hilton about 3 p.m. so Emma could finish her final class assignment and the rest of us could rest. While the kids had been able to sleep well through the previous night, Gary and I had each experienced a couple hours of wakefulness in the wee morning hours.
One of the interesting things about Stockholm at this time of year is that the sun rises about 3:30 a.m. and sets at 10 p.m. Thankfully, the rooms have thick curtains to block out the very early sunshine.
Lori's Travels 