Stockholm, my favorite city from the cruise

Ben and I had an amazing opportunity to go on a Baltic cruise back in July while the intrepid (and very sweet) Pat and Nancy held down the fort with the three little ones.

The cruise was like a second honeymoon… it was so wonderful to reconnect and remember why we fell in love in the first place!  I highly recommend getting away with your spouse, even if it's just a little escapade… it does wonders!  And the nice thing about the cruise is no wi-fi… we were totally disconnected from our devices. We had no choice but pay attention to each other!

We visited SIX different ports including Copenhagen Denmark, Warnemunde Germany, Tallin Estonia, St. Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland, and Stockholm Sweden.

 All the ports were great, but Stockholm stole my heart.

We cruised through an archipelago with literally thousands of islands that stretch for 80 miles from Stockholm to the Baltic Sea. We got up early to catch a close-up view as our ship glided through the narrow channels.  

We docked early on a Sunday morning, and since we only had eight hours in port, Ben and I booked it off the boat in order to maximize our time.

It was a gorgeous morning, about 7 a.m., and the lighting was just beautiful as it hit the shoreline across the harbor.  We skipped the shuttles and hop-on buses, and just speed-walked the mile or two into town.  And along this route we got gorgeous views of the harbor front, which of course the pictures just can't do justice.

Since we were there so early on a Sunday morning there was like no one around.  It was awesome.  We did the Rick Steves' walking tour of the Old Town area.  Man, why haven't I discovered Rick Steves travel books before now!  Oh my goodness, his book was so helpful!

King Gustav III… the 18th century Swedish king who turned Stockholm into a beautiful European capital

Stockholm is made up of 14 different islands!  There's water everywhere… it's so beautiful. 

In front of a baroque cathedral and the palace on the right… early Sunday morning there was hardly a soul around.  

This is a fist sized statue called the Iron Boy.  Legend has it that it honors the orphans who had to transfer cargo from sea ships to lake ships before the locks were built.  Grannies knit hats for him in the winter to keep him warm… so cute… and I can totally see them doing that.  If your kids aren't wearing a hat here in Europe in the wintertime… watch out!  You'll likely get publicly chastised by a seemingly harmless grandmother type.

This is Stockholm's oldest medieval square and it houses the Nobel Museum… it was also the sight of the notorious Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 where the Danes beheaded many of Stockholm's intelligentsia and aristocracy.

The streets were so clean and devoid of tourists

An old-fashioned telephone booth:

Standing in front of the oldest church in Stockholm (13th C.) the statues of Caution and Hope are guarding the entrance.  

The cathedral was so beautiful and peaceful… nice to spend a bit of the Sabbath in a church. 

Royal tombs

Souvenir browsing

This is the real deal:  Swedish meatballs were TO DIE for!!

And our last stop was the Vasa Museum, which featured a battleship from the 1600s that sunk in the harbor on its maiden voyage because it was too skinny and laden with too much weight.  What was cool was that they just excavated it in the 1950s and it's 90%  original… somehow it was preserved.  

We went for a bike ride on the island of Djurgarden, which although in the heart of the city,  is dedicated to nature and recreation.  Lots of green open space and bikers.  These pics are a little contrived, but still cool. 

Taking a water taxi back to our ship… check out the amusement park right on the water!