Beautiful Stockholm

Vacation homes on the water as we were leaving Stockholm



The streets of Old Town, Stockholm



In front of one of the government buildings in Stockholm



At the Absolut Ice Bar in Stockholm



(This post is actually from the 4th of July, but we had no internet access while we were at sea yesterday.)

Today we are celebrating the Fourth of July on the Baltic Sea, somewhere between Stockholm, Sweden, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The weather is beautiful…bright, sunny, and mid-80’s. We will be in St. Petersburg by the time we wake up tomorrow (which is about 9 hours ahead of home.)

Our flights to Stockholm were long, but pretty uneventful. We slept as much as possible. Frankfort airport was old and very confusing, but the Stockholm airport was very modern. Our luggage was about the last to come off the plane…we were really sweating it! HA

Our cabin on the ship is very nice, with fresh fruit and chocolates in the room each day! We don’t get a little “towel animal” but I can’t complain.

Yesterday afternoon we took a tour of Old Town, Stockholm, and went to the Ice Bar. The Ice Bar was small, and VERY cold, but we were given fur lined coats and gloves so that helped a lot. Wearing sandals probably wasn’t a good idea; took quite a while for my toes to thaw out! The walls, bar, seats, and glasses were all made of ice. They gave us samples of orange juice and vodka…not bad! We didn’t stay long; I’m not sure how anyone could!

Stockholm is located on several small islands; Old Town Stockholm is on one of these islands. The streets are narrow and made of cobblestone. We saw the old Royal Palace which is used now for offices and formal functions. We saw the church where Princess Victoria was married June 19th; the people love her because she defied tradition and married a commoner (her trainer!) They think it is the ultimate in love stories....

I will try to include some pictures if I can; internet is spotty while we are at sea. They are fixing a special "American" surprise dinner for us today...I am sure it includes hamburgers and french fries! HA The food has been wonderful, and we have eaten entirely too much of it. The daylight is long...the sun sets around 11 p.m. and is up again before 5 a.m. It actually doesn't get dark, just kind of dusky. When we go to bed, the sun is about where it is at 4 in the afternoon at home...really strange! I guess that is why they call these the "white nights" of the Baltic.

Love to all at home!