Goodbye Oslo...so long Norway

A final day in Oslo packing and repacking and a short stroll through the city Center to say goodbye to this beautiful city and country that we have called home for the last 3 weeks. Of course what would a final day be without re-fuelling - at Oslo's Grand Hotel

Goodbye ... And Happy Thanksgiving everyone..

Stockholm Day 2

With a full night's sleep and an awesome hotel breakfast we were off on our adventures in Stockholm, day 2. We left our luggage at the bus terminal so that we would be central and well-positioned to take the Flygbussarna to the airport for our later evening flight Off to the famous Vasa museum - leave it to the swedes in Stockholm to turn a titanic flop into one of Europe's great sightseeing attractions. The Vasa was ship built in the 1600's and sank 40 minutes into its maiden voyage when a breeze caught its sail and blew it over. Imagine, it was built with the most firepower with two decks of cannons with 500 carved wooden statues draping ships - painted in bright colours symbolic of the king's power. With this ship Sweden was preparing to establish its empire. Unfortunately the king's demands to build it more high than wide made it unstable and well it sank to the bottom of stockholm's harbour where it stayed for 333 years. It was rediscovered in 1956 and lifted and housed in a beautiful museum in 1990. It is the best preserved ship of its age anywhere in the world - 98% original. Amazing to see this.

In order to make sure that our Stockholm card was worth it, we did a quick 10 min tour of the Nordic Museum which looks like a Danish Renaissance Palace and reminded me a lot of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It offers a peek of 500 years of traditional Swedish lifestyles. Quick pics from our very speedy tour..

Next we were back in Gamla Sta for afternoon tea at Grillska Huset - a charitable organization run by Stockholms Stadmission. Having tea helped house the homeless at the same time, a good feeling.

So I guess you could say that we had 'Fika' today..

High atop the city involving climbing about 200 stairs we were treated to some lovely views.

Today we had a couple of re-fuelling stops - a bit of extravagance at stockholm's Grand Hotel..

Sweaters are different styles here than in Norway...

Man at work?

And a few interesting streetscapes..

And closing remarks from our time in Stockholm on behalf of Norweigian Air...

Sleepy in stockholm

We arrived in our apartment in Stockholm around 1 am after a 3 hour delay in Oslo and then about a 1.5 hour ride from the airport and then city bus to our apartment so needless to it was a sleepy start for me to visit Stockholm after a great breakfast buffet. The cold weather helped wake me up before too long! Stockholm is the bustling capital of Sweden. It is a mix of modern buildings, eco parks dedicated to green living, a busy metropolis which blends Old world charm and modern technology. We started our day with a Royal canal tour with commentary which provided us with a good floating tour of the city and included with our Stockholm card (which also provides us with access to all museums over the next 2 days.

Notice the picture of the marina - approx 7% of swedes have a boat - that means 700,000 We then continued walking past the royal palace to Gamla Sta, Stockholm's Old Town which is filled with history, charm, antique shops, street lanterns, and surprises. Until the 1600's all of Stockholm fit on Gamla Sta which is surprising when you look at the expansive city that Stockholm is now. I stumbled across the store Hilda Hilda which I had read about and produces some lovely textiles, woven placemats and things for the home in one of the last factories in Sweden. I couldn't resist. Pics from the lovely narrow streets of Gamla Sta..

Our fuel stop today..

We didn't take the usual coffee break in Sweden referred to as Fika, it's the Swedish word for drinking coffee, tea or juice alongside a baked good, hopefully tomorrow. There are plenty of reminders, this was on the boat tour..

A walk through the royal palace, Stockholm's first castle and still used for state events..

We also stumbled upon a wedding in old town..

People kayaking in the canals beside folks bicycling.. Have to mention that it's about 5 degrees outside..it's true about Scandinavians being a hearty folk!

Some interesting signs..

Some more streetscapes..

Another full day in Stockholm awaiting for us tomorrow, a few more museums and adventures being returning for one last full day in Oslo before returning to Canada on Tuesday.