Meet the Great Vasa in Stockholm
A day in Stockholm
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It was a short jump from Uppsala to Stockholm before heading back to Berlin. Since I am not comfortable strolling around without knowing a glimpse of city’s history, I took a city tour provided by Free Tour Stockholm.
The city tour guides started at the central station of Stockholm and it took around 1,5-2 hours. Though it was a bad weather but it was able to enjoy my time strolling some corners of the city while listened to histories told by the tour guide.
It was a really good and easy way to get to know Stockholm especially when I had no much time there. You will love the city more when you have more ideas about what you see and what you taste, a tour guide by the locals is always the best option for me.
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Gamla Stan (Old town)
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I stayed overnight in Old town hostel. The hostel is located not far from the central station about five minutes walking. The building was dated back to 1600s but has been renovated pretty well and equipped with modern furniture. They have a kitchen where you can prepare tea or coffee and even make quick pasta for late dinner.
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That night I walked around Gamla Stan, street by street, alley by alley. It was beyond my expectation, Gamla Stan was so beautiful with old Swedish houses, narrow streets illuminated by vintage street lamps and interesting small shops that were already closed but still I could gaze around through the windows. On the other side, I would not lie that somehow it gave me some goosebumps since many ghost stories have been told in some streets.
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I stopped by in Stortorget, a central square in Gamla Stan where you could easily spot the Nobel Museum. I found a nice restaurant to taste some Swedish cuisines. During my stayed in Sweden, I have tasted any kind of possible dishes of salmon. I could not complain since everything they served was so tasty. I have to admit Swedish cuisine is pretty interesting and it is not only about meatball or köttbullar. Dare to try reindeer steak or sausage, I bought some sausages as gift to my acquaintance in Germany. Please do not surprise that the price in Sweden as another Nordic countries is more costly than central Europe.
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Vasamuseet (Vasa Museum)
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Vasa Museum is highly recommended therefore I decided to try my luck and paid a visit to see the one of the most well- preserved wrecks of warship in human history.
Vasa is a Swedish warship built between 1626 until 1628 on the order of King of Sweden Gustavus Aldophus to initiate a war with Poland-Lithuania. The great ship was richly decorated with beautiful colors and ornaments as a symbol of the king himself and his ambitions. Unfortunately Vasa sank on the day of her maiden voyage only 1,300 m from the harbor.
After 333 years on the sea bed the mighty warship was salvaged and the voyage could continue. Today Vasa is the world's only preserved 17th century ship and the most visited museum in Scandinavia.
A tips for you, try to ask for a guided tour inside the museum, I found the informations were really great. Again, you will enjoy more what you see when you have some ideas behind it. You do not need to give a tip to the tour guide since it is part of their job.
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Have a nice day & see you! or as the Swedish says,
"ha en bra dag! vi ses!"
