Stockholm with Marco combined with Flen and Gerlinde's birthday

Not even two months ago I had already been to Stockholm, with Max and Anna, to start my summer holidays [see post here]. However, Marco had never been to the Swedish capital before. The 40th birthday of my colleague and friend Gerlinde living in Stockholm offered the best occasion to change this and show Marco around this beautiful city.

Gerlinde was having a big party on Saturday 21st of September, but we started our trip already some days before. Not only to benefit from the town, but also to visit my aunt Herad and my uncle Jan that actually live in Sweden. Not too long ago they had bought a nice little(?) Scandinavian-style wooden house (one of those with red painted walls and white window frames) in the village of Mellösa which lies right on the railway line between Oslo and Stockholm. Gerlinde's invitation was a perfect occasion to combine city sightseeing with a visit of my relatives.

Thursday, 19/09:
On Thursday, 19th of September, after work I went straight to Oslo central station where I met Marco to start our five hours train ride to Flen.

Somewhat before 9 p.m. we arrived and were picked up by my aunt.

A rich cheese & ham platter, grapes, crispy baguette and red wine and a lot of chatting for dinner - what a lovely welcoming :-)

Friday, 20/09:

"God morgon!" - a good morning in Swedish with a look over the village from the balcony.

 "Site inspection" of their cosy home in the morning.

My aunt's loom. She is an artist working a lot with textiles, preferably creating all kinds of carpets.

 The guest room where we slept.

A big garden and parts of a forest surround the cosy house.

   

 

 

 Apples - just one of the various fruits my uncle started cultivating in his garden.

 

 

Already time to say good bye - and thank you for the hospitality, Herad and Jan :-)

The train from Flen train station brought us straight to Stockholm city before noon.

 

Check-in at our hotel - Best Western Hotel Kung Carl. The only hotel that was available that weekend at our special agent rate. Quite alright, but not the best of the hotels I would have preferred in town.

After a quick check-in we already started our city sightseeing tour. We walked all the way from the hotel to the little island housing the parliament building...

...to Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm...

 

...with Den Kungliga Slotten (the Royal Palace) on Gamla Stan...

 

...further on to the Stadshuset, Stockholm's City Hall where ever December the Nobel Prize ceremony takes place...

 

... to reach at last the Katarinahissen outlook offering a fantastic view northwards over Stockholm.

The day ended with some dinner in the old part of town.


Saturday, 21/09:
We started the day with a 3-hours boat tour through the Stockholm archipelago. Quite touristic, but simply typical and beautiful. A must do, especially with such a nice weather as we had it.

Start at Strandvägen quai, with view at Östermalm quarter.

Passing the famous Wasa Museum.

The Nordiska Museet (the Nordic Museum).

 

 

The island of Vaxholm - the place where I had been camping with my brother in August.

The Gröna Lund amusement park on the island of Djugården. 

 

Dramaten - the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

In the early afternoon we finished our sightseeing programme for that day. We went back to the hotel to get changed for Gerlinde's birthday party and headed towards Lidingö where she lives with her family.
Even though we didn't quite know anybody at that party it was still very nice. Talkative people, good food, their lovely kids, and some music in the background. Nevertheless we had to leave relatively early to catch more or less the last public transport bringing us back to the city centre.
Hope you had a great party, Gerlinde, and enjoyed the evening!!! We did!


Sunday, 20/09:
Last day in Stockholm. In the evening we flew back to Oslo, so we still had to squeeze some attractions into our tourist programme. We get ourselves to the island of Djugården...

...to visit first of all the well-known Wasa Museum, hosting the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628.

I'm always fascinated by this museum, every time I visit it.

 

  

The same island Djugården is also home to Skansen, the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden, founded in 1891 to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. But before we spend also this museum a visit we make sure not to starve within the next hours.

 

Skansen Aquarium.

 

 

The reptile enclosure.

 Urgghhh, not my favourite. This picture has definitely taken Marco. Can't look at it too long!

 

 

Incredible how balanced this huge bear, a rather clumsy and stiff looking animal, moves on those little branches all his way up.

Some reindeer.

 Traditional Swedish folk dance.

And last but not least I finally made it to the Göna Lund tivoli and have a ride. Regretted it already in August not having done a ride.
Actually considered getting myself on that "free-fall" tower. I was quite temped. Unfortunately the queue was too long (considering we still had to get to the airport later on) and the ticket to expensive for my taste.

So we ended up on the chairoplane.

That it was. Good bye Stockholm. We had to take the train to the airport and then the plane back to Oslo.

Happy to have been in Stockholm again, to have shown it to Marco as well (hope you enjoyed it, amore) and to have celebrated with Gerlinde her 40s and to have visited my uncle and aunt at their lovely house :-)