Exploring Sweden's Past

This year the Euro is at the lowest its been in years so many people may wonder why we chose Sweden when they are not on the Euro, and it is  known as one of the most expensive countries in Europe.  When we were in Stockholm six years ago,  food was so expensive that our lunch one day was a hot dog from a vendor down at the water's edge.  This year is different.  The dollar is worth more and the Washington Post said if you want to visit Sweden, this is the year.   We follow a tight budget and so far we are doing fine.

"Forget about the Gothenburg Card," said the friendly receptionist at the hotel. "Here's a tip.  Buy one museum ticket (under$10) and it's good for every museum on your list for a year."   She was right and the museums have been great.  We spent a good part of the day at the Maritime Museum which also has a small aquarium.  The aquarium is very old world.  There are no sharks and no fish over two feet long. They said the purpose of the aquarium has now changed from showing off sea life to protecting marine environments and life forms. 

Moving onto the next floor we came to a display called Ships, Ships , Ships.  "Ships connect the world.  They carry stories of success, misfortune, technological development, trade, dreams, and adventure." This theme was carried out throughout all of the displays. We saw models of every sort of Swedish ship and there was a fascinating display about Swedish emigration  to America with all of the push-pull factors. 

We had fun with an interesting simulator. We had to guide a ship under a bridge and through a channel. I chose the advanced level, lost control, and crashed. Dave picked the easy level, but a big ship and it ran aground.  Climbing into an old fishing boat, I pushed a button thinking there would be an audio description. Instead the whole thing started tossing around to simulate rough seas. I wouldn't recommend it.  It kept it up for over a minute making it impossible for  to get out. Stepping out of the kid's room, the smell of cinnamon wafted up the stairs. We couldn't resist and shared a piece of hot apple tart with vanilla sauce. 

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Haga. It's a unique pedestrian zone with tiny cafes and shops that makes you feel you are in a small village rather than in a city.  Most of the shops were closed, but they had pretty store fronts with pots of wild flowers everywhere.

Our hotel is over a railroad station. Looking down from the lounge, it's like we are in a fish bowl and the people in the train station are free. It's so interesting. We could sit here for hours people watching. Families walk by all looking at phones, kids stroll by with brief case size boxes of candy and people scurry by munching on sandwiches from 7-Eleven which isbig here. Sneakers are big and white ones which were once only seen on the elderly are now hip for young people. Black and white stripes are big whether it's t-shirt dresses or shirts. I've also  noticed that suitcases roll easiest with four wheels rather than two. I will look for this for my next trip.

Dinner tonight was back to Vapiano for pizza and salad. After dinner we toured the different hotels. it's now 10:30 pm here and it's still daylight!'