June 30, 2007

We flew to Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday, June 26 on our way to meet WATERMELON in Rauma, Finland. The difference in air fare between leaving June 26 or June 27 was about $500 per ticket, and that's about 4 days worth of hotel rooms - the way we travel, at least. So I decided to leave a bit earlier to do the sightseeing we might feel too rushed to do once our boats arrive. As it turned out, the boats were further delayed, as I learned when we landed in Stockholm.

We had more luggage than we would normally take on such a short trip, but most of the stuff was for the boat: two prop zincs, three cruising guides, six new lights for the cabin along with wiring gear, mounting plates, and other assorted bits and pieces. We also had a lot of downloaded cruising information, primarily government publications, sailing guides, courtesy flags, and just a lot of stuff that we should have been able to put on the boat before it was shipped, but hadn't been able to. Not many clothes for all that gear, and I was so rushed the last hour before we left the house that I forgot to change my shoes into something suited for walking miles and miles.

We flew on Iceland Air. This entailed a stop in Reykjavic before heading on to Sweden. Looking out of the windows of the air terminal as we waited for the instructions to board the connecting flight, Peter commented, "these people are all dressed for winter! You didn't tell me it was going to be cold, Jeanne." "It's okay, Peter," I assured him, "it will be warmer when we get to Stockholm." Poor man believed me! It was warmer, but I'm glad Peter had that early resetting of his expectations, or he would have thought that Stockholm was too cold. It's all relative.

We enjoyed Stockholm. Our reservations through the web site Destination Stockholm were good. The hotel is part of the Scandic chain, and is in Sollantuna. We chose it because it was right next to the commuter train station into Stockholm, and the price was good, more than $100 a night less than staying in a downtown Stockholm hotel. The surprise was the extras that our reservations through Destination Stockholm included. We received a Pass card that allowed for free fares on commuter trains, buses and trams. The Pass also gave us free admission to a great number of museums. Peter didn't think that was such a great benefit, but I did.

Stockholm is a handsome city, with an Old Town and a more modern business district. It's really a series of islands, with lots of water and boats and interesting lakes and castles upon those lakes. The skyline is modest, with a few old church spires and castle turrets punctuating the more stolid workaday buildings. A lot of old (multi-hundred-year old) buildings with those unnecessary decorative details that modern buildings don't seem to have time for. A very pleasing cityscape, and, as Peter remarked, the city is full of very handsome people.

The only damper on our enthusiasm was that it rained for most of our time in Stockholm.