Sweden

Karen and Rodney arrived June 2nd on the overnight ferry from Tallinn and checked into the tour hotel. Then Karen's friend Anne-Marie, a Stockholm native, met us and we took the train to Sodermalm for a walking tour and lunch. After a full day of sightseeing we returned to the hotel to meet up with the tour group.

At 4pm the tour group met for the first time with Heidi as our "tour manager". After her briefing everyone gave a short introduction so we could briefly meet our fellow travelers. Then Heidi took us around the hotel's surrounding area, after which we took the train to near our dinner spot for another short briefing. Then dinner was at Restaurang Aktiebolaget Kvarnen, which used to be part of the coalition to make sure working folks all got a good lunch. We had herring as an appetizer, then Swedish Meatballs with potatoes, and chocolate truffle for dessert. Fully and enthused, we headed back to the hotel to end tour day #1.

June 3rd began with a tour around Stockholm and then a ferry ride to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa ship was a Swedish warship that sank after sailing roughly 1,400 yards into her maiden voyage. After lunch we had some relaxing time then met for dinner in the hotel’s dining room. A night stroll for photographs and dinner snacks lead to the groups’ favorite dessert, Magnum ice cream bars

On our way out of Stockholm the morning of June 4th we stopped at City Hall where City Council holds their meetings and a Nobel Prize banquet takes place each year. The portraits and statues in the building honor the craftsmen and custodians who built and maintain the building. Only Swedish materials were used for the construction, and the mosaics sparkle with over 18 million pieces of gold leaf and colored glass depicting scenes from the history of Sweden. After two full days in Stockholm our tour moved on to Kalmar.