Baltic Memories - 2017 - Stockholm, Sweden

STOCKHOLM

Stockholm was our last port of call for our cruise, so we were going to make the most of our time which was quite short, arriving at 7 am and departing at 2 pm.

Our first sighting in the early morning as we approach Stockholm

Early morning view from our balcony

From our balcony

View from our balcony

It took us quite some time to actually get into the port of Stockholm, so I was up early to see the beautiful views from our balcony.  The captain announced that there were 14 islands that we would pass on our entrance to the city and it was worth the effort to get up early, especially as I am not normally up very early.

After breakfast, we disembarked and as there was a huge line for the shuttle buses, we headed towards the Hop On Hop Off Boat which had nobody waiting and we were able to get straight on and had a lovely tour through the harbour and into the city, and we got off near the Gamla Stan, the Old City.

More stunning views of Stockholm from our balcony

So peaceful in the early morning

The Hop On Hop Off boat

Beautiful views

The  morning reflections were lovely

 We had no plans for our day in Stockholm and as we had to be back on the ship before 2 pm we decided to walk and just see where we might end up, hopefully able to find our way back!
After leaving the Ho Ho boat we came across this sculpture on the Stockholm Quay of the Sea God.

Sculpture of Sea God

The Gamla Stan is the Old town of Stockholm

The cobbled streets in the old town were a bit difficult to walk on, and  we were pleased we were wearing our walking shoes which really helped.

 The archways and narrow lanes that led us to some lovely shops and beautiful old buildings with some pretty entrances.  I really enjoyed seeing these beautiful buildings.

I wondered what was behind some of these gates.

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

Fisherman in the city

Another view as we entered the new town

Sculpture titled "Rag and Bone" of a fox huddled under a blanket

 The brass sculpture was purchased by the city of Stockholm to remind people of the homeless.

One of the many restaurants 

Another statue in the park near the harbour

A repair station for bicycles

Beautiful flowers always make me feel happy

The Ho Ho boat

Back on the Ho Ho boat with a little bit of Abba

We made it back to the Regal Princess in time for sailaway

 I will remember Stockholm as a very beautiful city and the flowers made it even more beautiful.

The floor of the lifts on the Regal had different quotes, I tried to capture a few of them

We had a wonderful day walking in and around Stockholm and although we didn't spend a long time there, we really enjoyed the lovely old buildings and architecture.

Stockholm was our last port before we disembarked back in Copenhagen.  We had a fantastic Baltic cruise and although we were exhausted at the end of the holiday, it was worth it, and the Regal Princess was a beautiful ship with great staff and we met some lovely people, had great food so no complaints from us, and would do it all again if it wasn't such a long way from home!