Okay , here we are in Stockholm after a flight of just over 2 hours from Heathrow . We landed at Arlanda , about 35klms out of Stockholm , collected our bags and went to the train station . Didn't have to wait as the train was there - excellent , into Stockholm we go . Arriving at Central Station we got off the train and descended into the bowels of the earth into the subway system that kept going deeper & deeper , fortunately there were escalators !! The subway system here is impressive , with artistic floors walls , statues etc etc . Out at a station and onto a bus , we missed our stop , so got off at the next one and trusted google to get us there . We did get to our house , with a mixture of forest walk , and some roadways - did I forget to mention the hills , yes there were a few off them as well - good fun with suitcases & backpacks . Arriving at the house , we get ourselves inside and manage to set the alarm off - hmm there has to be a way around this . There was , a lady started talking to us , and I explained the situation - the alarm was monitored and she reset the system while we put the codes in again , and all was good . Justin & I then went for a walk to the nearest supermarket , which was 800m away according to Google , we went one way and saw the roadway below was cut off by noise barriers , so back up the hill , down another street and finally at the supermarket . Shopping done , we lugged it back to the house and sat down for a well earned beer .
Next morning we discovered that the noise barrier did indeed have an access point to the footpath that would have saved about 700m of walking to the supermarket - google has a lot to answer for !! We found a bust stop just near the gap in the noise wall , the bus arrived and we headed to the train station and into Stockholm , getting of at Gamla Stan - The Old City .
Our plan was to just have a look around the old city island . Stockholm is based in & near the largest archipelago of islands , the old city was on one of them . The streets have lots of greenery and flowers , these trees pruned into cubes looked interesting .
There's plenty of statues and very old buildings here , outdoor dining is very normal here during the warmer months , not so much in the cooler ones though .
Whenever the suns out , people are out & about enjoying it .
I liked the old steel window shutters and bars over the windows here .
There's many different styles of building here , making it a wonderful wander around - always something to look at .
Across the harbour was a huge 3 masted ship at the dock
The National Museum building also impressive .
There were domed buildings , different coloured buildings and always something to look at .
Here's our travel buddies , a good pair to travel with !!
This is the Royal Palace , rather large .
This one is the Riksdagshuset ( Parliament House ) There were many buses parked below us , and all chock a block full of people .
On another level in front of Parliament House was this garden & statue of a naked man proudly waving to anyone who wants to look .
Flower boxes everywhere look great , making the city more alive and user friendly . This one an historic building apparently .
Back to the palace , and anywhere that there was an entrance , it was guarded . They did do a march up & down , complete with their rifles & bayonets . Walking around here wasn't the easiest , with rounded stones laid everywhere .
This is the inside of the side door we went in . You can walk into here and through the central courtyard and exit on the other side if you wish . We stopped and marvelled at the marble staircase & columns .
Back out into the city , it was time to make our way back to the station . The narrow cobblestone streets that vehicles still use are amazing . This street not so popular .
This one however , was very popular .
Back to the station , a train & bus later , and a 700m walk and we were back in our house . The house is a 1960's model that has just been renovated - we are the first renters to rent this family home ( it comes complete with their clothing etc etc ) and is an interesting house. We were happy with it . Here's a map link :-
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1mjDSAby1NC5aShY7YvIRsZiWPMNCUME&usp=sharing
No comments:
Post a Comment