Stockholm Day 4

As it was our last day, we had to pack and check out before we went off to sightsee again. The hotel would keep the luggage until we needed to go to the airport. Our first stop was the bookshop that sells Swedish books in all languages. Not that we wanted any particular book, but it was interesting to see all sorts of books in all sorts of languages! We also found a lovely ‘bench project’ tray, which we had to buy for Mel and some lovely Dala horse-shaped chocolates as thank you presents and gifts for the girls. Across the road is the entrance to the Treasury, but we first needed to deposit our bags in the ticket office. We were still among the first visitors to see the Crown Jewels, and we had a very good view of them before the first tour group arrived. They are very beautiful, and one of my favourites is the anointing horn of (I think) Erik XIV from 1604. It is so beautifully worked, and only 10 – 15cms high. There are some very intricately embellished swords as well as elegant crowns made for princesses. The state crown, sword and orb are also there and date from the 17th century. But the crowds were building, so we left, collected our stuff and walked across to Skeppsholmen. When we walked there the first day, we walked down the historic boat quay, so today we walked passed Admiralty House and af Chapman, the youth hostel on a full-rigged freighter from 1888. Then we wound our way up to the outdoor display ‘Paradise’ by Jean Tinguelys and Niki de Saint Phalles, which was made for the Montreal World Expo in 1972. We popped our heads into the Moderna Museet, which looked very interesting, but we really wanted to walk to Kastelholmen, the little island at the bottom of Skeppsholmen. We crossed the old bridge, noting that the Royal Skating Club was under renovation. Then we strolled up the hill and looked up at the castle. Apparently every morning (since 1640) a sailor hoists the Swedish flag up its flagpole. We reached the shore at the end of the island where there is a boatbuilding school, teaching the skills needed to build, and renovate, old wooden boats. We climbed up to the castle and made a circuit round it, then dropped back down the road again, and made our way off this island, Skeppsholmen and on to Gamla Stan again. We just kept going and crossed to Sodermalm at Slussen and walked up to the pretty street Fjallgatan, down Stigbergsgatan to see the old block maker’s cottage, then back to the hotel where we had a late lunch in Café Rival. It was time to collect the bags and head off towards the airport making final use of our travel cards and our return tickets on the flybussarna.
We have had a great time in Stockholm, and we should come back when it’s a bit warmer to see lots more of this lovely city.