My Little Global Citizen: Stockholm, Sweden; July 31-August 3

Changing of the guard, Stockholm Palace

Flag of Sweden

Exploring Stockhom

Riding Pippi Longstocking's horse at Junibacken

Junibacken

Pony ride at Skansen

Our first day in Stockholm, we went into the city center by bus. Not really knowing exactly where we were going we met some really friendly locals who told us where to get off the bus in the center of town to walk through a beautiful market and pedestrian area. They also let us know that the changing of the guard was taking place at the palace. We picked up some amazing blueberries at the market and chowed them down while walking to the palace. The changing of the guard was a big show. A band and lots of marching.

After the changing of the guard, we bought a few souveniers - including a flag of Sweden and a moose wearing a Swedish flag sweater!

We had a delicious lunch at the palace cafe! Sweden is only slightly less expensive than Norway, we quickly remembered when paying the bill for lunch! :)

Later that day we went on an "under the bridges tour" that took us all over the city by boat. We got to pass through a lock between Lake Malaren & the Baltic Sea.

For a six year old, no trip to Stockholm is complete without a stop at Junibacken. It's kind of like a children's museum focused on children's authors, namely Astrid Lindrgen - creator of Pippi Longstocking!

We went there with my friends Liam and Shannon and then ran into other friends from the ship, Addicus, Alexandra and Blake. Hours of fun!!

Next, we went to Skansen, this huge outdoor museum showing what life in Sweden was like a long time ago. Michael rode a pony, walked on stilts, learned to use a yo-yo and how to weave blankets on this huge loom.

Weaver at Skansen

On our way back to the ship, we ran into some of the crew heading out for a night on the town!

Hanging with the crew of the MV Explorer

On our last day in Sweden, Michael and slowed our pace and had some wonderful adventures! After a trip to the Nobel Museum (more on that in a separate post), we ran into a family, near the palace in the old town of Stockholm, playing Boules. Boules is a game, like bocce, where the objective is the roll heavy balls as close as possible to a small target ball. Michael was curious about the game and after watching for a few minutes, he was invited to play.

Next, we ventured to back to Djurgarden to a section called Rosendal - a big open green space with a playground, gardens, and picnic areas. We met a family on holiday from England. They live near Salcombe, where we go each year on Easter holiday! Lots of fun with playground equipment we can't find at home. Made even more adventurous by the water left over from a rainstorm the night before.