Friday morning, after an organic brekky in our hotel (which claims to be the smallest in Stockholm) we made our way to Gamla Stan. It's the oldest part of the city, built around 1252, and has gorgeous architecture and small laneways full of shops and cafes. The royal palace is in this part of town so of course we stopped in to see the royal apartments, portraits of the royal family and the crown jewels.
Kate and a palace guard:
A cobbled laneway in Gamla Stan:
After a fantastic lunch in 'new Stockholm' we boarded a boat for the 'Under the bridges' tour of Stockholm. The tour was a great way to see a lot of the city which is spread out over 14 islands and connected by about 40 bridges. I didn't realise that Stockholm was like this and while it adds to the charm of the city, I'm sure winter would be absolutely freezing.
Ostermalm from the boat:
Overlooking Ostermalm from the palace driveway:
Saturday saw us fitting in a hard day of shopping so we decided we should continue our sight-seeing with a visit to the original Absolut Ice Bar. Two key things we didn't realise, 1- you really need to book, 2- when you do go in, it's only for 45 minutes so they can keep the crowds moving through. Patrons are given heavy weight ponchos with gloves attached and taken into the Ice Bar where you drink vodka coctails out of glasses made of ice.... brrrr.... it's -5 degrees.
And while they kicked us out of the Ice Bar just as we were getting into our vodka cocktails, overall, we found Stockholm to be an easy place to visit and get around with really friendly people, great food and things to do.
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