Stockholm - Nearing the End (June 21)

Today was our last stop before the end of the cruise. We took a four-hour tour of a combination of the Vasa, Stockholm’s major sites and the armoury. The Vasa was a ship built in the 1600s and known for its size and number of canons (picture). However, its canons didn’t keep it afloat, in fact, some believe that they sunk it. Just after completion, this beautifully carved ship sailed down the river toward the ocean, but sank just a few yards into the river. It is commonly believed that the ship was too top heavy because of the canons. Anyway, they didn’t make the same mistake twice!



The royal armoury is a collection of weapons, armor clothes and even carriages related to the royal family at different times in Swedish history. The museum is composed of three different wings, the carriages, the weapons and the clothes. All three of these exhibits were quite interesting and showed many different customs and fashions of the Swedish Royalty.

After the conclusion of our shore excursion, we watched the changing of the guard and then drove back to the ship for a nice relaxing evening. (Jesse)


Today we visited the last port on our month-long adventure! Stockholm was an excellent way to end our journey into Scandinavia. Besides being considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Stockholm is also rich in history. For the short time that we were there, we toured two museums: the Vasa museum and the Royal Armory.

The Vasa museum houses the only complete warship from the 17th century that has ever been salvaged. It was incredible to walk into the building and see the giant, ancient warship sitting there in front of us. The fact that the whole ship had been preserved was astounding, and for me it was one of the most impressive sights in our whole trip.

After the stop at the Vasa museum, we drove through both the modern city-center and Gamla Stan, the oldest part of the city. We ended our drive at the Swedish royal palace, inside which is the royal armory. The armory is a museum containing artifacts from the Swedish royal family, including many of the royal coaches (picture).



Directly after the armory, we took a quick drive to a quiet part of town that is situated overlooking the entire city. We had a panoramic view of the beautiful city of Stockholm. After this we headed back to the ship and sailed from Scandinavia for the last time. Stockholm is definitely a place I would revisit in the future. (Jacob)