Keeping dry on a wet day

The weather turned today.  It was drizzling.  I popped out to get some milk for my cereal and also a pastry for Kim.  We had hoped to do a walking tour of Old Town but decided against it in view of the wet weather.

Instead, we thought we’d do something indoor like a museum.  The Vasa Museum was our first choice.  We worked through the best travel options and decided that a 3-day travel pass would be best as it was a smidgen more than two 1-day ones and it could take us all the way to Arlanda (but using the slower modes of transport).

Armed with the ticket, we found the ferry at Slussen which took us across the water past the amusement park to near the Vasa Museum (whicih has masts sticking out of its roof).  There was a short queue but we were inside soon enough.  I was in awe of the size of the ship but once I knew more about its history and how it was salvaged, I was even more amazed.

Basically the Vasa sank on its launch in Stockholm harbour and was forgotten until it was discovered 330 years later.  It was discovered and salvaged in the 1950s, rather intact.  A massive restoration effort was needed to make the ship presentable and to preserve it.  It seemed obvious to my untrained eye that the vessel was a little too tall and top-heavy.  And yep …  sure enough, combined wit in adequate rock ballasts, a couple of gusts of wind rolled it sufficiently to let water in through the cannon ports.

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We have friends Iain and Jerry living in Stockholm so we paid them a visit.  It required a metro/bus conbo which was relatively easy.  Jerry met us at the bus and we were famished.  We had a buffet Chinese lunch in a Chinese restaurant for SEK95 which was the price of just a simple roll-up kebab in Norway!  And after about 5 weeks without Asian food, I was more than ready to feast on it.

We retreated to Iain and Jerry’s to chill and chat but without Jerry who had some pressing business.  We were shown around the neighbourhood on foot; it was very nice with a waterfront, boat parking and a ferry pier.  But perhaps not so nice in winter.

As the weather had smartened up, we decided to return to the city to do a walking tour of Old Town.  This was the “Dark Side” tour where they tell you a bit of the darker sides eg. treachery, murders, executioners and prostitution.

We started at the Gamla Stan station, walked through several street and squares, walked down the world’s narrowest street (supposedly) before finishing up at the Royal Palace (where the royalty no longer stay, having retreated to a nearby island).

The tour along with what Iain had told us seemed to point to Sweden being quite socialist and not free market.  Eg. rent control, people on waiting lists for subsidized accommodation, many buildings being owned by the government.

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After dinner opposite the hostel, we met Jerry for a drink.  He took us to a fancy bar situated on top of a newish office building (perhaps 15 storeys tall).  It was linked to another rooftop bar by a walking bridge.  We bought drinks on the busier side which we had come up, but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to cross the bridge with drinks-in-hand to the other side with seats.  So we chatted standing up since there were no seats free.  It was a nice spot to see Stockholm by night but we didn’t stay for any more than the duration of a drink.

Unfortunately, my day didn’t end well.  My Sicily Belly, which has now been hanging around for about two weeks didn’t take kindly to the greasy and spicy Chinese food.  I spent the night going to the loo a couple of times.  It wasn’t bad bad but was enough to bring me down and warrant a capsule.  It seemed strange that I have been just slightly unwell for so long without being very seriously ill.