Stockholm, Sweden

Monday we cruised into Stockholm, Sweden. I wish I had got out of bed when I first woke up because we were cruising through the Stockholm Archipelago and the lighting was beautiful! I have tons of pictures when we sailed out that evening so I guess that makes up for it :) 

What a view from our balcony!

Amusement park

Lots and lots of boats here

More balcony views

Fun with the camera :)

We also decided to do Stockholm on our own. We had reservations at the Ice Bar at 11:30 but wanted to do some exploring before that. The boat was docked a few miles from the city center so we took a Hop on Hop off boat to get around - it was so much better than a bus/taxi! 

Palace

Pedestrian area with shops/restaurants

We had so much fun at the ice bar! It was definitely cold! They gave you a parka with gloves - luckily I had my tennis shoes on and not sandals or else I would not have lasted very long. 

Ice Bar! First permanent ice bar in the world

Bundled up ready to go in!

Our group was the only one in there - perfect!

Mmm my drink

So cold!

Gig 'em

Each year there is a different theme

If your hands meet you get a free drink - too bad it's solid ice!

Group pic!

After the Ice Bar we headed over to Old Town Stockholm and caught part of the changing of the guard at the palace and then walked around the narrow little streets for a bit.

Changing of the guard

Cute old town

Next we hopped on the boat and went over to the Vasa Museum. The museum contains the almost fully intact Vasa ship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 in Stockholm Harbor. The Vasa sank in 1628 and was located in the 1950s and salvaged in 1961. Apparently the Baltic Sea is perfect for preserving shipwrecks! The museum was really interesting and the boat is just amazing! It was really hard to get any good pictures since it was so dark.

Outside of the Vasa Museum

Massive ship!

Model of the ship 

After exploring the Vasa Museum we hopped back on the hop on hop off boat and took it back to the ship. We sat on our balconies as we cruised through the Stockholm Archipelago towards the Baltic. There are approximately 30,000 islands and inlets so kudos to our captain!

So neat!

Double rainbow!

It so looked like this ferry was cruising on land haha

There were so many little houses on all these islands

Justin and I decided to skip dinner in the dining room (the menu didn't thrill us) and I'm glad we did because after we ate we came back to the room and watched a beautiful sunset!