Our day started at 6:00am and we didn’t get to our room until after 11:00pm. What did we do? Let me break it down for you:

1. The spa. I know – it’s hard to feel sorry for us having to wake up so early, especially when it was 100% worth it. After soaking in the pools, getting a wicked bamboo massage and then taking a Japanese bath, it was time to leave paradise.

2. The drive. Back into Stockholm we go. We didn’t hit major traffic – but, wow. We missed the turnoff for our parkade twice. Twice! We drove 10 minutes in the wrong direction, then 10 minutes back – twice. D’oh, We were never so happy to get out of the car.

3. The lunch. We finally went for some traditional Swedish food. Jason was worried about the herring, but he was brave and tried them all; mustard, pickled, black currant and garlic. He LOVED them all. We also had meatballs (sorry Italians, but I think they may have been the best meatballs I’ve ever had), Doppska (a beautiful hash), Aquavit (a liqueur, I chose blackberry) and a Swedish IPA. Yeah, we’ll be eating more of this in our future.

4. The Vasa. I didn’t think we could spend 2.5 hours in a museum that only talked about one thing – an old warship. I thought the Viking Ships in Roskilde were incredible (and they were…but…)! This ship, built in the 1600’s sunk 1.5 km into its maiden voyage. Tragic for the crew, embarrassing for the king and lucky (?) for us. It was finally rediscovered in the 1960’s, 333 years after it sunk. They managed to find it, secure it, bring it back up, tug it back to shore, conserve it and then put the pieces that fell off back on. It is now inside this museum, 99% complete with it’s original pieces. How crazy is that??? And it is enormous.

5. The ferry ride. Most cities have buses and metros for their city transit. Stockholm also has ferries. A great way to see the city from the water for a very small cost.

6. The viewpoint. We chose to do a little side quest up a hill (ugh) with a viewpoint that promised to be spectacular. It was pretty cool to see Gamla Stan (Old Town) from afar. All those black roofs!

7. The walk. Time to explore Gamla Stan up close. It is filled with shops, restaurants and LIFE.

8. The dinner. Sometimes margaritas and tacos are the only thing you want.

9. The evening light. It is now 10pm and the light is starting to dim. The only people out and about are tourists or those watching the France vs Senegal football match. Which means it is easy to get pictures.

10. A nightcap. Well, we tried. This bar was closing. We decided we were done. Time to make the 30 minute walk to our hotel – where we will pour ourselves a glass of wine and rest our weary feet.

Wow. What a day.