S-W-E-D-E-N!!!!!

Well, once we finally got off the train from Kongsvinger we got out and I immediately liked Stockholm.  I liked the feel of the train station.  It was really busy and everyone was in a hurry and it just felt like a place I would really fit in, the drawback to this?  The cost of living.  Shoot me if I ever say I'm going to Sweden unless it's being paid for by someone else.  We got out of the train station and it was really not very far to our hostel.  We skipped the meal and just went to bed.  We somehow got our own room within a 14 bed room...I don't know how this keeps happening, but I am obviously very ok with it.  It was really nice.  Also, the book "The Life of Pi" was on the shelf, and I took it upon myself to start reading it.  We didn't have any money, so I spent a lot of time reading that book :).

The next morning, we got up and asked the woman how to get to the Vasamuseet (Vasa Museum) and she told us.  We then went to the train station and looked at when trains leave for the next morning because we had to get an early start.  We figured that out and ate at McDonalds which cost about as much as Olive Garden, so that was great.

We then went on our way to sight-see for the day.  We walked onto the main street and stopped in the first souvenir shop we saw and Braden found the cutest mug, but since it was the first place, I advised him to wait.  What ensued was us stopping in every consecutive souvenir shop and him being unsatisfied with all of the other available mugs and him waiting until we got back to that one store at the end of the day to buy that one mug that was left.  Well, thank God it was still there or I would have never heard the end of it. Lisbon is already "my fault".

Well, we kept going and on the way to the museum we had to walk along the harbor and it was really pretty.  Stockholm is a city made up of islands and there are bridges and water everywhere, another reason I really liked it there.  Anyway, the harbor was not frozen like it was in Oslo, so that was already infinitely better.

We finally got to the end of our long walk to the Vasamuseet and we were excited to go because Trip Adviser said that if we do one thing in Stockholm it should be this AND Braden's dad told me to make sure I "see the ship".  So, the Vasa it was. It cost my college tuition, but that's NBD.  What is the Vasamuseet, you ask? Well it is a museum dedicated to the gem of the Swedish navy from I think the 17th century.  It was ornately designed and had tons of guns and it was so heavy it sank on its maiden voyage before it even left the water.  The museum was cool and had a lot of interactive stuff and the ship itself was huge and really cool, but honestly, if that's the best thing there is to do in Stockholm, consider a different vacation.

When we got outside again it was snowing.  Oh joy.  But it didn't last. We made a detour by the TGI Friday's and went into Gamla Stan (Old Town).  For the longest time, Stockholm was just in the tiny island right in the middle where the palace, main church and every other slightly important thing were all located.  Today it is a tourist trap.  We did walk over a bridge that had ducks playing on ice under it:

Also from that bridge I could see people in kayaks trying to go through a rapids of some sort.  When we passed again they were gone and I'm convinced they drowned.  It was not safe looking at all.  Well, we got into Gamla Stan and the first view we had was of the palace. We thought maybe it was a post office at first because it was so plain looking...but, no, our map ensured us it was the palace and there were guards and other people taking pictures, so, we're sure. We walked around to the front and it was a little prettier and we went into the gift shop, but still...we've seen better.

                                     

We then went into all of the gift stores we saw and also a grocery store hoping for cheaper food.  We found it, but it turns out we didn't have a stove to use...so we just held onto it for later.  We also saw some pretty views of the harbor from Gamla Stan

From there we went back to the gift shop to get Braden's mug (that I swiped as soon as we got into the store) and then back to the hostel to rest before dinner.  We decided to just go to Hard Rock and split an appetizer sampler.  The walk to Hard Rock was LLLOOONNNGGG.  I can't believe how far away it is from the city center.  Also, our waitress was lame and her shots were small and she didn't charge me correctly.  Moral of the story is, I took my glass and we left.  Well, we ran.

We went back to the hostel in the snow, read a little and slept.  The next morning we were up nice and early and we got to the train station and had to wait in line for our ticket reservations.  We had to wait forever and barely made our train, but I had enough time to grab a quick breakfast of pastries and juice.  The juice I got for Braden was apparently terrible, but it was the only thing left.  Our seats were not next to each other, but the woman sitting next to Braden told him it was not a big deal and as long as he had a reservation no one cared, but...he did not want to sit by me.  What a loser.  Even when there was no one by either of us, he still wouldn't come and sit by me.  Ugh.

Well, the train was uneventful and I read the whole way.  We got into Gothenburg and we had two hours to kill before our connection to Copenhagen.  There was a Hard Rock there, so I obviously needed to go there and purchase my Hurricane glass.  We walked into an H&M because it's a Swedish store and we ate at BK and it was a really lovely little town.  I also got a postcard featuring the only thing in Gothenburg I actually saw:

After that we got onto a VERY crowded train and made our was to Copenhagen via Malmo.