Birthdays and Boats

Towards the end of July, Travers and I hopped on a plane for Stockholm, not wanting to miss the chance to see my parents and my aunt and uncle who were there for the weekend before sailing on a cruise ship for 2 weeks in the Baltic Sea to celebrate my mother's and my aunt's birthdays that were just a week apart.  We arrived on Friday afternoon, checked into the First Hotel Reisen, and contacted my aunt and uncle who had arrived a few hours ahead of us.  We met them in the lobby and headed into the old town area to grab a drink and catch up. My parents arrived a few hours later, so after they got settled in, we all met in our room to have a celebratory glass of my mom's and my favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot!

We then led the group on a short walk across one of the many bridges in Stockholm to the Grand Hotel, which is well known for its Cadier Bar, with its beautiful decor and architecture. We had a round of cocktails, catching up with each other on the latest happenings in California and Hong Kong. Then we headed on another short walk for dinner at PA & Co in the Ostermalm district, where we had delicious Swedish dishes with a modern twist.

The next day, we met for breakfast in the hotel, then headed towards the water to take a ride on a hop on hop off boat tour. The boat took us all around, stopping at various museums and attractions. The views from the water were spectacular.









We hopped off at the Vasa Museum stop to check out the 17th century ship that had sunk on its maiden voyage in Stockholm. The ship was massive at several stories tall. We spent about an hour walking around the ship, reading its history and about the effort that went into building it, and the theories of why it sank.









We hopped back on the boat, which took us around to more museums and attractions. We didn't hop off again for awhile, so we were able to enjoy the nice breeze from the back of the boat and take in the sights of the city and the water.

We finally hopped off when the boat got back to Gamla Stan, the old town area. We strolled through several populated squares, fighting our way through the hundreds of tourists, and finally settled in a restaurant called Ardbeg Embassy, that served wonderful Swedish meatballs and had many different beers on tap.  Slightly revived by the food and beer, we continued our stroll through old town, walking past many unique buildings, quaint shops, and occasionally a tall tower of a church.  We finally ended up back at the hotel, where my parents and aunt and uncle grabbed their luggage and headed to the marina to check into the cruise ship.

Travers and I met them out at the ship a few hours later, where we were given a tour of the ship, their rooms and had a cocktail in one of the many lounges, before heading back towards the Ostermalm area to have dinner at Sturehof, another delicious Swedish restaurant.

After dinner, they returned to the ship, and Travers and I stayed out in the Ostermalm area, checking out a bit of the Swedish nightlife in Stureplan.

The next morning, we walked through the Norrmalm area, seeing some great architecture and walking down a busy walking street, filled with Sunday shoppers and tourists.  Eventually we hopped on a bus, and made our way back to the cruise ship to have a birthday lunch for my mom, before having to say goodbye to all of them and to Stockholm.