Friday-Bus ride and Gamla Stan

July 27-- It was our last day in Sundsvall and we started the day just as we had started all the others--with food. Same breakfast, still delicious. Around 9:30 we headed to the bus station to catch our bus headed to Stockholm. Ove slipped us each a chocolate bar for the bus, and that turned out to be our lunch along with trail mix, pretzels and soda. Needless to say, when we got to Stockholm, finding food was a top priority after finding the apartment we would be staying in.  We successfully navigated the subway and found the apartment with no problems. It was Stig's daughter's place and she was on vacation.

After we dumped our stuff, we checked the map and hopped on the metro to go to Gamla Stan, the Old Town. It is completely separated and is its own island.  We quickly found a restaurant that had some very good traditional Swedish dishes. Aunt Annette had pytt i panna, Grandma had salmon and Mere and I had Swedish meatballs with lingon berry sauce and boiled potatoes. 

After dinner we started to wander. We walked through what seemed like the restaurant area, then the handmade craft area, and then we came to the royal residence and government buildings. The buildings overlook the water, just like everything else in Stockholm basically since it is spread over 14 islands, and it was breathtaking. Mere asked me how it is different than Prague, and while I couldn't accurately describe it, it had a feeling of grandeur. The buildings were massive and the white stone streets made it seem so clean. You felt small in Stockholm. The light was also do beautiful since it was around 7:00 as we walked. We stopped in some souvenir shops and then stopped for some ice cream. I tried mjukglass dipped in chocolate which then turned into a hard shell. Two thumbs up!

We made our way back to the metro and then back home to the apartment, stopping to pick up breakfast for the next morning. I listened as the other three planned the rest of their Stockholm trip, bummed we would be separating the next day but excited that I would be back in Stockholm at the end of August. It was so amazing and I just know there is so much I have to see!