After a very early rise and a doggie bag breakfast ready for us at 4:30 am we managed to catch a bus to get us to the station in time for our 6:00 train to Stockholm. It was a very nice train which we shared with Edmonton Oiler Oscer Klefbom.
We were actually given another breakfast as we rode along. The joys of backpacking... Some days you totally miss breakfast and other days you are given two in the company of NHL hockey players. I would have preferred Mats Sundin but...oh well.
At 10:46 am we arrived in Stockholm, changed some money and made the long walk to the Zinkerman HI Hostel. Here the rooms were small but they were private. That evening we treated ourselves to a delicious meal at the nearby Southside Irish Pub
On Saturday September 3rd we headed out to
explore Stockholm. We made our way past the thousands of tourists mostly off of cruise ships and wandered around Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm. We walked through the little lane ways including lane 81 which at only one meter wide is supposed to be the narrowest lane in the city.
We walked past the Royal Palace and stopped in a square to listen to a police brass band play Frank Sinatra music. With "Come fly with me" still ringing in our ears we made our way down to the Marina area and ate our sandwiches.
Later in the aftenoon we made our way back across the bridge and along Hornsgatan Road
back to the hostel just before it stated to pour out of the Swedish heavens.
On Sunday September 4th, we walked around Gamla Stan a little more in the morning, making fun of how everyone here seems to talk like the "If you got it, flaunt it" Swedish Girl from Mel Brook's musical "The Producers".
I'm not sure if we were having too much fun with the Swedish accent or what the reason was but somehow we seriously lost track of time. We somehow forgot what time we needed to start heading to the Ferry terminal. Once we realized how tight time was we gathered our bags from the hostel and quickly walked to Zinkensolamm Station to take the Metro to Gardet Station. We arrived there at 3:45. Our boat was scheduled to leave at 4:45 and last check-in was at 4pm. This is totally not the way I like to do things was the thought going through my head as we followed sign after sign though tunnels and over passes leading to the Tallink Silja Line check-in area. At 3:58 we checked in using, yet another, automated kiosk. Then we basically walked straight on the board. The huge cruise ship was massive. The main foyer of the ship looked more like somethig out of West Edmonton Mall than a boat.
Anyway, after counting our blessings and catching our breath we settled in for an evening of luxury as we crossed the Baltic Sea.
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