I woke up early, excited to finally start the tour today! I headed down for one of my favorite parts of traveling - hotel breakfasts, and this one did not disappoint! Before leaving, I found that our tour guide had posted the plan for the day in the lobby. I had booked a boat tour, so after my delicious breakfast, I headed down the street to the waterfront. The boat was easy to find, and after a quick wait, we scanned our tickets and hopped on the boat. I sat outside next to a family traveling from Austria and we set off. We cruised for about an hour to the city of Vaxholm, where our boat had to rescue another boat that had broken down. The scenery was beautiful - gorgeous houses and green spaces. It was sunny and breezy on the way out, but was cloudy and cool on the way back.
I hopped off the boat and enjoyed some time wandering. I stopped at one of the many bakeries and got a pastry and tea. I headed back to the hotel, where I sat on the balcony and enjoyed my afternoon snack. I freshened up and headed down to the breakfast room for our first group meeting.
Our group was led by Heidi, our guide from Denmark. There were 24 people total, with several couples and families, and 4 of us traveling alone. After our meeting and picking our "buddies," we headed out for a neighborhood orientation walk. We wandered down towards the water and through some neighborhoods. We had a quick metro lesson before we hopped on the metro to Södermalm (where Lisbeth Salander lives if you've read Stieg Larsson's books). We ended our walk at a restaurant for dinner. My dinner table was filled with well traveled people, and I enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about all the places they've been. We hopped back on the metro to get back to our neighborhood. The rest of the group headed back to the hotel, and I made a quick stop at a corner store for some snacks, as we would be gone for most of the next day. After some sink laundry and a shower, I was ready for bed! I loved Stockholm so far and couldn't wait for our guided tour the next day.
Our group was led by Heidi, our guide from Denmark. There were 24 people total, with several couples and families, and 4 of us traveling alone. After our meeting and picking our "buddies," we headed out for a neighborhood orientation walk. We wandered down towards the water and through some neighborhoods. We had a quick metro lesson before we hopped on the metro to Södermalm (where Lisbeth Salander lives if you've read Stieg Larsson's books). We ended our walk at a restaurant for dinner. My dinner table was filled with well traveled people, and I enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about all the places they've been. We hopped back on the metro to get back to our neighborhood. The rest of the group headed back to the hotel, and I made a quick stop at a corner store for some snacks, as we would be gone for most of the next day. After some sink laundry and a shower, I was ready for bed! I loved Stockholm so far and couldn't wait for our guided tour the next day.