Well, Stockholm is probably one of my new favorite cities. It’s an absolutely incredible place to visit, and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s going to be spending a large amount of time in Europe. Really clean, safe, nice. While a rougher and more “adventurous” place can be fun, there is something comforting sometimes in being in a place that can allow you to relax and take it easy for a bit.

I started my morning with breakfast at the hostel, looking out the window at the water. I’d slept soundly on the boat that night, lulled to sleep by the rocking of the water (for any who didn’t read the previous post we were staying at the AF Chapman, a hostel on board a boat!), but a cup of coffee wasn’t a bad way to start the morning. Breakfast wasn’t included in the price, but I find sometimes splurging and getting something to eat first thing in the morning makes you ready to go for the day ahead. And a little coffee, cereal, toast, etc. never hurts.

After that I went and fetched my friend and we headed over to the docks on the other side to take the ferry over to another island. It was the easiest way to get where we wanted to be going. Overall the ferries were pretty easy to use, in spite of being on the off season. They came regularly, so we were able to hop on and head over to the Vasa Museum.

This museum is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend it if you’re in Stockholm. It holds a beautiful 17^th century ship that sank in the harbor when it was launched. It sat there for years until finally someone went looking for it and managed to haul the remains out. Because of the conditions that it had been placed in, the ship was actually in remarkably good shape.

The museum was really interesting, and of course the ship was just incredible to see. It’s a really great place to go.

After that we headed over to the Skansen. It’s essentially a big open air museum. I think during the summer it’s a little more lively, but during winter it’s kind of quiet. Again, my experience might be very different from what you’d encounter during a more normal season.

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However, even in winter it’s fun because you get to see parts of what Swedish landscapes look like. The farms, churches, and windmills that have made up the countryside throughout history. And there’s also a sort of zoo with animals from the area. So we got to see cool lynx, and wolves, and reindeer oh my!

After walking over most of the place we headed to the restaurant in the site to get food. We were hungry, and had another stop after the Skansen, so filling up on food would be good.

More meatballs and princess cake (because why not) and then we were off again towards the ABBA museum.

Now… I don’t care for ABBA at all.

Somehow, on my adventures I always manage to get roped into something with someone who’s a big fan. My last big train trip with a friend I was dragged along for the Sound of Music tour (not that it wasn’t good…but still…). I feel like one day I’ll have my justice and have someone who isn’t a Harry Potter fan with me on a set tour, or something, but for now I just tag along.

Because seeing a smile on the face of  your traveling companion can definitely be worth it. I loved seeing how excited she got doing karaoke and seeing all the costumes and looking through the various parts of the museum. So I had fun with her.

It’s just one of the cons of traveling with another person. Sure, there are benefits too, but you have to realize you might be forced to go do things you wouldn’t do on your own. I’ll try to post something on solo travel sometimes, because I’ve actually become a really big fan of it, partly because of this!

It’s also a pretty nice museum, even if you don’t like the subject matter. They’ve added interactive things like karaoke and it’s very aesthetically pleasing to look at (even if it’s a bit pricey). If you’re an ABBA fan check it out for sure.

We ran through that faster than we’d expected, so with a little time to relax, we decided to charge phones at the hostel before heading out again. My friend pointed out that the modern art museum was open until 8, which is late for most things. And it was right next to our hostel, so it made for easy walking.

After a ferry ride back, we settled into our little boat room and charged phones and rested. Once we and our devices had enough energy, we headed out towards the museum.

We were really excited when we found out it was free. Now, I’m not a big modern art fan myself, I tend to prefer seeing really beautiful well-painted pieces than the modern stuff. However, I admit there can be fun in seeing what artists can come up with, and that modern art museums almost always have something that can surprise or confuse me or even sometimes make me stop and think. Everyone has their own opinions of course. I’d never force anyone to conform to mine.

Regardless they had a nice collection, and for free it wasn’t a bad deal. I thought the exhibit on architecture was probably the most interesting, but they had videos, and paintings, and sculptures of all different types as well.

After that I suggested stopping by the hostel for a dinner recommendation.

I went in with a smile on my face and asked the woman at the desk if she had a place nearby she thought was good for dinner.

She frowned and said “oh well the closest one is probably here.” And pointed at the map.

Now, I noticed right near her finger was a TGI Fridays logo. I figured she had to be referring to something near that, so I asked for clarification.

“It’s a Fridays,” she said with a nod. “Good food. It’s close.”

I had to struggle not to laugh. I nodded and thanked her and walked out the door to tell my friend, “well that was a bust.”

Now some of you might like Fridays. And again, I discussed a few blogs ago how sometimes food choices are just a matter of convenience and price and wanting something filling. But if I have other options I’m not eating at a TGI Fridays… because while I respect cheap prices, I still want a decent meal, and I’d rather go somewhere local even if it’s an Asian, or Italian, or Mexican place instead of serving more traditional cuisine.

We found a burger place right next to the Fridays actually. And settled in there. It was good food and not too pricey. So we enjoyed our burgers and then headed back for a good night’s rest.