Our travel day did not start particularly well. We got to the airport at 5:15 am. Kevflivic airport is rather antiquated especially regarding security procedures . They made us take off our watches but not shoes. When Wendy went to pick up her watch, it wasn’t there. A team of security staff spent time searching for it but to no avail. We filed a report and went on our way. Next, our plane was delayed causing us to miss our scheduled visit to Stockholm City Hall in the afternoon. Hotel Rival is lovely, again a small room, but much nicer than in Iceland.

Jim opted to try to sleep his cold away, while Wendy went for a long walk in the Old Town, Gamla Stan, to get the lay of the land. Although somewhat touristy and crowded, the old buildings and variety of stores made for a fun walk.

We met our friends Stephanie and Bob for a fantastic dinner at a Spanish tapas place around the corner from our hotel called Ramblas Mariatorget. Great food and it was wonderful to see them.

The Rival breakfast the next morning reminded us of the ones we had at great hotels in Israel last year. Many choices and delicious breads, fish, cheese, etc. a lovely way to start the day.

We took a short walk to a nearby pharmacy to get some cold medicine. The sidewalks here are often uneven and Jim tripped and fell pretty badly. He scraped several body parts but was otherwise ok. Success at the pharmacy after trying to figure out the European equivalent of Tylenol and cough medicine. It was interesting experience to say the least!

Ok, back to the plan. We checked out of the hotel and got a cab over to the Viking Venus drop off point and left our luggage.

From there we walked to the Sussen ferry to get over to the Vasa museum. The ferries are quick and efficient with many families, kids, strollers, etc. filling up the boat.

Djurgården, the island with about 10 assorted museums greets you with an amusement park and hundreds of people walking to get to their destination.

We passed the ABBA museum, and found the Vasa, a large dark wood building up the road.

This museum is very unique and certainly one not to be missed. It houses the Vasa, a large ornate war ship built in 1628. The ship took years to build and was the pet project of Swedish King Gustav Ii Adolph, the grandson of King Gustav Vasa, the "father" of Sweden. Gustav Adolph wanted to build a fierce war machine that would utterly overwhelm and intimidate foreign rivals. It has 64 canons, dozens of ornate figurines and is 4 stories tall. On its maiden voyage, it sailed out into the harbor, moved a few hundred yards and a gust of wind started it rocking until it was listing in the water and sank!Thirty people died and the boat stayed on the bottom for about 300 years.

The second part of the story is about the remarkable recovery and painstaking restoration of the ship, first bringing it up in tact from the bottom, then the 20 years or so spent on using modern technology to preserve and restore it. Quite a feat!

The museum itself was very well done, 6 floors of exhibits, stories, and pieces of things recovered, all centering around the restored Vasa in the center.

We were now tired and eager to get back across the water to our new home for 3 weeks waiting in the harbor.

Checking here was relatively easy, with the whole crew, it seems, directing you to where you were supposed to be. Our bags were outside our room, and after a quick look around, we headed to the World Cafe, one of the two largest restaurants on board to get some lunch. There are about 5 stations on each side plus a gelato station, with tons of food. Bumped into Stefanie and Bob and had fun sharing stories.

We were busy unpacking, getting the lay of the ship ( 8 floors, 6 different places to eat, museum- like exhibits everywhere, and beautiful open common areas. One of the last things Wendy unpacked was her carry on. Deep down in the pocket was her watch!! Yay!!

Jim wanted to take another nap, still a bit sick, Wendy went looking for a hot tub to soak in. There are at leave 5 on the ship, but the first four were being cleaned or painted. She finally found one at the very aft of the ship. While soaking away, a waiter brought over a class of champagne -- unsolici. So classy!

Port talk at 4:30, a myriad of other lectures to keep us busy. Wendy went to hear a Norwegian piano concert, Jim went to a history lecture, and we met Stefanie and Bob for a scrumptious dinner othat included grilled Sea Bass and Chocolate Crème Brûlée. Not too shabby.

We have free laundry a bit down the hall and we took turns getting it done (although it didn’t get finished and in our room till 6 am the next morning). Met our wonderful steward, named Ahmad, and went to bed.