I am in love! It feels like the first time ever… :) Doesn't it always feel like the first time no matter which one it is..? My hearth is crying at this very moment I am about to leave… So much left to experience, to see, to visit, to taste and touch!!! Well, shall wait for our next date, my amazing city!
What do I say the others about this two day long adventure? It was simply unforgettable! Starting from my ship-hotel deck and ending with the well balanced in its orientation Central train station:))) What a luxury to live just in the hearth of the Gamla Stan (that is Stockholm's Old City) and to enjoy half of the city's attractions from your cabin-room window! I had that!!! Yup, all of that:) one bite of the crispy morning bun and a look at the magnificent City Hall building, another bite of caviar spread and a look at the passing ships and the morning lights of the other bank of the waters and one of the 14 Stockholm's islands… I was spoilt, I admit… but no harm in that:) That I call perfection of perfect PLACEMENT in life what is actually one of the MA-URI principles I want ed to share with you. This time for me it was the Placement of the hotel I chose with no attention to its location on the map. And what a surprise - it is just in the middle of Stockholm's centre. 5 minutes to the Central station (believe me, very very important if you have something like 35 kg to carry on a rainy day) and more or less 5-10 min. walking distance to all pubs and bars in the region - also very very important while walking home after a hard long exhausting touristic day:)))) And all that for a VERY reasonable price compared to other City's hotels and on top of that the title of the best ranked Trip Advisor hotel in Stockholm in 2o13!!! The name of this secret hotel is Malardrottningen Yacht Hotel. But let it be our secret as the rooms finish very quickly in there and you have to book well in advance:)
Another very important principle - TIMING! Again MA-URI in a normal reality of an ordinary day:) HA, take it or not but the sun was shining so bright during my stay in Stockhom that I felt more than odd in my winter coat and Ugg shoes:) Ok, forget about odd - I felt too hot:))) Yet on my leaving day (that is today) Stockholm is crying along with me - it is pouring like hell!!! Almost like in the famous song "Don't cry for me, Argentina" :) All I had in my mind while walking those 5 minutes to the Central Station was this - am changing my Uggs for Crocks - anyone willing? :))) … especially after one of my Uggs got wet and I felt as if I am standing in one constant non ending huge wet watery rain puddle:)
All that after, believe it or not, a start light night just in the city, lighted shores of all islands, canal cruise among some of them in sun glasses and numerous walks around the city.
And Stockholm does have so much to offer - best ever visited museums, galleries, artefacts from Asia, Africa, Nordic art, and Viking times, numerous statues and the squares with bloody guillotine history or nowaday assassinations , the local ghost of the Royal Palace who appears straight before someone from the royal family dies, the best restored Ship from the 17th century (yup, am talking about the great must-see Vasa ship), the most magnificent City Hall I ever saw - they have a mosaic golden hall in there and a room painted by the prince of Sweden! Can you believe that? And authentic style of ceilings in every room with numerous signs of symbolism… And a special star engraved on the wall in front of the main entrance to the Blue hall (which is in fact red because the architect changed his mind and did not paint the hall in blue) so that by concentrating on it the ladies do not look down to their feet while walking down the stairs. He believed that this way they look more elegant. Might sound funny to us but I bet the ladies participants of the Nobel prize ball which is annually held there appreciate it a lot. History tells that the architect dressed his wife in long dress and made her try several prototypes of those stairs to pick the most convenient for ladies to walk in long dresses!!! What a gentleman he was!
Or you can enjoy free of cost and amazingly interesting Stockholm tours by http:www.freetourstockholm.com. Lee, yours was a super one!
One can even find original viking stones built into the foundation of the houses of the Old City and the only so far by me visited Treasury cellar where they kindly give you a torch if you want to go inside to see all that gold, kilos os gold chains (I am wondering how the necks of those Vikinsg could handle their weight)… at start thought it was a joke or electricity cut but after first two skeletons and an artificial snake on my way I realised that's the IDEA behind the torch:))) What a intrigue!!!
In short (you might have realised by now that I have difficulties in being short) - Stockholm rocks!!! So, who is in next summer to take a cruise from Riga, dance and party all night long in the middle of the Baltic sea and after you are being kicked out from the disco to start the discovery of Stockholm archipelago and all the other magic that awaits you at the moment you step on the land of this definitely unforgettable City??? Am very serious - let's do it!
Ups, but now the last call for my flight to Istanbul…. do not want to miss that for sure! India, I am coming!!!
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