My parents Dave and I decided to take a Baltic Sea cruise. Why? Because it's a great way to see places like Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersberg, Riga, Gdansk (though admittedly i knew nothing about this city) and the island of Visby, all in one trip. And they are not so expensive. So, we signed up.
We met up in Stockholm and decided to spend 3 days there so my parents could get over their jet lag (though they never seem to be bothered by it anytime I've seen them do an overseas trip) and we could check out one of our favorite cities. Dave and I visited Stockholm in the dead of winter (in a previous post) and fell in love with the city. I was so excited to see it in the height of summer. In fact, we were in Stockholm on the longest day of the year. Which was really SO COOL. It never really got dark and the weather was perfect, everybody was outside walking around and enjoying life and I simply fell in love with the city all over again.
Lots of people looking impossibly Scandinavian, including these very blonde twins in their cute dresses and hip shoes. Only a woman who looked like that can pull of black rubber wells with a print sundress and not look awkward.
First order of business was to take a boat tour of the city. It was also a good time for everyone to catch up on their sleep (not long after this photo was taken).
One (of the many) things that I LOVE about Stockholm is that nature is never far away. People picnic, hang out, and swim off the rocks on the side of the bay. The water is clean and accessible to the public and the residents are hardy and willing.
One of the pretty historic plazas in the old town- Gamla Stan. The green, red, and yellow buildings are pretty famous. So, we thought it was a good idea to get a photo taken in front of them.
Stockholders like a nice outdoor cafe/bar like the rest of us. And lucky for them, even in the most touristy areas they feel very authentic and cool and serve quality fare.
And they have nice geraniums.
I don't know what this box thing was but I thought it was cute and my dad was feeling silly.
One of the many charming spots perfect for a sit and a sip of something.
We took another tour on the edge of the city, where there is a big park surrounding a beautiful lake and the royal family has a palace. We stopped for a snack and were VERY pleasantly surprised that what we found was NOT any cheesy, packaged ice cream and sketchy hotdog joint. Instead we found THIS. A charming, beautiful cottage run by a very pleasant woman who baked, (BAKED!) her own cakes and tarts and made, (MADE!) soups and sandwiches and fresh lemonade and brewed coffee and teas.
IT was truly delightful. And I found that you get a lot of this in Stockholm–quality food and drinks that are homemade and served at tourist attractions. They don't seem to succumb to the duked-down and cheapened crap that most tourist places serve. So wonderful, and reason 1,267 why I love Stockholm.
My parents reflecting on the beauty of Stockholm, and that delicious piece of cake they just ate (above).
My dad, trying to look stern.
I don't know the story of this cat with the flower wreath but I saw it all over the place, including on the tour boat. I liked it, a lot.
We also visited Svensk Tenn, the design company founded in the 20's by Estrid Ericson, who was only 30 years old at the time (amazing). Estrid was the creative director, who believed in mixing the "high end" with the "low" and that the magic is in the small details of a space. I love the overall vibe and aesthetic of the store. it feels very elegant but also very real and creative.
Estrid hired the designer Josef Frank, designor of trippy but elegant patterns for fabrics, and mod yet soulful furniture. I had heard of Josef Frank but never heard of Estrid Ericson before. I'm glad to have learned about Estrid. She seems like a very cool and inspiring person.
My cute parents, at the Svensk Tenn store. Yellow is not my mom's favorite color but she likes sunshine a lot and she still looks great here, as does my dad.
Later that evening (actually, I don't remember where in the sequence of days this was but no matter) we went to a classic, iconic restaurant for traditional Swedish food.
This was not at the restaurant, though you could order something like it. These lovely salads were found in a DEPARTMENT STORE cafeteria, and they looked amazingly delicious.
We noticed that the Auburn, New York-based band Manowar was playing in Stockholm later that summer. Small world.
One of many cool bikes that inhabited the streets.
Here my dad is showing us where he is from (Latvia).
Cool street car, fully functioning.
And on in the cruise terminal, registering and getting our pass/necklace which we would have to wear for the next 7 days.
My dad was pretty excited to be onboard, looking at the sea, drinking a beer, and most of all, being with family.
Right off the bat the scenery was gorgeous. The archipelago reminded me of islands of Maine, if they were altogether, winding along in one big, charming chain of awesomeness.
To see the giant ships meandering among the islands, and getting so close to them was pretty incredible.
We were so close that you could hear the music the residents were playing. This guy (behind the tree to the left of the flag pole) was blasting "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, as he painted a wooden chair. I'm not making this up. It was the best.
When it got too windy we would just go inside one of the lounges and watch from there. Not bad. This place became a regular hangout for us.
