Stockholm

Raining as we cruise up the harbour towards the port of Stockholm and cold,12° which is rather a shock after yesterday.Our hopes of a fine day looked grim.
The trip up the harbour is a pretty one with lots of islands to pass.Sweden has over 30,000 islands so it is an interesting coastline,forested land,rocky cliffs with little jetties to moor their boats and later lots of marinas hosting a huge array of leisure boats.
We were booked on an independent tour for the day which means you are picked up by bus with a tour leader who travels in the bus and then points you in the right direction and you go off on your own.
We were taken to Djurgarten,an island regarded as the amusement and recreation centre. It is home to the Vasa Museum, the National Museum,the Abba museum and Skarsen, noted as a wildlife and cultural centre.
It was pouring with rain when we were dropped off before 9.oo am so our raincoats and brolleys were essential items, it was not walking weather so we took shelter in the National  Museum which was expensive and of little interest to us because it was written in Swedish. We went around the corner to the Vasa Museum which depicts the restored sailing ship similar to the Mary Rose restoration and we browsed the shop until the rain lessened before venturing outside and heading along towards the cafes and Skarsen which we thought would be interesting as it depicted local life and had animals in the outdoors.Apparently the Kings hunted in this area and to this day it is still a place of outdoor interest.
We did find an interesting garden at the back of the Vasa Museum which featured the plants and medicinal herbs used by sailors to keep healthy.
We made it down as far as Skarsen but the lady at the gate said we would need at least two hours to see it all so we took a walk in the Kings gardens instead while we waited for the bus and photographed some impressive rhododendron displays.
Next stop was Gamla Stan in the old town and we were lucky to arrive in time to see the changing of the guard at the palace. Quite a magnificent ceremonial  affair with band performances,some neat footwork from the soldiers who wore silver helmets of viking design and a smart blue uniform. The palace dominates this old section of the city and although the Royal family do not live here in the palace the king works from here and official functions are held here.We did not go into the palace but we did get a taste of the Royal influence by visiting the gift shop.
We wandered around the fascinating old streets ,cobbled and in places so narrow you could touch the walls both sides as you walked through. The massive wooden doors with coats of arms  and family crests which led into to homes and apartments took my eye as did the iron work around the windows. The houses date back to the 16-19th Century
We sat in the sun (yes the weather had improved dramatically after lunch) in Stortorget, the great square out side the Old Stock Exchange now home to  the the Nobel Peace Museum and watched the world go by. Lots of school groups lining up, harassed teachers leading the way amongst throngs of tourists.
There was plenty of window shopping and poking around little courtyards to keep us busy until it was time to meet our bus at three.
This was an interesting city to visit and we only scratched the surface of the options to explore.The boat trips out to various islands looked inviting as the day warmed up and there were lovely parks visible. Maybe a return visit beckons.
Later we went to one of the performances in the Headliners Theatre called Shine and watched some extraordinary agility routines using ropes,hoops and supple bodies to entertain us.I was in awe of what they could subject their bodies to it will be another story when old age calls!!!!