We had enjoyed our time with our dear Swedish friends, their family, friends, and neighbors in Skane, and now it was time for the next leg of our Scandinavian adventure - off to Stockholm!
We dropped off our all-electric Volvo at the Malmö train station and met our friends inside, grabbing a coffee and splitting a pastry while we waited to board the 7:17 train.
We arrived in Stockholm around noon and marched our way to the Scandic Gamla Stan hotel. It is on a peninsula that juts out into the Riddarfjärden coastal sea, in Stockholm's busy "old town" neighborhood, ideally situated to fan out across the city.
Once situated, we gathered with our friends and headed out to grab some lunch and do a little exploring.
We were hungry so we didn't go far and ended up at the Hairy Pig. Here's the crew.
Even in Scandinavia, we followed up on the Italian spritz inspiration.
After lunch, we scattered to do a little window shopping in Gamla Stan. We stopped in a candy store to look for Swedish candy varieties (on Kathi's wish list). This lad was rolling long ropes that would be cut and packaged into individual sweets.
We moseyed our way down to the Slussen ferry station and caught the next boat to Djurgården to visit the ABBA Museum.
Just before arriving at the Allmänna gränd station, we passed the Gröna Lund amusement park which dates back to 1883.
It reminded us of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Gröna Lund features a tunnel of love, a funhouse and eight roller coasters. It's also known for its rock and pop music concerts; the capacity record is held by Bob Marley, who attracted 32,000 people in 1980.
Four hundred years ago, Gjurgärden ("animal garden") was the King's hunting grounds. Now it's Stockholm's fun place - protected as a national park.
After a short walk, we arrived at the Abba Museum - a pilgrimage for any fan of their music and/or the movie Muriel's Wedding.
As we waited for our timed entry, we gave our best impression of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid.
I'm not quite sure we pulled it off!
Inside the museum, we learned how the bandmates got started in their musical careers, how they came together and their rise to international stardom.
As we waited for our timed entry, we gave our best impression of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid.
Inside the museum, we learned how the bandmates got started in their musical careers, how they came together and their rise to international stardom.
Here's a recreation of the room, looking out over the sea, where some of their hits were crafted.
Corky and Toni got in the sound booth and did their best singalong.
We even got up on the stage to do a CGI virtual singing and dancing routine with the band.
That's the museum's motto: "Walk in; dance out!"
Who knew Abba had this many albums? I need to up my DJ game!
Our way out of the museum, we learned that The Cult were performing at the Gröna Lund park. She Sells Sanctuary is my all time favorite songs. Corky loves them too. But the tickets were $100 US and we were afraid that they would either be really good or really bad, so we passed. It had already been a long day.
We rendezvoused with Lars and Nancy, who flew to Stockholm after saying goodbye to their kids in Skanor-Fasterbo. The Scandic Gamla Stan has a lovely rooftop seating area, which we took full advantage of.
We busted out some snacks and the boxed wine we had lugged from Lars' party in Skanor-Fasterbo as the rest of our group trickled in.
Our mob took over the rooftop, pushing out another couple, with our boisterous gaiety.
After a while, we headed out for dinner and ended up at La Plaza for some tapas.
After some 10:30 soft ice cream, will special candied sprinkles, we waddled back to the hotel and couldn't wait to get into bed!
Kathi and I held our appetite in check and just had drinks. We know what's important!
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