Good-Bye Stockholm!

We are leaving Sweden and heading home tomorrow.  I can't believe how quickly these 4 weeks have passed.

Once again, we have had a very memorable experience and I encourage everyone to consider a house exchange!  This year's home swap partners have been nothing short of generous, welcoming and kind.  They have hosted us in their home (and cottage) both at the beginning of our trip and at the end.  We have made lifelong friends.

Here are a few photos of our last days in Stockholm.

Cheers to new friends who feel like old friends.

There are more spaces to park a bike in this country than to park a car.  
(Uppsala, Sweden.)

Seen on the streets of Stockholm.

At first we weren't keen to go to the Vasa Museum.  A museum about a warship?  How interesting could that be?  Well, my friends, it turned out to be EXCEPTIONALLY interesting!  The Vasa was built in the early 1600s and sank in Stockholm harbour minutes after she was launched.  There she sat upright on the ocean floor for 333 years.  She was brought to the surface in 1961 and her rescuers were amazed at how perfectly preserved she was.

  

A selfie with Vasa.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Meeting the locals is one of the best things about travelling.  These fine folks invited us out for dinner one night and we enjoyed an evening of Swedish food and laughter.

What to buy?  What to buy?  A kid in a licorice candy shop.

Our friend Marie is now living in Stockholm.  We got together with her and Kasper for an evening of fun.

Swedish street food.

Sometimes sight-seeing is hard.

ABBA!

Princess cake.

"Fika is a concept in Swedish culture with the basic meaning 'to have coffee', often accompanied with pastries or sandwiches."  Thanks, Wikipedia!


The weather has been so sunny and warm in Sweden!  We spent several evenings paddling about in Järla Sjö.

Bathing beauties.

Joe knows which side his bread is buttered on.

Every time I come around this corner in Gamla Stan I stop and take a photo.  It is such a beautiful view I can't help myself!

Best thrift store in Old Town.

Joe took me out for dinner on my 58th birthday.  We stopped for a photo shoot along the way.

Laying on the couch.  Where I blog best.

'Home Exchange 2016' is now a wrap.  Thank you Mats and Elizabeth for agreeing to swap homes with us.  Our summer has been fantastic.  We have loved every minute of it.  (Well, maybe not when the apartment building in Kraków caught on fire.)  We look forward to seeing you again when your family comes for a Whistler skiing holiday one winter!