02 July 2012, Monday
As relaxing as day three seemed on our schedule, it wasn't. I made more sandwiches "to go" during breakfast for a snack later on. Since I spent the last of my monies the day before on pizza and (non-alcoholic) beer, I decided to stick to my sandwiches.
The first half of the day's activities were completely optional- either we could go to the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) and/or the Museum of Spirits (no it isn't about ghosts, its about alcohol). As much talk as I was hearing about many students wanting to do their own thing away from Vasa and the Museum of Spirits, the majority of us ended up going to the Vasa Museum (first activity of the day). Rather than taking the metro to the Vasa, the bus drove us in- and I think that is why most of the students decided to go to the Vasa rather than try to navigate the metro.
The Vasa Museum houses- wait for it- the Vasa. It was a ship that took sail on the 10th of August of 1628, but sank after sailing a mere 1300 meters (for some of you, that means 1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles). I think I maneuvered the museum somewhat backwards, because I had no idea that this ship sank on its maiden voyage. I just thought it was a well preserved ship that sank in battle like most ships of that age. I wish there was a way to board this ol' ship. But the closest I got on board were the interactive displays and mock-up 1:1 models of portions of the Vasa. Overall, it was still very impressive. I got a small coffee mug out of it from the gift shop, too- a quest that my dad had me on in every country I visited during my European journey.
A group of us met up during the end of the Vasa visit because about half of us wanted to opt out of the Spirits museum in lieu of going to the Saluhall- a market hall in central Stockholm. We all took a small walking trek to central Stockholm towards Saluhall- make that a pilgrimage for gourmet Swedish food. Although I wasn't planning on buying anything, my eyes wanted to taste the visual candy of colors and textures, and my nose wanted to sample the savoury and sweet smells of the foods of the market hall. Secretly I was hoping that this market hall would be a normal market with fruits and veggies on the dime, but alas it was not. It might have been that in it's beginnings, but now it has been converted into a market hall of gourmet and exotic coffees, cheeses, meats, chocolates, confections, and seafood. After taking endless photographs of food that my budget didn't allow for, I joined the rest of my class for lunch. While they lunched on salmon dishes, prosciutto sandwiches, meats and cheeses, macaroons, etc, I busted out my DIY sandwich from the hostel- all while discussing how our dogs were.
If it was up to me, day three would have been reserved exclusively for Skansen. Talk about a cultural package in one location! But unfortunately Skansen was never an option.
But now we had to drag ourselves to our lunch location- despite the fact that many of us just had a bite to eat- to the Kulturhuset- in the middle of the shopping district and where the hustle and bustle of Stockholm really takes place. But along the way, we stopped by many places because (1) one girl was looking for flip flops to wear in the shower, (2) another girl found a department store that was founded by her best friend's grandfather (or something like that), and (3) I misplaced my hairband, and it was a windy day to be wearing bangs, so I was looking for one wherever I could. But upon arriving at the Sergels Torg (the plaza were the Kulturhuset is housed), I spotted a holy H&M across and quickly beat the crowd around the area to make it inside, focusing all of my attention to the accessories department.
I found one. And on sale. All for about 6 Kroner (~ $1!). Scrapped whatever change I found, thank God my bangs got under control after that.
As relaxing as day three seemed on our schedule, it wasn't. I made more sandwiches "to go" during breakfast for a snack later on. Since I spent the last of my monies the day before on pizza and (non-alcoholic) beer, I decided to stick to my sandwiches.
The Vasa Museum houses- wait for it- the Vasa. It was a ship that took sail on the 10th of August of 1628, but sank after sailing a mere 1300 meters (for some of you, that means 1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles). I think I maneuvered the museum somewhat backwards, because I had no idea that this ship sank on its maiden voyage. I just thought it was a well preserved ship that sank in battle like most ships of that age. I wish there was a way to board this ol' ship. But the closest I got on board were the interactive displays and mock-up 1:1 models of portions of the Vasa. Overall, it was still very impressive. I got a small coffee mug out of it from the gift shop, too- a quest that my dad had me on in every country I visited during my European journey.
A group of us met up during the end of the Vasa visit because about half of us wanted to opt out of the Spirits museum in lieu of going to the Saluhall- a market hall in central Stockholm. We all took a small walking trek to central Stockholm towards Saluhall- make that a pilgrimage for gourmet Swedish food. Although I wasn't planning on buying anything, my eyes wanted to taste the visual candy of colors and textures, and my nose wanted to sample the savoury and sweet smells of the foods of the market hall. Secretly I was hoping that this market hall would be a normal market with fruits and veggies on the dime, but alas it was not. It might have been that in it's beginnings, but now it has been converted into a market hall of gourmet and exotic coffees, cheeses, meats, chocolates, confections, and seafood. After taking endless photographs of food that my budget didn't allow for, I joined the rest of my class for lunch. While they lunched on salmon dishes, prosciutto sandwiches, meats and cheeses, macaroons, etc, I busted out my DIY sandwich from the hostel- all while discussing how our dogs were. |
| this is called food porn. located at the Saluhall. |
If it was up to me, day three would have been reserved exclusively for Skansen. Talk about a cultural package in one location! But unfortunately Skansen was never an option.
But now we had to drag ourselves to our lunch location- despite the fact that many of us just had a bite to eat- to the Kulturhuset- in the middle of the shopping district and where the hustle and bustle of Stockholm really takes place. But along the way, we stopped by many places because (1) one girl was looking for flip flops to wear in the shower, (2) another girl found a department store that was founded by her best friend's grandfather (or something like that), and (3) I misplaced my hairband, and it was a windy day to be wearing bangs, so I was looking for one wherever I could. But upon arriving at the Sergels Torg (the plaza were the Kulturhuset is housed), I spotted a holy H&M across and quickly beat the crowd around the area to make it inside, focusing all of my attention to the accessories department.
I found one. And on sale. All for about 6 Kroner (~ $1!). Scrapped whatever change I found, thank God my bangs got under control after that.
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