Its the last weekend here in Stockholm. We woke up early Saturday morning and took off to Central Station to get some ATM cash, bread rolls and a couple of cans of red bull. Our planned outting was to see the famous Sweden archipelago. Since we weren’t quite sure where the boat launched from and the exact times we decided to take a cab and not do the normal walk through town.
When we arrived the line to the outgoing trip to Voxholm was super long. This meant that we wouldn’t get very good seats on the ship. We decided to wait for the next one which would leave in half an hour. We were almost in front of the line this time. Once we boarded Lorraine snagged us a primo spot in the back of the ship. We were able to sit or stand during the whole ride to Voxholm, Lorraine soaked up the sun while I roasted!
The trip to Voxholm is like nothing we have ever done before. You are completely surrounded by islands. The archipelago consist of thousands of islands starting from the mainland Stockholm all the way out to the Baltic Sea. All along the way you see summer homes lining the islands buried within the plush green forest, its hard to imagine this place covered in snow.
Voxholm is a small community with an emphasis to catering to the sailing crowd and tourist. They have outdoor cafe’s stringing along the streets with a few stores selling goods for the locals. We walked up and down taking in the sights. I found the difference between walking in a city USA versus any other country is your senses are more alert to what is what. As an example, in the states you don’t think twice about going into a restroom. When you travel you can’t read the signs or symbols, you have to notice who just went in or came out and that’s after you figured out which door leads to the restroom or WC (water closet) as it’s called in Sweden.
After exploring the street we picked out one of the larger cafe’s. We got seating right next to the sidewalk, ringside seat for checking out the crowds. One novelty about the outdoor dining places your allowed to smoke. You can bet Lorraine enjoyed this, the shot below shows just how much… or rather how uncomfortable she is blowing smoke while people are still eating around her!
On the way back from Voxholm we hopped on another ship line. This time we stayed within the inside quarters as it was a little chilly due to the now overcast skies. Even this was a nice ride as we were a little fatigued from the day and being indoors on nice cushioned seats rocking away with the waves felt good. Nice way to end an excursion.
