18 August 2009

Swedish Honeymoon, Day 4: Applying for Passport

Events of July 15, 2009

Early in the morning, we headed out to Stockholm again. We were in a rush to get to the US Embassy, so at the train station, we picked up rolls and orange juice at a PressbyrÄn, a Swedish convenience store similar to 7-11.

When we got to the embassy, we got in pretty quickly and explained our situation to the woman working at the desk. Giving us a stern look, she told us that Melissa technically broke the law by leaving the US without her passport. The woman shuffled some papers and then walked away from her desk. As minutes passed, Melissa anxiously fretted the impending arrival of military police to haul her away to a long prison sentence. Thankfully, her fears were unfounded and the clerk came back and asked us to come back in a week and pick up a new passport.

The US Embassy in Stockholm from a distance. Notice the concrete slabs keeping cars away from the entrance to the embassy:


A view across a bridge as we crossed:


With the passport fiasco behind us, we headed to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a huge Swedish warship that sunk in Stockholm harbor on it's maiden voyage in 1628. The ship laid on the bottom of the harbor for nearly 350 years before being raised in the 1960s. The ship was partially restored and moved into its own museum which is where it is today.

The exterior of the Vasa Museum, with three simulated masts poking out of the exterior of the building:


A model inside the museum showing what the Vasa looked like the day it sailed:


The Vasa as it currently appears inside the museum:


After touring the amazing museum, we took a short nap on the grass and overlooked Stockholm harbor. The weather was warm and sunny making for a perfect nap in the sun.

A typical view across Stockholm harbor:


After the nap, we got some ice cream from one of the many vendors on the streets of Stockholm. Here is a stand looking a little lonely all by itself during a brief pause in the tourist crowd:


A view across one of the many bridges of Stockholm (here Melissa makes her famous pirate face):


Another view across the same bridge:


We walked back to Gamla Stan where we ate at Hermitage Vegetarian, a lovely vegetarian restaurant. Tired after our day of trekking around Stockholm, we headed back early to Tumba to get some sleep, in preparation for our trip to Gothenburg the next day.

Previous: Day 3: First Day in Stockholm
Next: Day 5: Hello, Gothenburg!

3 comments:

Martha said...

that anonymous was from me...Aunt Martha

Anonymous said...

Love reading about your adventure in Sweden...we've never been there.

Jarred, Angela, and Nathan said...

Good stuff! I like the info about the Vasa... keep the stories and photos coming!