The Home of ABBA, Stockholm
We were all so excited for our private tour of the ABBA museum. Our guide
gave us headsets and we listened attentively. He was so knowledgeable and
entertaining. We were able to enter the recording booths where we turned into pop
stars, singing along to the ABBA hits. We saw so many gold record awards, and the original costumes that the group wore in the
1970's. A definite highlight was the chance to appear on stage with the group, singing
and dancing to their hits, and some of us were definitely natural
performers and loved the limelight! 
The afternoon was spent on an a fun boat trip on the 'hop on, hop off' tourist circuit, ensuring that we took in the main tourist sights and didn't miss a thing. Some took advantage of the audio accompaniment using headphones to learn more, while others were quite happy to look out of the window and let the world dreamily float by.
The Viking museum was fascinating and a chance to understand
the real humans behind the Viking myths. Everyone immensely enjoyed trying on
the Viking helmets and carrying their shields and weapons to get a real feel of
what it must have been like. There was so much information about the people
that lived in those times, and with the interactive ride telling a story of a
fictional Viking family too, the history really came alive.
Our next stop was the Royal Drottningholm Palace, which we had to take a boat to get there. The boat ride itself was really special and for nearly an hour we relaxed, basking in the sunshine on the deck, watching the houses, parks and people go by.
As we walked towards the impressive facade of the Palace, built in the 1700's it was truly breath-taking in size. Once
inside we viewed bed chambers covered in gold leaf, kept for important
visitors, and a magnificent shimmering gold library, with shelves packed from floor
to ceiling with books. The highlight was perhaps the theatre, which was over 200 years old and still
in use, with a full programme of concerts and performances this year. We had a private tour, where the guide explained the
history of the building and what it would have been like to watch a play or
concert there many, many years ago. It was like stepping back in time and we all tried to
imagine how wonderful it would have been.
Getting around the City was so easy with the great underground connections.
We were
fortunate to witness the 'changing of the guard', and a procession with a
marvellous band accompanying the ceremony at the
Royal Family's Palace in the old town. We walked up the
cobbled streets marvelling at the buildings and architecture, some of which has
not been altered since the 1300's.
We picked a
traditional little cafe in one of the squares where we had the most delicious
sandwiches and Swedish drinks on a rooftop terrace that
looked out onto fabulous views.
And we always had room for an ice cream! We were on holiday after all!
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