Stockholm; Friday, 03 June, 2005

After buying a Stockholm Card from the hotel reception I headed out to the metro and back to the area around the Royal palaces.

The first stop of the morning was the Three Crowns Museum, located in the cellars of the current royal palace, it explains some of the background to the buildings on the site, as well as showing the ruins of the castle that burnt down in the 17th Century. From there it was a short walk up the staircase into the Royal apartments, the rooms are spectacular, not only in their opulence, but also in the fact you can see so many of the rooms that are regularly used by the Royal family for entertaining and putting up guests. The Royals themselves no longer live in the palace instead preferring a little pad out in the countryside.

After a quick stop for postcards and an early lunch I went to the Kungliga Myntkabinette, the Royal money cabinet, which houses an exhibition on Money. Not only does it trace the history of the Swedish currency, it also looks at money itself with displays of currency from Pre-Roman times to the Euro. The main part of the museum is well guided in English, but beyond the main exhibition the rest is only in Swedish.

From there it was across to one of the smallest islands, which only houses one large building. However, in the cellars beneath it are the remains of the old city walls and the area has now been turned into a museum on Medieval Stockholm. The exhibition also includes the remains of several ships which have been discovered in the channels around Stockholm during archaeological excavations.

I then caught the metro out to the back of town to visit the Vin & Sprithistoriska Museum, the museum of wine and spirit history. It traces the history of alcohol in Sweden, its manufacture and over consumption that eventually lead to the strict control methods and state control of supply. It also gives an insight into the production of the local tipple Vodka. Although the whole exhibition is in Swedish, a helpful and informative English language audio guide also takes you around, and all of the interactive elements are in both languages as well.

After leaving the museum I caught the bus back to the metro stop and then another bus out to the Västerbron Bridge. One of the longest bridges in the city, it also has stunning views over the city centre and skyline. After taking 15 minutes to walk over it, the bus back took little more than 90 seconds. That took me back to the metro and I came back over to Gamla Stan to find somewhere to eat, before heading back to the hotel.

After spending a little time digesting I headed back out again, this time to Slussen and the Katarinahissen. Built originally as a way of reaching the higher parts of the town without the need for lots of steps, the lift and walkway now provide an excellent view point over the lake and city, especially during a late evening sunset. From there I wandered back over the bridge to Gamla Stan and wandered through the narrow streets in the dusk before once again heading back tot he hotel and my welcoming bed.