We arrived in Stockholm just after lunch and checked into our hotel in the old town. Stockholm is very picturesque. The old town is built on a small island where brightly coloured houses line the narrow, cobblestoned streets. You could be walking on a street in a little town in Tuscany. We wandered around enjoying the atmosphere and being entertained by the myriad tik-tokkers doing their usual various poses for Instagram.

We were due to go on a museum tour at 6:00 so we stopped into a small restaurant recommended to us for an early dinner. The owner, Gianni was very friendly and accommodating, and even though the cellar was closed to diners, he was more than happy to let us dine down there. The building was built 700 years ago in medieval times and the cellar hasn’t changed since. Candles on the tables lit the suit of armour and medieval artefacts, and a tunnel used to escape to the church led off the room. The menu contained roast reindeer, but we opted for the Swedish meatballs, which were delicious and paired very well with Swedish beer on tap. The meatballs were served with mashed potato and lingonberry, which is a small, sour red berry. Paired with the meatballs and gravy, they worked really well.

After our lunch we saw a couple from our tour and stopped to say hello. Nick, an 84-year-old ex postal worker from Wisconsin had just finished dining with his wife, Nancy. I’d asked Nick earlier in the day how he was feeling and he said “not too well”, so I took the opportunity to ask him if he was ok. He said, “oh I’m fine, I’m just suffering from constipation.” Too much information right there off the bat, but Nick wasn’t finished. Oh no. Nick had much more to say. He proceeded, despite pleading from Nancy for him to stop, to tell us that “it’s better to be constipated than to have the opposite”, after which he regaled us with stories of the many times he’s had diarrhoea while on holidays, including one time when he completely soiled his pants at the Vatican to the point where his tour guide had to supply him with “paper pants”, whatever they are. A great conversation to have after lunch. On the way out of the restaurant I said to Lidia “Gee, I’m glad I asked that question!”

We departed at 6:00 to a museum called the “Vasa Museum”. We were lucky enough for the museum to open after hours only for our tour, so it was very special. We were told before the tour that the museum was dedicated to a boat, and we really didn’t know what to expect. A boat? Sounds pretty ho-hum. When we arrived, we walked into a humongous room and were stunned to see a massive, wooden ship that looked like an old pirate ship, with two rows of cannon ports and ornate carving all over it. The size and majesty of the thing literally took our breath away. The story behind it was fascinating and morbidly hilarious.

In 1626, King Gustavus Adolphus ordered a warship to be built. This ship was to be a message to enemy nations about the might and power of Sweden. It took two years to build and measured in at 69 metres long and 53 metres high. An absolute monster of a ship. It included 64 canons in two rows, the first time two rows of canons had ever been attempted on a ship.

On the day of the maiden voyage, the King encouraged all the people of Stockholm to come and witness the power of Sweden as the Vasa left the dock. Unfortunately for the King (and the people on board the Vasa), the draft was far too narrow for the top-heavy ship and after leaving port, the Vasa floated for 1.2 kilometres before it promptly fell over and sank, disappearing in less than 5 minutes. I wonder what message that sent to the enemies of Sweden?

The ship stayed at the bottom of the harbour for 350 years, after which it was salvaged in near perfect condition. It is an absolute must-see for anyone visiting Stockholm.

We discovered another Scandinavian word that we quite like: Fika. It means to have a drink and a snack. This could be coffee and cake, wine and cheese, whatever combination you want. They love fika here and you see the word everywhere. And you know what they say: when in Rome! We’ve fika’d the hell out of Sweden!