• A 'drive-by' photo of the National Geographic Explorer docked at Stockholm's Gamla Stan (Old Town). The morning fog was lifting as we road the bus to the Vasa Museum.

• The Vasa Museum displays the preserved Vasa ship and many of its artifacts

• The Vasa Ship was built from 1626-28. It sank in the Stockholm harbor less than a nautical mile into its maiden voyage. Well-preserved in the low salinity waters typical of the Baltic, the wreck was found in 1956 and salvaged in 1961. It owes its poor seaworthiness to the fact that Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, who commissioned the building of the vessel, meddled too much in its design.

• The Vasa Ship

• The Vasa Ship

• The Vasa Ship

• The bow of the Vasa Ship

• The bow of the Vasa Ship

• The stern of the Vasa Ship

• Detail on the stern of the Vasa Ship

• Detail on the stern of the Vasa Ship

• Gun ports on the Vasa Ship

• Vasa Ship detail

• Vasa Ship detail

• Vasa Ship detail

• Vasa Ship detail

• The Vasa Ship

• Recreations of Vasa ship decorations painted as they likely would have been originally

• Recreated cannon port

• Pewter artifacts found in the recovery of the Vasa

• Leather artifacts found in the recovery of the Vasa

• Pottery artifacts found in the recovery of the Vasa

• Pottery artifacts found in the recovery of the Vasa

• Stockholm Palace, located in Gamla Stan, is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. It is not the private residence of the royal family, but is used by the King when performing his duties as the head of state.

• Stockholm Palace

• Since the current monarch is King Carl XVI Gustaf, I am not sure why this emblem says XIV.

• A view from the Stockholm City Hall. The water is Lake Mälaren.

• The Three Crowns tower of Stockholm City Hall

• Stockholm City Hall

• 'Three Crowns' is a national emblem of Sweden.

• Stockholm City Hall

• The Blue Hall in Stockholm City Hall. This is the room in which the Nobel Prize Banquet is held.

• Inside the Blue Hall. It is so-named because in its original design, which was not executed, many blue tiles were to be used.

• Blue Hall detail

• Blue Hall detail

• Blue Hall detail showing the hand-textured bricks

• Blue Hall detail showing the hand-textured bricks

• Blue Hall detail

• In the Blue Hall

• City Council chambers

• City Council chambers

• A part of the ceiling in the City Council chambers

• Ceiling detail inside the Three Crowns tower

• A gallery in the City Hall

• Ceiling detail

• Column detail

• City Hall detail

• City Hall detail

• A mosaic in the Golden Hall, which is named after the decorative mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history. They were executed by the Berlin, Germany, firm of Puhl & Wagner Gottfried Heinersdorff.

• A mosaic in the Golden Hall

• A mosaic in the Golden Hall

• City Hall architect Ragnar Östberg

• Our guide for our morning in Stockholm. She grew up in San Diego and immigrated to Sweden about 20 years ago.

• Vinnie, Stephanie, and our bus driver keeping an eye out for stragglers as we board the bus next to this public restroom near City Hall

• We spent part of our afternoon at Skansen, the first (and one of the largest) open air museums in the world. It was founded in 1891.

• Molds outside the glass blowers shop

• Molds outside the glass blowers shop

• A wood shop manufacturing chairs

• A clamping system configured as a wheel

• Woodworking chisels

• Work in progress

• Coffee break at the woodworking shop

• Drawers for parts at the metal working shop

• An oil can at the metal working shop

• A lane in the village

• A steep staircase

• Freshly baked rolls in the bakery

• Log building structure and foundation

• Thatched roof

• Shingle design in roof

• Grave markers and church

• Roof structure

• Fence and log building

• Log building

• Log building

• Skansen's oldest building dating from about 1320

• Domestic reindeer

• Domestic reindeer

• Domestic reindeer

• The Sami Camp

• Rutting season?

• The Sami Camp

• The Sami Camp

• A water-powered mill

• A water-powered mill

• A view of the Nordic Museum from Skansen

• A view of Stockholm from Skansen

• Blå Porten (Blue Gate), Djurgården, Stockholm. The original Blue Gate at this location kept the riff-raff out of the Royal Hunting grounds. This one was built about 1842, well after the general public was allowed into what was then (and is now) a park.

• A statue of Thor, sculpted by Rold Adlersparre, on the Djurgården Bridge

• Stockholm

• Stockholm

• Stockholm

• Stockholm

• Gamla Stan (Old Town) Stockholm

• Gamla Stan (Old Town) Stockholm