As an island nation Sweden is surrounded by water, so aquatic symbols and seas are everywhere. We also spent most of our time commuting on public transportation by boat.
Our first day of tourism in Sweden was spent on an Archipelago Tour. There are 30,000 islands that make up the archipelago (amazing!), though only 175 of them are inhabited year-round.
We saw many great vistas and learned so much about many of the islands from our informative guide.
Two symbols of Sweden seen on the boat cruise: Swedish flag and a delicious kanelbullar (cinnamon bun).
It was FREEZING COLD the day we arrived in Sweden, and we were feeling under the weather, so eventually the family moved from the second floor outdoor deck of the boat indoors for more warmth, less wind and another cinnamon roll(!)
The Vasamuseet was built around the Vasa warship, and more than 35 million visitors worldwide have visited this museum. The Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. It is amazing to watch the video of how the ship was recovered (with diving bells) with the hull fully intact from the sea floor.
After visiting the Vasa Museum we went to Junibacken, a PHENOMENAL children's museum.
We got to ride in the story train, an actual train ride inside the museum which takes you into the fantastical worlds created by Swedish authors of children's books.
Mateo's favorite things to do in Junibacken were hide and jump out of the giant eyeball, and ride the cow outside in the yard (cows are Sharon and Mateo's favorite animals).
Mateo also really enjoyed exploring miniature rooms set up in a second story tunnel all on his own.
One of our favorite things to do at Junibacken was to pose for these pictures...perfectly captures life with young children.
We went on an English language tour of the Royal Apartments with a phenomenal, funny and sarcastic tour guide, and learned about the European influences on this palace, the fire that destroyed it, how it was rebuilt and the state dinners and various functions that still take place in it today, making it unique as one of the few working palaces open to the public.
Our timing was impeccable. After touring the Royal Apartments and Treasury, we made it outside just in time to see the Changing of the Guard, including the parade and musical performances that accompany it with lots of pomp and circumstance.
We marched alongside the military band and guards in the streets on the way to the Royal Palace.
After a morning exploring historical sites, we spent the afternoon at Tekniska Museet engaging with the present and high tech future at an exhibit called "Megamind".
Alexi and Mateo immediately first went to the construction area, where they were able to don hard hats and operate a fully function crane to build a foundation.
Alexi really enjoyed self-powering a little scooter and skiing in a simulated Olympic course.
Mateo's favorite activities were rock climbing and driving the van that goes underground into mines.
Mateo and David both enjoyed piloting model airplanes - Mateo's actually moved!
We ended our visit at Megamind at the Winter Sports floor of the museum, and Alexi and Mateo loved trying to score goals in this simulated hockey game.
We ended our visit at Megamind at the Winter Sports floor of the museum, and Alexi and Mateo loved trying to score goals in this simulated hockey game.
Surprisingly, there is really delicious vegetarian and vegan food in Stockholm. Pictured left to right, we had vegan BBQ at Herman's, and the following night excellent vegetarian buffet at Hermitage.
Wearing warm, colorful blankets provided by Hermitage, we enjoyed our vegetarian dinner al fresco.
Our boys love Italian food, so their favorite dinner was at a pizzeria on a small side street that served huge pies and delicious bruschetta.
One big advantage of our boat hotel was that it is docked right next to Fotografiska, a Museum of Photography that is open very late (until 1:00 am!) several nights a week (perfect for parents of young children - museum trip once the kids are asleep).
The main exhibit, "Like a Horse,"featured photographs of horses ranging from this horse embryo developing inside its mother's womb to photos of celebrities with horses, including this triptych with Angelina Jolie.
Included in the "Like a Horse" exhibit were photographs by Martha Camarillo, showing Fletcher Street in inner city Philadelphia where young men own and ride horses in the streets. So unique to see horses strolling and galloping the streets of the hood, and a wonderful juxtaposition of rural with urban life.
A very moving exhibit that just opened was entitled, "What's on the Plate", exploring the diets and food sources of children living in sub-Saharan Africa where starvation threatens the lives of millions.
The exhibit did not shy away from photo-realism, showing images of children suffering and dying from starvation, which made it incredibly powerful and a call to action for all its viewers.
We spent an entire day at Skansen, the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden on the island of Djurgarden. It was opened in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to show the ways of life in different parts of Sweden during the agrarian era.
It was so enjoyable to see and experience life in Sweden before the Industrial Revolution.
As vegetarians we are a family of animal lovers, so we loved seeing animals everywhere in Skansen.
We really enjoyed also seeing artisans at work at their craft, preserving century old traditions.
Vegetarian lunch options were limited at Skansen, so instead we stopped in a cafe and had delicious pastries and tea.
Alexi and Mateo show off their delicious Swedish pastries baked on the premises - great lunch plan!
A highlight at Skansen was riding the funicular railway called Skansen Bergbana - especially for the young train lovers in our family.
Skansen includes an extensive zoo, with many native Nordic animals as well as the domesticated animals pictured above.
Alexi and Mateo very much enjoyed playing at both the indoor and outdoor exhibits at the zoo.
The highlight for the kids at the zoo was riding the snake slide - Alexi helped the little kids climb into the snake's mouth and made sure everybody got a turn.
Mateo tremendously enjoyed taking his shoes off and wading in the brook and also exploring a shelter that only he could fit inside.
This church at Skansen is still utilized extensively for Swedish weddings, and is located next to a field of daisies.
The playgrounds at Skansen are created with children at the forefront of the design. There are musical instruments to play and kid-sized structures to explore.
Sharon loves windmills - a life highlight was biking the Montauk Century and seeing all the old wind mills out in Long Island. So she loved checking out the different windmills reconstructed at Skansen.
We had the most amazing vegan dinner our final night in Sweden - at a restaurant called Chutney, that we found on Happy Cow (vegetarian dining website). The ambiance indoors was beautiful, as well as the artwork hanging on the walls and the embroidered pillows on the benches.
Our vegan meal consisted of incredible salads, three different types of tofu, quorn and vegan catalones. There was also an unbelievable selection of vegan desserts - pies, cakes and pastries.
We spent our last day in Stockholm at Grona Lund, an amusement park for kids located on the water.
Sharon, Alexi and Mateo enjoyed riding the carousel with unique animals, including giraffes.
Alexi and Mateo discovered their love of spinning teacups at Disneyworld, so they loved twirling around in these teacups that spun even faster than those in Florida!
Grona Lund is a great amusement park because it has rides for kids of all ages, including many that Alexi and Mateo were able to ride together.
Both boyz still love riding trains, and they are getting into more thrilling rides that involve free falls. One of the best things about Grona Lund was that they took all our luggage in storage. Since our hotel is a boat, it left the place where it was docked Saturday morning for a three hour tour - and our flight was Saturday afternoon. Thank you Grona Lund!
Alexi really wanted to go on this roller coaster appropriately named Insane. He went on it solo, and the above picture shows his stunned expression after getting off - a once in a lifetime experience.
We had a PHENOMENAL trip to Stockholm, Sweden. It has a reputation for being very kid-friendly and it surpassed all our expectations - they were so many fun and educational experiences for kids. Definitely visit Stockholm with your family of young children!
We are looking forward in the near future to completing the Scandinavia Trifecta with a visit to Norway.