Day 5: Stockholm to Helsinki

Monday, July 14th, 2008

We were supposed to start off our day with a visit to two showrooms in the city, but one was closed for the summer and the other was mean and wouldn't let us take pictures or sketch, which was ironic because all they had were knock offs of originals. So everyone sort of wandered around. I found my way into an indoor market place chock full of meats and cheeses and taxidermy.





Sadly, that was the only moose I saw on the trip. I was bored, so I headed to our meeting place at the Royal Castle and sketched for a bit. Everyone was on the bus by noon, and then we headed to Woodland Cemetery to take a walking tour.



All the graves are placed between the trees, and all those buried here have been cremated.

This carving, located at one of the chapels in the cemetery, reads "Hodie Mihi Cras Tibi," which means "My lot today, yours tomorrow." Not the most positive of outlooks, but thought-provoking.



And this is the Angel of Death, well not the original one. It was stolen twice and recovered twice, but is now housed in a museum. This is obviously a replica.



The only grave here that was given special treatment (the idea of equality is very important to the Swedish) is Greta Garbo's. It's actually located right next to the children's lots.



After the cemetery, we checked onto our first overnight ferry. Then everyone headed up top to catch one last glimpse of Stockholm before departing. Off one side:



And then the other:



Then it was off to the Viking Buffet, where I stuffed myself full of meatballs and Jacobsen's Surprise, which is some sort of potato casserole, and free wine, and chicken nuggets (from the kids' buffet), and herring, and caviar, and bread, and cheese, and ice cream, and moose. Not the meat, but the dessert. And then I needed help walking...