Copyright Jim Bellomo • 2013
Jim & Kathleen go to Europe-2013
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If the weather is good, you sail into Stockholm through the amazing archipelago.
The first bunch of pics were taken around 5:00 am as we sailed through.
There were thousands of islands.
Our Stockholm Guide later told us that most of what we saw were some of the coolest summer homes ever.
I have no idea how long it would take to get to these islands from Stockholm but it took us about 2 hours.
Beautiful islands.
Very small island less than 100 feet from the ship.
Thought for a minute we were going to sail through there.
The wake of our ship.
You can see what I think is Stockholm in the distance.
A few others were up with me.
The water was incredible.
Great reflections.
We had high hopes for a clear day after rain in Berlin.
The sun might just come out.
Lots of small boats and ferries.
Our wake created some cool lines in the water.
For a ship as big as ours, this is a pretty hard turn.
This was less than 50 feet off our starboard side. Imagine how much the sea must drop off.
Beautiful islands.
Tiny islands.
This guy was taking pics with a 600mm lens that he had doubled.
That means if he saw someone in a house, he could see what brand of tea they were drinking.
This people ferry was out early. About 5:45 here.
Some kind of school or government building.
Aren't these islands cool? I couldn't stop shooting them as you can tell.
A small car ferry that went back and forth about every 15 minutes.
Between these two islands.
Now that's some summer house.
We are going to sail Eclipse through there. Or rather the Captain is.
We had company on our sail in.
This is one side of the channel.
And this is the other.
The photographic gang who had joined me by 6:00 am. Before that there were 3 of 4 of us.
The ferry heads to this island.
I am 14 stories above this island and only about 100 yards from it.
The ferry dock.
A pretty big building for an island that is just supposed to be for summer homes.
Lots of boat traffic as the day went on.
We are being followed by another cruise ship. Much smaller than Eclipse.
The ferry, docked.
I finally figured out why Mike wasn't out shooting with me. He was two decks below.
A small harbor for the local sailboats.
The overview shot.
Another INCREDIBLE summer home.
A P & O Cruise ship that shadowed us throughout our two week cruise.
No wonder Swedish prices are so high. They have to support summer homes like this.
I love the way our wake looks.
See how close we were coming to the islands. Must be a huge drop off.
Stockholm grows closer.
At last. Someone camping.
Another incredible one.
Wanted to take this shot from our verandah so you could see how close we got.
Now that's some house!
Overview with speedboat.
Finally, some factories. This is actually on the mainland and not on an island.
Kathleen is finally up and ready to tackle Stockholm.
Here comes a long-distance ferry headed to Helsinki or Tallinn
We got an early morning Swedish visitor on our verandah.
Finally docked. Time to tour!
First stop, the Vasa!
This ship is amazing. I think the ship is in better condition but the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth is better.
Amazing considering it sat on the ocean floor for more than one hundred years.
They are still doing restoration.
The next bunch of pics are all of the Vasa.
I am thrilled that my pics (with no flash) came out as well as they did.
You could use flash but it gave quite a kickback.
No flash in this photo.
A complete scale model of how the Vasa looked for about 20 minutes before she sank.
Our excellent guide Marien and Kathleen.
Marien and the scale model.
Wait until you see how they restored this.
They have series of scale models that show how the Vasa was raised.
One of her lifeboats.
Amazing restoration.
Reconstructed parts that have been painted.
All signage in both Swedish and English. Thanks!
Closeup detail of a closed cannon port.
Close up detail of carvings on the side of the ship. She was a beauty but couldn't float.
Things are looking up.
One mast is still in place.
The reconstruction workshop.
The actual stern.
The museum has four floors of galleries so you can see her from all levels.
Looking down from the top gallery.
We ran into Paul and Gail who were touring on their own. This happened a lot.
Artifacts in the reconstruction lab.
Where Vasa was found and how they raised her.
Part of the raising exhibit.
Mike and I left Carol and Kathleen in the gift shop and went to take pics.
Of this museum in front of the Vasa's building.
Another one I wish I had a tripod for to try an HDR.
The bricks would have made it great.
Mike and I walked all the way around the museum.
Shooting as we went.
The front.
Great sculpture.
Good old Olof. Wonder what he did?
And how about Mr. Magnus?
Kathleen waits with Renda and Jennifer.
Back on the bus, we pass the train museum.
This very cool street. (Can you tell I was in the front seat on the bus?)
The Abba Museum. We didn't stop. :-(
The Stockholm Theater/Operal House
We stopped at a view point to take photos of greater Stockholm and this ship was anchored in the harbor.
Old Town Stockholm.
These ships got to tie up or anchor right in town because they are much smaller than Eclipse.
An amusement park we could see from our viewpoint.
Mike took our pic as Renda looked on.
A very busy harbor.
Stockholm is a beautiful city!
The City Hall.
The grass in front of City Hall.
Marien leads the way. She was a very good guide.
Outside of City Hall.
Sculptures in front of City Hall.
In the City Hall courtyard.
Entering City Hall.
A panoramic shot inside the City Hall. Modeled on Venetian architecture. This is where the Nobel Prizes are given out. In this room.
City Hall is still a fully-functioning government building.
Beautiful, ornate ceilings.
What a door.
This organ plays in the courtyard.
Looking back at the beautiful marble floor.
Our group headed to the door.
Looking out a window.
Nice rug!
Still a working building.
The main council chambers.
With ornate grills.
This city councilman is in charge of retail
Looking up inside their dome...
...at their clock.
And outside their windows.
The Gold Room where everyone is awestruck.
Those are all mosaics.
Amazing!
Hadn't seen anything like this since Italy.
All mosaics.
Meanwhile, outside the windows.
Kathleen waited while I got postcards.
Above the courtyard.
Mike takes Carol and Kathleen's pic in the City Hall courtyard.
So do I! All that's missing is Judy.
On top of City Hall.
The tall Swede who was our excellent bus driver.
Headed to Old Town.
Disembarking in Old Town Stockholm.
Stockholm's smallest monument.
Cool little streets to get lost in.
Cobblestones! Wear good shoes.
The group gets ready to disband and Marien gives some final instructions.
The main square in Old Town.
MIMES! Almost didn't make it back because if they hadn't left, I would have had to kill them. Death to MIMES!
Craftswoman painting a horse.
From Old Town you could see a ship. Not Eclipse.
On our way back to Eclipse.
End of the day. Time to sail off.
The Stockholm harbor in panorama.
Now we get to sail back out through the archipelago. Don't worry, I didn't take as many pics.
And the sun was coming out so I knew the light would be better.
See what I mean. Blue sky.
I love dramatic skies.
Here comes a trans-Baltic ferry.
Another BIG summer house still under construction.
Now that's a blue sky!
We were following a different ferry as we left Stockholm.
There's our cool wake again.
Another school or government building on an island.
Lots of speed boats.
A tiny island. Glad we didn't run into it.
We passed this boat riding our wake. They looked like they were having fun.
I want to do that!
The sun changed everything. It was like a different place.
Another big trans-Baltic ferry headed into Stockholm.
From how bright the sun is, you would think we left at noon.
After dinner I went up on the top deck with Kathleen to take more pics.
There she is!
See, that Fred Thompson ship keeps following us.
Little island. Really close!
Our tablemates came up to take pics as well.
Wanted to show with shadows how close we came to this island.
From the position of the sun, I would guess it's about 5:30 or 6:00.
Celebrity should buy this shot for an ad.
Loved this tiny village on a far off island.
Remember this ferry from the morning?
People came out to wave to the 15 story building floating by.
Double the ferries, double the fun!
Sun's getting low. Must be near 8:00 or 9:00 pm.
Mood shot.
Really moody. Taken from our verandah.
Was in bed and heard the pilot boat.
The Captain says goodbye to the pilot from the flying bridge.
There goes our Swedish pilot.
The sun is almost down. Must be almost 9:00 or even 9:30.
Not! Took this right after the last one to end our day in Stockholm, which is WAY up north.
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