When we weren’t preoccupied with TBEX convention and parties, we had time to explore the stunning capital city of Sweden. Stockholm is made up of around 24,ooo islets and islands, ideally seen via bus, on foot and by boat. Mom and I walked around the city with Shane on our first day in Stockholm, enjoying the transport passes given to us by TBEX. We took the underground subway and the hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses and boats. Listening to the information shared on the headphones of the hop-on-hop-off tours was a definite bonus.

I loved getting “lost” in the seemingly deserted cobblestone alleys and streets in the old town and visiting different museums around Stockholm.

On our last day in Sweden before catching the Silja Serenade cruise overnight to Helsinki, Finland, we drove to two of three Unesco Sites around Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace and Skogskyrkogården Graveyard. Both were breathtakingly beautiful in their own ways.

You can reach Drottningholm Palace on a one hour boat tour or drive in about 20 minutes from downtown.

The palace is quite special as it has been the Swedish royal family’s permanent residence since 1981. A good portion of the palace is open for tourists to see, while the southern part is private for members of the royal family.

It doesn’t matter how many of these intricately decorated and carved masterpieces I see in Europe, each and every one has its wow factor. This palace was, to no surprise, inspired by the exquisite Palace of Versailles in Paris.

Mom and I didn’t leave our hotel that day prepared and didn’t have an address for the graveyards so went back to basics and asked a bus driver of one of the many tour buses outside the palace. He was very friendly and drew us vague directions. Unsure if we were on the right route, a man stopped next to us in his car and was incredibly friendly and waved for us to follow him. He went completely out of his way to drive us right to our destination. It’s because of these acts of kindness we constantly encounter during our travels that my faith in humanity is always restored.…

The Skogskyrkogården graveyard, known in English as The Woodland Cemetery, was well worth the effort to get there. Mom has always been drawn to the history of graveyards, fascinated by the names and dates on the tombs, so you can imagine we’ve visited many in our travels together. The Woodland Cemetery was certainly unique with thousands of tombstones peacefully standing beneath the tall forest. The compound is so large that you can explore it by car, driving through the forest, in awe of the thousands of tombstones.

 After a peaceful drive in the cemetary, we headed to the Tallink ferry port to catch the Silja Serenade to Helsinki, Finland! We were sad to be leaving Sweden but excited for the next destinations and meeting #TRLT member Mia  from @touchse for the first time.

For more photos please check out my new SWEDEN PHOTO ALBUM.

To summarize Sweden, we were there 4 nights and I took 800 photos!

Savannah Grace

WHAT TO SEE IN STOCKHOLM:

Skogskyrkogården Graveyard UNESCO site

Drottningholm Palace UNESCO Site

Stroll around the Old Town (Gamla Stan)

Take the Hop On-Hop Off to see the highlights around Stockholm

Vasa Museum!

If you are an ABBA fan, don’t miss the ABBA museum.

Get a museum pass and try to visit as many as you can – Hop On-Hop Off will stop at most of these sites!