Happy Birthday America! Today is the 4th of July and we find ourselves in Stockholm, Sweden, a beautiful capital city which likes to be called the “Venice of the North.” The city is built upon fourteen (14) islands with many bridges and many local neighborhoods. We spent most of our time on Gamla Stan, the Old Town, which dates to the 16th Century and was never ravaged by war so that the buildings are original.

We began our day by negotiating the Swedish Archipelago, a complex of 20-30,000 islands between the Baltic Sea and Stockholm. I took a picture at about 5:00 AM of a few islands as we passed near them.

When we reached Stockholm we got an early start and headed to Gamla Stan for a scenic walk through the Old Town. It was great to be there early because we did not have to compete with the crowds which undoubtedly blossomed later in the morning. From Gamla Stan we spent some time walking on Riddarholm Island (the Island of the Knights) and then saw the famous City Hall before heading back to the ship. We were extremely impressed with Stockholm. It is a beautiful city with regal architecture. Today was particularly good with decent weather, although a bit cold for Lee.