We are in Stockholm, back to the normal Europe. Stockholm is much bigger than Helsinki, and parts of the the downtown fell victim to urban renewal schemes of the 1960's. But other parts are pleasurable to walk around.
Today we went to see the 17th century warship, "Vasa", which sank on its maiden voyage after less than a kilometer of travel. It was raised in the 1960's and restored, and is now Stockholm's #1 tourist attraction. It is quite a sight, a huge ship, and decorated extravagantly to assert the power of the King Gustavis II. He appears to have been a nasty, war-mongering character... maybe he deserved to have his prize warship sink.
Then Ada and I went to see the monkeys, and Vera went off on her own. We spent almost an hour with the lemurs, who were in a large closed-in area that we were in too. There were virtually no other people there, and the lemurs were completely comfortable with our presence, sometimes as close as a foot away. They were fascinating to watch, and we were completely absorbed.
And then there were the sloths, who eat hanging upside down.
Tonight, Vera went to an opera (by Cavalli) at the 17th century theatre at Drottingholm (as seen in Bergman's Magic Flute), while Ada and I rested in our hotel room.
Swedish meatballs and pickled herring....
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