Stockholm river scene.

When we visited the boat during its construction, we went to Stockholm for a weekend. It’s about a six-hour drive from Hallberg-Rassy on the west coast of Sweden.

We had a long list of things to buy, such as dishes and towels, marine charts for the area, and other items that we either cannot get in the US (like a European space heater) or that we didn't want to ship over because we knew we could buy them locally.

Still, we got to look at Stockholm and walk around a bit. We also went to the Vasa museum. The warship Vasa sank in the early 17^th century on its maiden voyage. Obviously, this boat was not built by Hallberg-Rassy. The photo on the left is an example of the artwork on the ships hull. Because of the unusual character of the waters around Stockholm, the ship had remained in excellent condition until its salvage and restoration in 1961. The museum has recently been modernized. There is a very interesting English-language web site describing the disaster and the salvage at the museum's official site (which will open in a new window.)

Swedes have a sense of humor in their public art. The guy on the right is made out of metal.

This is one of many beautiful buildings we saw.