Can’t say enough about this charming town, STOCKHOLM – the place has a buoyancy of spirit that seems to crest on the waterway that serves as an avenue to the various quartiers. You hop on and hop off the little ferries. One ferry line has headphones at your seat jacked into a central system that will deliver info in any of six languages – just choose your channel! A small-town ambience that mixes with a cosmopolitan awareness. Waiting to board this ferry at one of the stops, a young man offered me his tickets -“I can’t use them,” he said. “If you want them, they’re yours.” A generosity of spirit that seems endemic to the people. The office buildings have turrets on them, and they’re pink! A touch of Fairyland!

And here’s my shot of the fabulous VASA, the warship that’s been salvaged, restored and hung from the ceiling in a three-story museum. It sank in 1628 -was dredged up in 1960.  Wow. (that little construction at the top of the page is a stingray made from a towel; the cabin stewards put one of these on the bed every night.)