Day 11: August 1

 Day 11/Day 7 of VBT trip

Today is a travel day and the last day of the VBT trip. We have breakfast and then get on a bus for the trip to Stockholm.

Before every trip, I use Duolingo to try to learn a few phrases. That is always helpful. This time, I did not, and the names of the towns are a good example of why. Even our guides told us that Swedish is difficult to learn for native kids.

Nonetheless, on our first briefing, they taught a few things that were easy and came in handy.

Hello is "hey hey". It's pronounced the way it looks, so it sounds like a double use of an informal greeting. I used it a lot and it didn't seem to mark me as a tourist. (I am sure there were other things the did that anyway.) During one of our rides, we passed a family and I waved at a young girl and she said "hey hey" as we rode by. Very cute.

The second term was thanks and it is "tack tack" (pronounced "tak tak"). That usually got a "you're welcome" or "no problem" in response, so that was a pretty good indication that they were just tolerating my feeble attempts.

We said our goodbyes to the tour leaders and got on the bus. It was a comfortable bus, but it was still a bus. And the trip was going to take about five hours including two stops.

The first stop was a candy shop, more useful for its restrooms than anything else.

Then back on the bus.

The next stop was a full service plaza.

The food was a little better than service plaza food, but without English translations, I was taking my changes. I chose a Caesar salad - what could go wrong? I picked around the bacon, gave most of my chicken to Walter, and the dressing didn't sit too well, even with a lactase. I might have been better off with a hot dog!

The plaza crossed the highway, so it could easily have been the NYS Thruway except the road surfaces were better and the cars were clean and mostly late model.

We arrived in Stockholm at the same hotel chain where we stayed in Copenhagen.

This was awaiting me in my room. Nice.

The VBT tour guides arranged a separate room for me although I am a little concerned about the additional cost. Leave it to Mike to remind me to prioritize health.

We set out on a walk with Judy and Dominic in search of a bike shop that the VBT tour guides recommended in the Old City. This is exactly the area Rick Steves recommends avoiding because it is an overpriced tourist trap.

On the way, we passed this, but it was another false alarm.

This was interesting.

We finally found it.

But, disappointment again. Lots of bikes and bike accessories, but no jerseys. One t-shirt style. But lots of bikes.

At this point, we parted ways with Judy and Dom to go shopping. Shopping is exhausting, so we had to rest over a beer.

The most interesting part of this place was the bathroom. Around the side of the building was this.

The key unlocked this heavy steel down and to a short stairway.

At the bottom were two private rooms.

The bathroom itself was ordinary.

Across the plaza was the Nobel Prize Museum. I would have liked to go but we didn't have time.

Since we finished shopping, we started the Rick Steves walking tour, but by this time, I was touristed out, so we found a place on the other side of the same plaza for a bite to eat.

First we passed the Royal Palace. Poor guys.

This was interesting. It is a picture, maybe a rendition of the building behind it. They were doing work on the building and instead of looking like a construction zone, they put up this huge sheet.

After a light dinner, it was about 5:00. For reasons Walter has yet to explain, he wanted a haircut on this trip. No luck in Copenhagen, but we passed a number of shops in Stockholm. Mike wandered off for more sightseeing and Walter and I headed back to the hotel to get ready.

On the way, we saw this.

And the King's Garden.

And this.

Just a block or two from the hotel was this place, but they were completely booked.

 What better place to get a haircut in Sweden than the Barbers of Sweden?

We walked another couple of block to another place but it was closed. The window display suggested that maybe it was just as well.

Off to bed. We have breakfast at 7:00 and a ride to the airport at 7:20. The flight is at 10:20 and we arrive at JFK at 1:10, 8 hours later. Then we plan to drive home in a rental instead of waiting for our 10:15 flight to Syracuse. 

I'll probably be offline all day and back later with some final thoughts.