SUNDAY, July 16:
I’m currently sitting in the corner of a courtyard of nude white people, hiding from the stimulants.

Julie joined me minutes ago. We’re a few moments shy of collapsing into shivering lumps of unresponsive body mass, cowering from the crowds.

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Maybe a bit dramatic.

We’re just south of the land of the midnight sun, and the long daylight hours allow for packing a lot into every day. Exhaustion is creeping in, and has already claimed one tour participant this morning as she made the wise decision to take a rest day in the hotel. Today’s agenda included a tour of the Stadshuset, the city hall of Stockholm. We echoed in the Blue Hall (not blue), strolled through the Oval Room (not an office), and gawked at the Byzantine-styled Golden Hall (11 kg of gold on the walls, in nearly 18 million tiles!). In a tour featuring lots of big buildings, this one truly stood out.

Our day’s schedule flipped and flopped as we attempted to avoid the wind and rain. Next stop: the Vasa Museum, home to the spectacular archaeological recovery of a 17th-century warship measuring over 225 feet long and 175 feet high. I was gobsmacked by the ship’s immense size, but was quickly overwhelmed by the swarms of people joining us in our escape from the rain. It was nearly impossible to stop moving, and fully impossible to get out of the way. Like deer in oncoming traffic, I began twitching and leaping wildly into unpredictable directions. Julie helped guide me to the restaurant where I found, once again, that food was the answer to my unrest. We shared a brie sandwich and a cinnamon roll and left the crumbs for the friendly sparrows.

Then, the most astounding sight of the tour: the line for the restroom was composed of more men than women!! I’ve traveled far and wide, and this was a first.

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The itinerary continued to adapt to the rain, and we headed to the Swedish National Museum of art for a couple hours. This was the final straw for my psyche as we wandered into more crowds. I escaped to the Sculpture garden for reprieve and some quiet amid the marble statues – nude white people. 😉

The rain cleared and blue skies reigned supreme as evening approached. We were set loose again, clambering around and through the Gemla Stad, the old city portion of Stockholm. Charming alleyways, warm pinks and yellows on the walls, and dozens of shopkeepers willing to take our kronor. Jessica was bolstered by jordgubbe & rhubarb gelato, and we set off to load up with bags of souvenirs.

We finished the evening in a beautifully intimate cellar-style restaurant room — candlelight illuminating the hand-painted mural on the plastered wall — buttering knäckebröd as we feasted on rich and soul-baring conversation.