Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Day 12

There's more than 1.2 million people living in Stockholm. It's a big city. We were assured it's pretty safe -- but to also be aware (like traveling anywhere) of pick-pockets. There are also warning signs like the one above to take your belongings out of the your car and lock it. So we knew to be careful.

Just didn't think we had to worry about it in our hotel lobby. 

This morning while we were enjoying breakfast down there, Raylene left her purse with our sister Rayna and her friend in the lobby. It was sitting between them, not 3 inches from their feet. And somehow, a thief managed to walk behind their chairs and steal it without being seen.

What a shock. Even our tour guides can't believe someone tried that in the lobby where there are security cameras. Unfortunately, the cameras were most likely facing the wrong way. 

Fortunately, one of our tour guides is a police officer in Sweden and could help with the procedures. While she helped Raylene go to the station, file a report, and get pictures taken for a new passport. It was a stressful morning and day for her as she tried to get paperwork together from across the planet. 

Meanwhile, I hit the streets, hoping the perpetrator just grabbed cash and ditched the purse somewhere in the bushes or garbage. I searched high and low, saw plenty of homeless "accommodations," and even prayed at a church I passed by. But all I got was 10,000 steps and a chance to meet a Swedish rat in person. They are as big as cats here. No lie. You may have heard me screaming about 3 a.m. Central Time.

I did take a few photos while I was on the search because, well, I wasn't sure we'd get a chance to explore the city...

Turns out, we had done all we could do by about 1 p.m. our time here. So we headed out to see the two tourist attractions we had on our "Stockholm free day" list.

First stop...

Yes!

Mamma Mia! I'm at the ABBA Museum!

One of the attractions was a sound booth where you could basically sing karaoke while recording your performance... somewhere in cyber space. Not sure I wanna hear it! But we had fun singing Dancing Queen and Does Your Mother Know.

Also plenty of photo ops. We obviously forgot to pack our sequins and platform shoes!

It was a fun distraction for all of us!

Not so fun I felt the need to buy anything in the gift shop. But fun!

From there, we headed the Vasa Museum, which features the only preserved 17th-century ship in the world. The warship Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm in 1628 and was salvaged 333 years later in 1961. It took another half-century to restore it and it's 95 percent original. When you see the hundreds of carvings and sculptures that are "built in" to the ship, you can't help but be awestruck.

Plus, it's huge! Couldn't quite get it all in, but here are a few shots...

Took a lot more photos. Guess I'll have to share all those at some point on my return. There has been so much squeezed into each day -- even with rats on steroids thrown in -- that I have just wanted to give you a taste of our adventures.

Not that they're over. We still have two more days!

And we had our evening. It took awhile to get back to the hotel from the museums because our Uber driver got lost due to road construction. We were so tired emotionally and physically at that point, that all we could do is giggle!

Tonight -- as everyone on this side of the pond knows -- was soccer! Sweden vs Germany with large-screen TVs set up in all kinds of venues for viewing. A bunch of us from our tour group went up to the hotel's roof-top bar to watch, eat, and enjoy the view. Glad we Americans aren't as invested emotionally in the event. We're the ones who won't be sad tomorrow.

But I think we'll all be tired!