Part of this water is salty – an extension of the Baltic Sea – and part is a freshwater lake. They separate
the two with locks, and claim the lake water is pure enough to drink. I don’t
see anyone dipping up a glassful to quench their thirst, I’m sure they treat it
somehow.
One thing you see a blazing lot of is pleasure craft – the
claim is made that there is one registered boat for every nine Swedes. Almost all boats have to come out of the water every October to avoid ice damage.
Swedes are careful to point out that the term “Viking” was
only applied to those who went on “trading” trips, not to all Norse. My
historic knowledge says they traded with those too powerful to conquer and
attacked everybody else.
Viking helmets never had horns either, according to our
guide. They guess the horned helmets came from Wagnerian opera costumes, a sort
of Germanic vision of Viking armor. Not a bad guess.
Like St. Petersburg and Paris , there are no super tall buildings in Stockholm . Many buildings
go up 8-9 floors, no more. Because of all the waterways, many buildings have a
water view which must be pleasant.
Our large ship left the dock at 3 p.m. and it took 5 hours
to sail out of the archipelago. Many of these small islands have become the
sites of summer homes, most often painted a sort of dark red with white trim.
We are given to understand that these one-time summer homes are starting to become
year-round residences; it isn’t clear how the winter commute is managed.
