Hostels are Very Cool.

Bridge from Längholmen to Kungsholmen

This morning, Jannette, Hannah, Kristina, and I took a long walk around some of the islands. Stockholm's parks are amazing and Kungsholmen is one of my new favorite islands. The skating parks, playgrounds, and beach walks around the area are very well planned and wonderful parts of the city.

The top of the bridge.

Lovers in Stockholm put these locks on the bridge at its highest point and throw the keys into the water. Some of the locks look really old. We wondered how visible the keys below might be to scuba divers. 

Old-looking padlock.

Hannah had an unfortunate encounter with a pogo stick while on the bridge.

Skate park built under the overpass.

I think that more cities in the US should have skate parks set up like this. I know Dave would really have liked it. 

Beautiful amphitheater in the park. I want one!

Beach

The word for beach in Swedish is strand. The beautiful walk along the beach is called the strandpromenaden.

Setting up in the hostel. Bed dressings are different in Europe!

After walking for a few hours around Södermalm, Längholmen, Kungsholmen, and Riddarholmen, Hannah, Kristina, and I drug our luggage across Gamla Stan to our new hostel, which I have decided is Very Cool.
We are staying in a 28 person room organized into three adjoining sections with four bunk beds each. This means that we are surrounded by a whole bunch of other people from different parts of the world, speaking different languages, and doing about the same things we are doing. At the moment, most of the people around us seem to be French, so Hannah is having a field day trying to keep up with what they are saying to improve her french.

The 28 person room.

However, this might be found in many hostels. What is spectacular about ours is the fact that it is in the middle of Gamla Stan, it has kitchens, it as free pasta, and it has free laundry facilities with free soap. I am very excited about this. Laundry, as you know, has been difficult this trip.

More hostel

The kitchen!! A relief after not having one for the past few weeks.

Pasta!

Dinner! Mozzarella and veggies and free pasta!

The pasta is awesome. We've had lunch and dinner (6 meals between the three of us) for about $2 a meal, complete with pasta sauce or veggies and cheese. I'd say Hannah picked a good hostel. We'll see how the showers are in the morning. 

Extra Wanderings

Visiting a part of the palace.

Chapel inside the palace.