Toby and Allan in Oslo, Stockholm and London 2023

Friday September 29 started cloudy but got very sunny in the late afternoon.  High of 18C. Outside our apartment building.  We are on the first floor (second floor in Canada) . Small playground across from our building- view from our window We decided to spend the day in our neighbourhood, Vasastaden, and the nearby neighbourhood of Norrmalm, checking out some galleries and eventually getting to an indoor food market.  Vasastaden is a relaxed, residential neighbourhood with good restaurants, art galleries and an amazing library.  We are on a very quiet street.  Norrmalm is the adjacent neighbourhood and is Stockholm's business hub.  It is home to the main train and bus stations, has a number of retail stores, bars, restaurants and some cultural institutions.  We started our day with a visit to the Bonniers Konsthall, a contemporary art gallery with a café and small shop.  It is housed in a transparent flatiron building designed by Johan Celsing (b...

Thursday September 28 was Allan's birthday.  It was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 19C.  Our first destination was the Free Walking Tour.  Our meeting spot was the Metro station in Gamla Stan, the Old Town, which is on a small island with narrow streets and very old buildings, a number of which are unchanged from medieval times.  It is one of the best-preserved old towns in Europe.  The Old Town dates from the 13th century, but most buildings are from the 1600s and 1700s.  Sculpture outside the Metro Station- Familjegrupp View across the water Our guide was Linda, an American married to a Swede, who has lived in Stockholm for 14 years.  She is a teacher as well as doing the guide gig.  She sang Happy Birthday in Swedish to Allan and a young guy on the tour who was turning 15.  I haven't figured out putting videos in the blog, so no singing. We walked down to the water and Linda pointed out one of the few industrial buildings still stand...