Kung Kristoffer's infamous tour of Stockholm's naked statues....

Here is our wise and benevolant tour leader...Swedish Viking Kung Kristoffer!

(aka Hans-Erik's cousin Kristoffer).

Our first stop with Kung Kristoffer: City Hall. This is where the Nobel Peace Prize festivities take place. It is also where we found our first...

Naked Statue!! This work is entitled "The Dance" by Carl Eldh.

Amanda loved it!

Unfortunately, our naked statue tour ended where it began.

After this statue, we (Amanda and I) decided that Kristoffer didn't know that much about Stockholm (he tried to convince us of this fact initially, but we thought he was kidding as he was from Sweden and he should know all about it's capital city...right? We quickly realized that assuming only makes an...well...you know how it goes.)

From then on my Eyewittness Travel book on Sweden gave us a decent tour. But Amanda and I still think that if Kristoffer were to learn about and give a tour of Stockholm's naked statues he could turn a pretty substantial profit! Think about it Zilip!

The 3 golden crowns that are considered the iconic symbols of Sweden. This is found on the top of the main tower at City Hall.

Here is Gustav Eriksson or Gustav I. King of Sweden during the 16th century. Known as the founder of modern Sweden and the "father of the nation".

Of course because we were in the presence of a celebrity, Kung Kristoffer had to have his picture taken next to Kung Gustav I. It was a proud moment for him as it was somewhat of a struggle to get up to him. Even harder was the climb down. But Kung Kristoffer accomplished it triumphantly! All Hail the Kungs!

Do you want Gas or No Gas with your water? I liked the supercharged water with Gas. Amanda prefered the No Gas variety.

We loved the horses!

Kristoffer has a way with animals. Look how he can stand on this horse while it is rearing up. That is not as impressive as the obvious lack of fear on his face. Amazing talent!

Amanda struggled getting up and down, but once she was up she had a riotous good time.

Becky and Amanda standing outside Riddarholmskyrkan. One of the oldest buildings in Stockholm built around the 13th century. This church does not do sunday services anymore. It is the site where monarcy burials and commemorative events take place. It is very gothic. We went by after hours and it was closed. However, Amanda had previously stopped by here with her Aunt and Uncle. She said she saw a movie of a not so attractive man, naked, skating around a rink on ice skates. The movie was supposed to represent some sort of freedom. Yikes! In my opinion, that is freedom that no one should have!

This is the skinniest street in Gamla Stan (old town) Stockholm. Actually, probably the skinniest street in new town too!

This is at the top of Marten Trotzig Grand. Pretty Pretty! I think this photo is our Kung Kristoffer's handiwork.

Climbing the skinny stairs up the skinny street!

Statue of St George battling the Dragon! Get him George, Get him!

Here is a guard at the royal palace. We would get right up next to him, but he had a line around his little station that we were not allowed to cross. Generally, I am not one to obey a lot of rules...but this is one I decided I should. Why you might ask? Because he was armed, I was not.

Because Kung Kristoffer was willing to walk around Stockholm with us on the best tour ever...we decided to buy him a meal at any restaurant he wanted. McDonald's it was. I think he was just trying to be nice to our wallets. Thank you Kristoffer for putting up with our sad humor and our silly personalities for the night!

This picture was taken the next day before we got on the boat to go to the Vasa Musseum and the Junibaken (more on those sites to follow in a post in the next day or two).

This little island is part of the Archipelago in Stockholm. Interestingly enough...as Venice is sinking Stockholm is rising...at a rate of about 4mm a year. That's not much but it does mean that since the viking times Stockholm is a whole 25 meters higher than it was then. Impressive huh? So anyway, since it is rising, these little islands will pop up out of the water all along Stockholm's (and Sweden's) coastline.

While we were there there was supposed to be a big sailboat race. We didn't get the opportunity to see the race, but we did see these 3 boats cruising throught the archipelago. Whether or not they were racing I don't know.

Globen, or for those American's reading this...The Globe (hehe, shout out to MJ & HE). Opened in 1989. This is the big sports arena in Sweden, designed like a giant golf ball. The largest hemispherical building in the world! Supposed to represent the Sun in Sweden's Solar system, although none of the other "planets" in the solar system are archeticturally rounded. In May 2009 an artist placed a tiny aluminum house on the globen to represent big technology and simple life. This little house will be there until October 2009, so we are some of the only visitors who will get to see it!