Having left the animals of Jarvso behind, we continued our travel towards the Swedish capital of Stockholm. As we reached the edge of the city the weather had taken a turn for the worse and was wet grey and looked a little colder than we had been used to. So we decided to go straight to our chosen campsite and get set up before we started exploring. I also didn't fancy driving around the busy streets in our campervan.

As we pulled in to the entrance to the site we realised that it was huge, quite the contrast to sleeping in the isolation and wilds of Norway. However, the site was well positioned only a short public transport ride in to the middle of the city. As the weather lifted a little after we had pitched up we went out for a walk around the park that was next to the campsite. We appreciated the green and forested area so close to the centre of such a large city. Sadly, the crazy golf was no longer open, but what did we expect, we were travelling in the off-season and all of Europe's children were back at school

Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden

That afternoon we took the advice of the girl that had checked us in, and caught the train from the station that was only a 10 minute walk from the site entrance. This took us right in to the middle of the city in only 15-20 minutes. It was perfect and reasonably cheap too.

Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden

We always choose to take a look around any city on foot, and Stockholm was no exception. However, what greeted us as we made our way towards the old part of the city had the potential to stop us in our tracks. We noticed that there were quite a few police vehicles, armed police, undercover military operatives and waist heigh barriers. It was a little concerning considering recent history suggests that terrorist attacks can happen in any city globally. We decided to attempt to ask one of the uniformed officers what was happening. He quickly quashed our concerns and confirmed that the heightened security related to the President of Iran being present in the government buildings and he was due to leave shortly. Apparently, nothing to worry about.

After that excitement we continued to wander near aimlessly around the central part of the city taking in many of the local sculpturesand some of the street art. The place had a lovely feel about it and we made the decision to return the following day to enjoy a classic hop-on-hop-off bus tour with a twist, we decided to include the boat part of the tour too as the city surrounded the waterways and they were still significant for travel and trade. Having tasted one of Stockholm’s giant ice cream deserts we made our way back to the campervan as we were weary from our driving and walk around.

HMS af Chapman (Hostel), Stockholm, Sweden

The following day we were up and out early to make the most of our full day in Stockholm. We found the place where the busses would take us on our city tour and jumped aboard. These services are always so interesting, you get to see so much and learn about your surroundings. However, with the mixture of heavy traffic and intermittent commentary, the bus was a let down. However, when we reached the point to transfer to the boat part, we hoped it would improve. And it did. The commentary and scenery where fascinating. The waterways had cruise ships, battle ships, old historic rebuilt vessels and many stunning properties surrounding the trendiest parts of the city’s waterfront.

Having seen all we wanted, we returned to our campsite to prepare for getting back on the road the following day.

Old working tram outside the Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden