Elle’s in Europe 2025 - Day 15 - Big Ships, Tiny Tots, and Rain Drops
The weather forecast today was a full day of rain. The good news was that when we rolled out of bed at 8 AM this morning, the forecast had improved, and the sun was starting to peek through. We went down for breakfast, where Elle had her mix of bananas, eggs, and croissants. She’s become a huge breakfast eater, and today was no exception. Jenn and I decided to abbreviate breakfast a bit today to go out before any more potential rain fell. We walked the 20 minutes to the Vasa Museum, a place we’ve passed a few times on our various walks. The museum is known for having a fully preserved 17th-century ship. Ironically, this ship sank on its maiden voyage (think Titanic), and they were able to get it off the sea floor and preserve it. It’s beautiful, massive, and captivating. There isn’t much else to see here, but they have a few different levels of elevation where you can look at the ship.
It was the perfect pre-nap activity, and we walked back to our hotel to let Elle get a nap in. When Elle woke up, we walked back in the same direction, this time to Junibacken. We wanted to make sure we took Elle to something specifically for her, and so we thought Junibacken, a kids ’ playhouse/museum, would be the right choice. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. After buying tickets, we went to the first of three different themed rooms. We found the place to be far too crowded. Elle isn’t walking yet, and so having 40-50 little 4-5-year-olds running all over her wasn’t ideal. We tried our best to carve out small spaces for her to play, but it became a bit overwhelming for all of us. She felt most at home in the library, where we let her explore and read books. We went through the other two themed rooms before going to the gift shop, where she clung to a Pippy doll that, as of this writing, she’s still in love with. We also picked up two Pippy books, so we have something to remember from this experience.
We all worked up an appetite and headed back in the direction of our hotel to a nearby restaurant called Restaurant B.A.R. It was on my list as a good one to go with Elle, and it was perfect for lunch. We arrived a little after 1 PM, and there were only a few parties there. They sat us next to a lobster tank, which captivated Elle. Jenn got a glass of white wine and fish and chips, and I had a Pilsner with an open-faced roast beef sandwich. We also split some corn ribs. It was a great, simple, and relaxing lunch, and we were so proud of how much Elle tried and ate throughout.
I dropped Jenn and Elle off back at the hotel and went out in search of coffee again. After twenty minutes of walking and passing the stunning City Hall, I landed at Volca Coffee. I had a flat white, and it was easily the best one I’ve had on this trip. When I wrapped that up, I started walking back to the hotel and stopped at the central train station to get some extra food and snack pouches for Elle before getting caught in a brief rain/wine storm. I was able to take refuge in Starbucks, where I got Jenn a hot chocolate before braving my way back to the hotel.
The wind was quite strong by the time I got back to the hotel, so we decided to eat again at the hotel. We had to sit inside tonight in a rather tight dining room. I had a chicken Caesar salad, and Jenn had the meatballs. For the first time on the trip, Elle got quite frustrated at dinner. She’s had brief moments, but this was the first time she had had enough. Elle was just about done with dinner and so she took her out of the restaurant and let her expel some energy climbing the five flights of stairs to our hotel room while I settled the bill. We had time to kill tonight, so we let Elle climb around the hallways and stairs as well as play in the hotel room. She wasn’t the happiest of campers but by the time she was bathed and we read Goodnight Moon she was ready to call it a night and look forward to our last day in Stockholm tomorrow.
