Why Stockholm?

First and foremost it sounded like a very interesting place to visit and Richard had raved on about it and as a bonus we could get to check out one of world's greatest tourist attractions. The Vasa Museum.
So what's the deal with this museum. You need a bit of history here. In 1625 the King of Sweden commissioned a German ship builder to construct the mother-of-all galleons. The ship builder died half way through the process and a Dutchman finished the job. Prior to it's initial test voyage, the admiral of the fleet ran a traditional stability test on the vessel by way of having 30 sailors run as one from side to side on the top deck. Even though moored in placid waters, the admiral became so concerned about the rolling motion of the ship he immediately terminated the test. Then along comes the King's directive to increase the vessel's fire power with the unplanned addition of two rows of cannon on the top deck. This was one top heavy and very unstable war ship, a classic train wreck in the offing. On a nice sunny day in 1628 the galleon cast off, quietly sailed 1200 metres down the harbour and then in front of virtually the total population of Stockholm the mighty Vasa got on a slight roll, heeled over and sank like a stone. Loss of life was 50, not that sailor's lives counted for much in those days. 
Moving along to the mid 1960s, technology had reached a point where one very able Swede was able to put together a team to salvage this vessel 95% intact. So there it now sits, in all it's glory and a sight to behold. It's overpowering and has a dominating presence. 
Stockholm itself is a great place for a three or four day visit. The locals are friendly, the food is interesting and there are an endless number of sights on this multi-island city. Everyone speaks perfect English, in fact, at a fluency level better than the English. The Government embraces English as being of equal importance as the Swedish language.
The down side. We were surprised about the mediocre quality of their Modern Art Gallery. When you think that this is modern design central and the home of Ikea it's hard to understand why these free thinking Swedes haven't been able to translate all this wild thought onto canvas. It was a real surprise to us.
The other interesting thing of note is Swedish drinking habits. Prior to arriving here we thought that stringent alcohol controls would have resulted in very modest drinking habits.
No so. Drinking is apparently a major part of the Swedish  lifestyle which on reflection is understandable when you realise that the city is pretty much in the dark for eight months of the year. I guess a healthy daily dose of herrings washed down with kegs of beer helps keep the winter blues in check.Even though the price of wine and spirits is way up there, beer prices seem pretty normal. The interesting thing there is that when you visit a bar or restaurant both males and females can be seen downing huge glasses and tankards of beer. And what's really weird is the sight of slinky stick thin young men and women downing beers at a rate that would do justice to your average middle aged pot bellied English male pub drinker. Maybe these Swedes work off all this alcohol in the sauna prior to going to bed.
We wouldn't want to live here as we suspect that after some time the Swedish life style would become increasingly boring however we will certainly make a short return visit in some future summer with the thought of travelling north up to the arctic area.