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Exploring Stockholm, Sweden by foot, bike, and kayak.

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  Three Amazing Days in Stockholm, Sweden This was the view looking left out of our hotel. A huge tall ship, with beautiful architecture behind. Stockholm is made up of lots of islands, so naturally there are boats everywhere. What an amazing ending to our whirlwind Scandinavia tour. We finished with three nights in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Stockholm. The Swedish capital escaped all of the destruction that WWII brought to the rest of the European capitol cities. Because of this, so much of the historic architecture, and so many of the old buildings remain. I was shocked to see photo worthy buildings as far as the eye could see, in every single direction. Day 1: Our hotel, another small luxury hotel of the world recipients, was the Lydmar Hotel. You could tell that it was the residence of some lord and lady, now turned into a boutique hotel. It was right across the water from the Royal Palace, and right next to the National Museum. I really felt like I was righ...

Hiking the Norwegian Mountains: Mt Floyen to Mt Ulriken in Bergen, Norway

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  Nearing the top of Mount Floyen we could see a lot of evidence of Nazi fortifications left over from the occupation of Norway, and Bergen during WWII. We continued on the trail and the views got better and better. What a day! Today we set off to hike the mountains that surround the second largest city of Norway, the port city of Bergen. Hiking up the mountains is one of the most popular summertime activities here. Even during the winter, locals will take the tram up the mountain with their cross country skis, and go skiing on the same trails we will be walking on. The trails are all lit up during the winter, since the daylight hours are so short. Bergen is also known at the rainiest, wettest city in Norway....but not today! Everyone in town kept telling us how lucky we are getting with this sunny, clear weather... and once we got up on top of the mountains and saw the views, I totally agreed with them! The plan was to take the tram up Mt Floyen from the edge of the city, then hik...