The Graber Family's Adventures in Sweden: Gamla Stan

I've been a little behind in my posts, and this is one from when my parents were here. We didn't get to do a lot of sight-seeing while they were here since we were trying to get everything set-up, but we did manage to make a few trips into Gamla Stan (Old Town). It was founded a thousand years ago when the original capital of Sigtuna had to be moved because of problems with gangs attacking the city. According to legend the leaders in Sigtuna then took a log of wood, cut out all the wood inside, filled it with gold, and let it float on the water. The log was floating on the water for several days and eventually hit land on the island where Gamla Stan today is located. The island was named Stockholm or log island, meaning the place where the log had hit ground. As Stockholm grew, so did the city of Gamla Stan. It isn't hard to imagine what it must have felt like to live in Stockholm during the middle ages as most of the buildings today date back to 13th century and the streets are still as narrow and cobble stoned lined. The Royal Palace, cathedral and the Nobel museum are located in the center of Gamla Stan. In typical Wepsic fashion, we manged to do quite a lot of shopping and eating while we were there!