Thursday was a glorious day, clear and sunny though a little cool. Funny but you could tell who the locals were even without them speaking — they were the guys in shorts and tee shirts and the women in sun dresses even though it was about 60 degrees when we were out mid morning.  Guess it feels balmy to a Swede after a long and dark winter.  We hit two spots.  First was the Vasa museum that houses a ship built in the early 1600s that sank on its maiden voyage with the king and thousands watching. It was raised almost intact in the 1960s and restored. It is something about the Baltic Sea being less salty so shipworms don’t thrive. It is quite a sight.  Second was the Spirit Museum, which was a whimsical look at drinking habits in Sweden. The highlight was the Absolut art collection that was based on their ad campaign. It had works from some of the top names in late 20th century modern art such as Warhol. I’ll let Pat fill in on that. We approach Helsinki on what is shaping up as another lovely day with a projected high in the 80s. Glad I brought shorts unlike somebody else. This is being posted from a Merimekko store in Helsinki.