Our first day in Stockholm was cold and windy and grey, but we tried to make the best of the newly freezing temperatures and still enjoy a good chunk of the city.

When we woke up in the morning, our boat was cruising through the outer parts of the Stockholm archipelago. The temperatures had dropped big time over night and the islands were covered in snow.

We docked and made our way to our hotel to drop our bags before setting out for a day in Gamla Stan, the historic part of the city. 

Gamla Stan is home to the Royal Palace and is known for its beautiful architecture. 

We spent most of our morning just wandering up and down the narrow streets before making our way back to the Palace to watch the changing of the guard in the early afternoon. 

We warmed up with a hearty lunch in Gamla Stan before heading over to our city hall tour. 

The city hall building itself was really interesting. The outside is kind of dark and a bit depressing looking, but inside each room has pretty different design aesthetics. 

Our tour started in the hall where the Nobel winners get to celebrate their accomplishments before moving on to the part of the building where Stockholm's politicians do their work. 

We passed through rooms with gorgeous artwork, including these lovely tapestries.

And then we ended up in this wild room full of gold mosaic. I have to say this room was not what I was expecting at all to see in city hall, but the mosaics were stunning. 

This room is used for lots of things, but it's also where the post-dinner dancing for the Nobel winners takes place. 

We finished out our first day in Stockholm on the hunt for some traditional Swedish food for dinner. I, of course, got the Swedish meatballs. They were good, but I found that I liked the food in Finland better.