‘Magic’al Europe – Day 6

Finally, we were able to get off the ship for the first time since Day 4! In all honesty, we were more than happy at this point in time to simply just stay aboard the ship and relax and attend many of its exciting entertainment  options, but since this was the first time any of us had been to Northern Europe, we decided before hand that we would get off at each country and explore a small portion, effectively making this trip a “sampler-plate” of Europe, to see if we liked it or not.

Getting off the ship was a simple affair, with simple customs and the reminder of what time we had to be back on board (if not we would be stranded in Sweden!) Soon, we were off and exploring in the wonderful city of Stockholm, Sweden, a country which I’d raved about going to for ages, mostly because of the World Rally Championship at that point in time, and the epic Snow Rally stages that were held during the early 2000s. In Stockholm, there was none of that, and instead we were treated to a rather subdued, aesthetically pleasing town. However, most of the charm was worn off due to the weather during the time of our disembarkation, where it rained for much of the day after as well. The gloomy weather made transport and finding our way difficult as well, so we had to make do with old-fashioned maps instead of using our GPS entirely to guide our way.

Soon, we headed to the town square, where we met a member of the Disney Cruise staff who was going around taking pictures — he was the same person aboard doing one of our family pictures as well. Being Disney, he of course recognised us and also offered to take some photos of us, even in the ever-worsening weather.

Left with nothing much to do before the Changing of the Guard Parade in the Royal Palace. We walked around the streets looking at shops that engulf the entire streets, before finding the town square later and taking some photos there as well.

Finally, we made it to the Royal Palace, where we were able to witness the changing of the guard, before heading back early to the cruise ship for lunch, deciding that the gloomy weather and the lack of a sufficient do-able plan in this sort of weather was too much for us, and heading back to the ship would provide us with much more to do, and more importantly, a place to eat!

Back at the ship, we went back to Cabana’s for lunch, deciding that we were able to skip the queue and also enjoy some simple fare before heading towards other activities of the day. I also took the time to change into my newly acquired Saab branded T-Shirt, which I was super excited about. We were also able to catch another show from Kyle Knight & Mistie, where we also queued to purchase their DVD recording of their various shows.

As is tradition, we also took some photos today before heading to dinner. The backgrounds change in synchronisation with the theme of each country, so today we stood in front of a Sweden-themed background!

After that, we headed to Carioca’s for dinner, the third restaurant aboard the Disney Magic. This was a Spanish themed restaurant and it was definitely the most open-feeling due to the windows all around us, unlike in  Animator’s Palate, where it was a fully enclosed place to eat. As usual, our table was set up neatly and we were given a new menu for tonight’s dinner.

 

For appetiser, we had the Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower, the Lobster Croquettes and both the Black Bean soup as well as a Fish Soup.

For the main course, we ordered 2 sirloins, one rib eye steak and a Rum-marinated swordfish.

Finally, for dessert, we had the Carioca’s Ice Cream Sundae, the Strawberry Cheesecake and the Coconut Cake.

Finishing off the night, they made hats for us out of our napkins, as another example of Disney’s great service and amazing staff creativity and freedom. We finished dinner extremely satisfied, and headed out to the main lobby, where we observed the waters and queued for a photo opportunity with Minnie Mouse, before heading back to our room.

 

Back at the room, we found even more gifts addressed to us, as well as a new towel animal sculpture. We eagerly awaited the next day of activities, and with it, another country.