Yesterday we clocked another 5 plus miles while exploring the Old City in Stockholm. We had our delicious buffet breakfast than hopped the ferry for our day of exploration.
As we walked over the bridge we thought we were in Disney World. We ran into none other than the most famous mouse in the world, Micky Mouse.
Leaving Micky on the bridge, we passed over the canals. Vendors were selling ice cream and Korv.
Saw my first Swedish guard. They are nothing like the Brits. They talk to you and make eye contact.
At the Palace it was total pandemonium and I really did not want to deal with the crowds. So we decided to pass on the tour and head for a cafe. I needed my morning fix of coffee. We found this very interesting place where we had coffee in a dungeon. It’s called Cafe Sten Sture.
The place dates back to the 14th century and the walls have different objects from ancient times.
The coffee and bulle were good and Bruce really liked their hot chocolate.
Relaxed now and ready to go we checked out the square in the old city. Like most of the Northern European cities, it was very colorful.
The Stockholm Cathedral was quite an amazing Church. There was a charge to get in though, which usually is not the case with old churches.
St. George and the Dragon is a large sculpture carved out of oak in the 15th century.
The silver altar is silver and ebony and was donated to the cathedral in 1650.
The painting of the Last Judgement was from 1696 by David Klocker von Ehrenstrahl.
After the church we wandered the narrow winding streets of the old city.
Another a later sculpture of St. George and the Dragon was made of bronze.
Some children were playing with the fountain.
And then another church, the German Church.
And Bruce met a friend on the street!
Another reason we thought we were in Florida!
She was very busy taking notes. And he’s out enjoying the sunshine.
Bruce thought these were the soldiers from Santa Claus 2!
But we are back at the palace and the crowds have disappeared. We are going in for a look. But first check out these cannons.
Not too shabby an entrance.
What was it with paintings on the ceilings? Did everyone spend that much time on their backs?
Oh here is the king, I think!
Some fancy formal wear.
Ok I know this is Sweden!
Some very fancy furniture! And Knick Knacks too!
Now this was unique, sculptures on the ceiling!
Very long hallways! This may be where they have the formal dinners.
Cozy!
Not so Cozy!
This is where you’d stay if you were a head of state visiting Sweden on state business.
They do have ave updated bathrooms! I asked!
They do have old fashioned fireplaces!
The Throne room where royalty meets with people. The building is being renovated to ensure it is preserved.
We also went to the Palace Chapel – everything is very ornate.
The treasury is where the crowns are kept. They were very beautiful but we were not allowed to take photos.
We had a nice dinner – Bruce had Swedish meatballs and I had s caprice salad. It was very good.
As we waited for our ferry I noticed that most of the cars were BMWs, Mercedes or Audi’s. We also saw Tesla’s and a Ferrari.
Today we planned to have a quiet spa day. We had breakfast then headed to the pool area.
We spent time in the jacuzzi, the Swedish sauna and the hamam. It was very relaxing. Afterwards we took the mile walk to Fotografiska, the photography museum. On our way we saw beautiful cherry blossoms.
We walked along the river and then over a bridge. We took a wrong turn here and there!
There were four exhibits going on. We checked out the first one which was a female photographer working with females for 30 years, Ellen von Unwerth.
Then there was Christian Tagliavini who had some very interesting work.
We had coffee up at the restaurant which had amazing views.
It was a great afternoon. When we returned to the hotel, we went into the pool and jacuzzi again. Then had a good dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Tomorrow we leave for home!
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