Tony and I awoke to a bright and sunny day. Go figure, rain had been forecast. We took the subway to the old section of Stockholm, Glama Stan, where the streets are narrow and windy - Very medieval and picturesque.
It was a beautiful morning and everything was bathed in a glorious yellow light with a blue sky.
We wandered through the small streets looking for the famous medieval square, Stortorget. It claims to be one of the best preserved in Europe. It has this really interesting water pump where people used to get their water.
We had breakfast on the square, which was very pleasant as it was quiet, and though a little chilly, sunny. Tony had a Latte, which was served in this traditional wide brimmed cup. We also had these tradtional Swedish Cinnamon Rolls, which I was not that impressed with. I've had TJ Cinnamon Rolls, and they are the best of all of them. That being said, it was a very nice way to start our busy day.
From there, we made our way over to Kungliga Slottet, the Royal Palace. It is reputed to be the largest Royal Palace in Europe, and it is massive. It is essentially a big square building with two wings that reach out towards the water. It is impressive from both the water side and the city side.
They don't really allow you to take photos inside, but I managed to sneak a couple including the throne.
We got to see the changing of the guard at the palace, which was another big production.
After touring the palace, we stopped at the palace cafe for lunch and a piece of Princess Cake in honor of the recently married Swedish Princess Victoria. The royalty in Sweden seem to be particularly well liked despite having no official royal powers.
We wandered next door to Storkyrkan, the royal church. It is a beautiful old church, built on the highest point in Glama Stan.
It has a beautiful airy interior of mostly red brick and whitewashed walls. One particularly cool sculpture was that of St. George slaying the dragon. There was also a really cool sphere candle holder.
That evening we met up with, Emil, one of my students from Gnomon back home who lives in Stockholm. We had a lovely dinner enjoying the end of summer "warmth" and the late night sun.
No comments:
Post a Comment