We woke up and had our Swedish breakfast before heading into town to catch the fairy. We had two options today. One was to go inland, and see Drottningholm Royal Palace, or out towards the see to an island and a sunken ship museum. I picked the palace, because I'm a sucker for that sort of thing, and off we went. The weather was a bit chilly, but the wind was what really got me. I was trying to be strong as we sat on the upper deck, but had to go below to thaw for a couple of minutes near the end of the trip. The boat ride was an hour long, but it was nice to see Stockholm from the water. By the time we arrived at the Palace, the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day.
The Palace has an old theater from the 18th century that is still in use today. We took a short tour and saw the theater and how it is kept exactly the same as it was. The inside is all faux materials, like painted wood and papier mâché. Needless to say, not exactly my style, but interesting none the less. After the theater we made our way to the palace for the tour of most of the palace. Because the Swedish Royal Family still lives in the Palace, you don't get to see everything. Again, there was painted wood replicated marble. Every inch of the entry way and staircase, except for the stairs themselves, is fake. From the outside, I really liked the building, but the inside was dark and oppressive. I'm sure the living quarters are kept more modern and livable, because I can only imagine how depressing that would be.
After the tour, we walked through the English Garden and had a picnic. The weather was much improved and it turned out to be perfect picnic weather. We walked to the Chinese pavilion for a short look around before heading back to the ferry home. It was a really good trip, but it just made me realize how very little Swedish history I know. The ferry back was nice and we took a slightly different route home. Seeing everyone skiing and boating reminded me more of home than anywhere else I've visited. Ulla and the kids think I'm a wimp because I was saying the water was well below my comfort level. I think you have to be crazy to swim in 68' water by choice, and call it warm.
The Palace has an old theater from the 18th century that is still in use today. We took a short tour and saw the theater and how it is kept exactly the same as it was. The inside is all faux materials, like painted wood and papier mâché. Needless to say, not exactly my style, but interesting none the less. After the theater we made our way to the palace for the tour of most of the palace. Because the Swedish Royal Family still lives in the Palace, you don't get to see everything. Again, there was painted wood replicated marble. Every inch of the entry way and staircase, except for the stairs themselves, is fake. From the outside, I really liked the building, but the inside was dark and oppressive. I'm sure the living quarters are kept more modern and livable, because I can only imagine how depressing that would be.
After the tour, we walked through the English Garden and had a picnic. The weather was much improved and it turned out to be perfect picnic weather. We walked to the Chinese pavilion for a short look around before heading back to the ferry home. It was a really good trip, but it just made me realize how very little Swedish history I know. The ferry back was nice and we took a slightly different route home. Seeing everyone skiing and boating reminded me more of home than anywhere else I've visited. Ulla and the kids think I'm a wimp because I was saying the water was well below my comfort level. I think you have to be crazy to swim in 68' water by choice, and call it warm.
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