30-AUG-Stockholm II

Breakfast on the Freeway Interchange!

Today we slept in a bit (after 7am) and had a bit of a lazy start.  Finally, we headed down to a buffet breakfast, and lo and behold…they had Swedish Meatballs!!!  Three meals in a row!  

Drottingholm (Queen's Palace)

We headed to the station and caught a train, then a bus to Drottingholm which literally means “Queen’s Palace”.  It was built in 1756, although it burned down at least once and was rebuilt.  The funny thing was, there were a couple of signs describing buildings which stated since the building was paid for from the family’s own money (as opposed to State funds, we presume), they used wood which was the cheapest material at the time and covered it in a plaster to LOOK like stone.  So, if it is their money, they were frugal (in their opulence) but if it was your money, only the best stone will do.  Hmmm. 

The church on the grounds.  The carved wood behind the altar was cool!

Incredible entrance stairs...but not stone!

Amazing what you can do with paint!

An "informal" meeting room.

The Library.  (While impressive for 19th Century with 7500 volumes,
doesn't compare to my i-Phone with WiFi.)

The busts are all Roman Emperors. 
The white trim is all painted wood!

The rear garden, from the palace.

The State Room, with paintings of Kings from around Europe (and a Pope).

Nothing compliments a peaceful garden like a statue of someone getting clubbed!!

Although far from getting arrested, I did get an evil eye from an armed guard.  I was looking at the statues near the palace, and walked up to the chain bounding the stay out zone.  I never crossed the chain, but I was right up to it.  Oh yeah, I was also just behind the sentry box, so out of his view, but he would have seen me walk by and saw me walk around behind.  He likely wondered what I was doing and probably wanted to make sure I didn’t pop out the other side.  Anyway, I saw him peek around the far corner, which was funny since it was just his shiny hat, half of his face, and the blade of his bayonet.

Peekaboo through the trees.

Hot dog lunch!!

After touring the palace and grounds, we headed to the road where Theresa noticed there was a little store with hot dogs.  Actually, they had an assortment of hot dogs, Vienna sausages, etc.  For $2-3, it was a perfect meal!!

We headed back to the town and visited the Spirit Museum.  Frankly, it might have been called “The Swedish Drinking History Museum”, because it was basically only related to Sweden.  But we still enjoyed it.  Also, we learned what a smorgasbord is.  Originally, they would offer a drink to accompany some fish or dried meat.  They added a bit more and additional spirits to go with the added food, and more food for the added drinks.  Finally, they had a table crowded with food and drink…a smorgasbord!!

Taste testing!

After the museum, we had a sampling of some of the traditional flavored spirits of Sweden.  First, note that until about 1850, any vodka was not well made.  It was basically homemade hooch, even if commercially made.  So, the flavors they put in it was intended to HIDE the nasty taste of the poor quality distillation.  So, they used bitter and pungent things that would mask the basic taste.  These are NOT your modern aperitifs!!  Well, these were not great.  Theresa thought they were horrendous, and Bill thought they were curious, but not good.

The amusement park.  Lots of "drop" rides!!

We headed out for our transportation…this time a ferry!  Train, bus, boat, and foot.  We got some good views of the amusement park right there on the water.  Back in the hotel, we had a light dinner with drinks courtesy of Hilton Executive Lounge and Theresa’s Diamond status!  Drinks, of course, included champagne, since we read so much about the history of Champagne in Sweden!

An airplane (An148 maybe), because, well...obviously!!  :-)

Theresa says, "Good Night Stockholm!"