Drottningholm and the Grand Hotel

We woke up pretty early so we could get a Canal Boat Cruise Ticket before we took our train to Drottningholm Palace. I have forgot to mention that we are still adjusting to the time change which is made worse by the fact that  it does not get dark here until after 11 P.M. and then gets light as day again around 0330. It is like Alaska.

We have another nice breakfast at our hotel and walk to the boat dock about 10 minutes away. Tickets secured for this afternoon, we walk back to the train station and are on our way. 30 minutes later, we catch a bus to the palace. Our timing is perfect as they are just opening the gates as we arrive. It is 1000 and we purchase tickets for the 1000 tour in English and other than a family from Texas, we are the only ones on the tour. We go from room to room in the Palace, which was built in 1681 after the previous one burnt down. Our guide does a great job explaining the history as well as the different styles represented as times changed over the centuries. Neoclassical, Baroque, and Roccoco are found throughout. We once again are learning the warring history of Sweden and its monarchy. I discovered that it owned Norway up unil 1905, and at various times had Finland, Denmark, and parts of Russia in its realm.

Royal Garden Entry

After our Palace tour, we walk the palace gardens to the Chinese Palace which the King gave to his Queen as a 33rd birthday present in the 1800’s. From there, we took a tour of the old Royal Theatre, which is still being used today. In fact, the palace is still in use by the royal family. ……….It is late so this will be continued. However, we will be without WIFI for a  week or more so it won’t be updated until after that. Until then here are a few pictures to enjoy..CNC…..and now the rest of the story.

After our Palace visit is complete, we catch the bus and train back to Stockholm. The train is very crowded on this Saturday afternoon. We arrive and walk to the boat dock where we will catch the Historical Canal Tour we booked earlier today. Carol enjoyed it and the history but It sailed past more of modern Stockholm then I would have liked. Because of this, I did not like it and if it wasn’t included in the Stockholm card, I would not recommend paying for this tour. We finished at 4:30 and walked back to our hotel to freshen up.
Tonight we are going to a Smorgasbord at the Grand Hotel. Supposedly, the best in town and it has a price to match the reputation. We will see. We went over there Thursday to eat as we were really hungry. However they were full until 9:00 and we were not waiting. We asked about Friday and they were full, then Saturday and 6:00 was available so here we are. A quick train ride over and we are seated when we arrive. A great window seat with a view of the Royal Palace at Gamla Stan and across the harbor. Great people and scenery watching seats.

My Herring Plate

We start off trying six different kinds of herring with some potatoes. Each type of herring is marinated or cured in a different mix such as house herbs, lime and tarragon, beet, pickled, etc. There is not one that I don’t like, in fact I quite enjoy them all. Every additional trip I made to the buffet included me bringing some herring back. Very surprising to me. Carol has a cheese platter of fresh cheeses and really enjoys the bleu cheese. I move on to some shrimp salad, smoked char, smoked sturgeon, and egg stuffed with shrimp. Nothing not to like here. Next three different types of salmon, loch style, and smoked salmon. I liked the smoked salmon but the 3 types of loch style were nothing special. Now for the hot entrees, Swedish meatballs with lingonberries ( most excellent), sole, hash type potatoes with anchovies ( surprisingly delicious), chicken with strange but good flavors, roast pork, fish stew ( only thing I did not like at all), and omelette with crawdads. Another trip to grab my favorites and then dessert which consisted of lemon curd cheesecake, chocolate mousse, a tart, strawberries and pound cake, and for me of course there was ice cream.

Dessert

A great meal with my lovely wife who looked marvelous and a slow meal also as we were there for almost two hours. As a side note, we got to watch some groupies and one paparazzi waiting outside the hotel, as the band ACDC is staying here.
Our meal done we walk across the street and sit on the harbor and people watch. It has turned out to be a beautiful evening and we enjoy just soaking up the atmosphere after our first three busy days here. We get up and stroll along the waterfront and then take a side street along a canal. We end up with a beautiful view across the water to the Nordic museum and Vasa Museum, where we were yesterday.

Nordic Museum

A little further along and there are grand buildings across the canal. Out of place, a Porsche comes screaming down the street and parks. It has four doors which to me is odd and kind of defeats the purpose of having a Porsche. We now have a choice of walking back to the hotel or taking the train back. Carol wants to walk so we get our bearings and head back. We walk through some nice neighborhoods with very cool architecture. After a bit, I get that strange feeling of we are not where we want to be. No, it is not the area, but rather we are misplaced. We headed down the wrong street and are further from the hotel than when we started. Every street ends with gaten which just may be Swedish for street but makes it hard to distinguish the names on the map. We do figure out where we are and an exit strategy of finding the nearest T Bana Train back to the central station. Twenty minutes later, we find the station and return to our room. Carol wanted to walk and walk we did. Before dinner, our mileage for the day was 6.3 but we managed to turn this into 10.7 with our foray. Back at the hotel, Carol cannot believe it is 9:35. It is still very light out and that has tricked her into thinking it was not that late. We do some preliminary packing for tomorrow as we want to tour City Hall in the morning before setting off to our ship. Pretty tired and hoping our bodies catch up to our exhaustion and let us sleep. Good night.

Expenses
Hotel 599 SEK
Grand Hotel Smorgasbord 1000 SEK
Drottningholm Tour. 40 SEK
Did Drottningholm 240, Chinese Palace 200, theater 100, canal Boat 370, train 228
SEK ( these were all covered by the Stockholm Card)
Walked 10.7 miles