Stockholm, Sweden Day 13

Day 13, September 13

Another 3.86 pound breakfast of meat, eggs, pancakes, yogurt, fruit, and juice packed a gazillion calories into the hatch for a long haul sightseeing day. On a Sunday the busses run infrequently. Waiting at first one bus stop, another and another, we just kept walking until we hit the Royal Palace which had not opened yet. Right behind the Palace is Riddarholmskyrkan/Riddarholmen Church with a number of Swedish Monarchs and nobility buried there. As you walk in a big sign has a camera with a flash and a red circle with a line through it. If that isn't enough they have the warning in a number of languages including English. Any flash will only illuminate about 6 feet, so on the inside of a church the flash is useless. In walked a guy flashing away like he was taking pictures of Marilyn Monroe. With a digital camera he should have seen the results were pathetic. The guards, some elderly butches/male wannabes, marched around at their posts in camouflage uniforms looking neither regal nor Army Strong. At the appointed time the ticket office opened for Kungliga Slottet/The Royal Palace and I was number one. The ticket seller looked at my Stockholm Card and said, "Sir, you do not need a ticket as you have the Stockholm Card." We entered the tourist/commoner/servant/peon/mistress side entrance and looked at a castle fit for a king which they no longer use. We could only surmise the cavorting, lewd, lascivious debauchery that occurred in the bedrooms, closets, nooks, crannies, and bathrooms of the old palace. If only the walls could talk we would be shocked or at least amused - maybe interested if they had movies with sound effects. One marble statue had a matron laying nude with the milk containers pointed up and a little cherub attached. They both seemed to enjoy the moment from their facial expressions. Wonder what my expression looked like. Well all in all the rooms had outstanding detail with carved wood work, paintings, top of the line wall paper, and room for a growing family. Every time we tour these places it reminds us how pathetically poor we are and then we pay to see it. We have to quit doing that. Down in the basement we saw the treasury with some really fancy swords, jewels, and regal outfits. Livrustkammaren/The Royal Armory had elaborate coaches pulled by life size horses in fancy harness. Not knowing or caring if pictures were allowed I snapped none while others flashed away. Another museum, Tre Kronor had old castle remnants that a fire destroyed in 1697. The Kungl myntkabinettet/The Royal Coin Cabinet had old coins and currency behind heavy security glass. One museum I wanted to see but didn't was Tom Tits Experiment which sounded titillating.
We rode bus #2 to the end of the line, got off, crossed the street to the other bus stop, and found out it was a different line which we did not know its destination. By the time we got back across the busy intersection, our #2 bus left without us, so we had to wait 15 minutes for another one. We rode the next bus to Slussen and got a McCoke with no ice and 4/5 full for 19 SEK/$3. Bus #3 drove us to Riddarholmskyrkan/Riddarholmen Church where I took a non-flash picture and a female guard ran up to tell me I couldn't even though no sign indicated that at the entrance. Fine, the inside of the church didn't inspire me even with the tombs of former kings scattered around. However, the outside spire stood out. We traveled back to Centrellan and rode a bus around trying to find the free ferry without success. A soft rain inspired us to eat a McSupper by the waterfront with a vanilla strawberry pie for dessert. We need those in the U.S. Back to the Radisson Royal Viking I decided to do a dry run to the airport using the "free" transportation from the Stockholm Card.

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