Day 1 - Arriving in Stockholm

After another weather delay we're finally in Stockholm.

8.5 hours later and we're almost here

So lush

Never knew water was environmentally friendly

 

Customs here were no joke. Every person had to show documentation where they were going, how long and a return flight booked. If you didn't have the three you weren't getting in. Someone arrived and didn't have internet service to pull things up to show the agent. Lesson learned - print everything for your trip!

For being an international airport it's actually quite small

No need for a taxi, take the train

Just keep looking for the yellow signs...

And you are eventually in the station

114 mph - total commute time is 19 min

Welcome to the main downtown train station

Maybe the prettiest McD's (outside outside of Paris)

And welcome to my hotel. A block from the station and adjacent to the church

The room won't be ready for a few hours to let's go explore, starting with that church

The Church of Saint Clare. Not bad for something built in 1572

 

 

The town has a few of these pedestrian corridors. Makes it great to window shop without fear of cars

So much architectural detail in the most generic of buildings

 

And so we reach the Royal Palace. Home to the royal family since the 13th century. It was torn down or burned down a few times but this building has existed as-is since 1770. While it was to be the home to the royal family after being rebuilt in 1770 the family never came back, choosing instead their new home (we'll visit there at the end of the trip)

Look a little like something like Versailles? It's not by chance

When rebuild the designer copied some of the French rococo design elements

Coming to the palace by horse and carriage? Pull up into the reviving hall and be welcomed by the king

 

Before we go into the royal home first we stop and check out their 500 year celebration exhibit

Not bad for being made from paper

Styles of the day (though not of paper)

Who didn't have a basic tapestry hanging over their bed

From 1626 - the detail in mind blowing

1690 - made of tortoiseshell, ebony and ivory

Did I mention they "borrowed" ideas from Versailles?

Costumes from an opera in 1786

Imagine doing all the applique by hand

When the world is at your disposal you make a chandler to remind you it's yours

"New" piece - from 1890s

Relief on ebony

Stairs to the bedrooms

1700s idea of central heat in a room

What the palace looked like before the fire of 1700's

Post-rebuild, current palace

Literally copied from the hall of mirrors in Versailles

Why have real plants that can wilt and die

Instead, get gold-plated, wilted leaves

The Swedes are a twisted group. They have no problem highlighting their past with colorful stories

The Riddarholmen church. While mostly original from 1290s the black spire was put on it in 1830s after a fire burned the original wood one

Bathrooms here take smartphone payments. It's a no-cash country

The original "old city". More on this in the next post

The square also is home for the Nobel museum

So many open parks

TFI Friday's in the center of this beautiful park

Room is finally ready. I must say, the view is not terrible.

11pm. After walking 8.2 miles today I'm calling it quits. A quick view of the 'sunset' over all of Stockholm. This time of year it never gets dark and the sun will be fully up at 2:30am