By the numbers
21434 steps
15.65kms
I seemed to have a shocking sleep and I allowed myself to
sleep in though. IO decided that I wanted maccas for breakfast and after using
my maps went for a long walk to one that actually was quiet, but they had
coffee. Once I had eaten, I thought about going on the subway tour, but I also
wanted to get to Gamla Stan fast as I wanted to visit the Royal Palace before
the Changing of the guard as I wanted to see how Sweden actually did it. I did
however end up in a tunnel that was sort of an arty one, Hotorget that has
light up stairs and wavy things on the roof. I have seen several already, but I
was going to plan to see more later on.
I did end up at Galma Stan, but instead of heading towards
the Royal palace, I found some narrow streets and also the House of Nobility.
This place seems to be only open for an hour a day and is meant to have a few
coat of arms and was the meeting place for the nobility. It is a huge building
and I looked towards what was an island, which I found now houses the court
houses, National Archives and a church. All the buildings were at one stage
around the 1700s royal palaces for various royals of the time until they were
later converted to say the law courts and even the treasury. They had a great
view of the harbour and one building I had to look up on the map was actually
the back of the Town Hall. I thought it was funny that I kept getting
distracted and distracted, I was getting.
There was one church that I wanted to visit before the royal
palace and that church was right next door. The cathedral was called Storkyrkan.
There is a reason I am visiting this specific building as I have read the Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo and the cathedral does feature in one of the books and
talks about St. George and his battle with the dragon. I wasn’t expecting the
beauty of the cathedral and all the stuff that was in there. I did get annoyed
at an American that thought my jumper was from the US New England and I
informed him that there was one in Australia in the town of Armidale. There was
a little discussion over New England and it was a little annoying, but they
were older people so I shouldn’t argue with them. They didn’t talk to me
afterwards though probably because they knew I was shitty at them, not a nice
Australian.
I found when I visited the palace that I don’t need a ticket
with my Stockholm Card and I just need to scan it at every entry. There was around
an hour before the start of the parade, so I wandered up to the royal apartments
and had a look around.. The apartments were used by various kings and queens
for their engagements and that included expanding the buildings. There was plenty
of artworks and decorations throughout the area as I wandered on. I had to turn
around and go back in the direction I came as you couldn’t go any further. Then
there were the state apartments that were for functions and even the
ambassadors of Sweden. I ended up at some area where there was a silver chair
and I think there was another pay area, but I made my way back past the
different sorts of medals down to the area where changing of the guard would
be. I needed the loo and there was a line for that and I apparently needed to
scan my ticket, but my Stockholm Card doesn’t do toilets. Someone let me in and
the loos were used by everyone, but it was fast moving luckily and I found a
great spot for the show. That went on for 40 or so mins and I stood there
masking a video of it and watching too even though my armns were getting sore.
Once that was over, I walked to a Restaurant that I had seen
earlier that sold Reindeer and game sauce. I was lucky to get a single table as
I knew the hordes that were watching the changing of the guard had the same
idea too. I think a few were turned away due to there being no more tables.
Once I finished my Reindeer, I was ready to go. I thanked the guy at the counter
when he asked if this would be the last time I ate Reindeer. I said I would eat
it again and that it was tender. He even worked out the bill in USD, Euro and
in Swedish crowns. I paid in the local currency and that meant I would not have
any left when I leave tomorrow, hopefully. I went back to the palace to look at
what I had missed. I found a beautifully decorated church that someone was
already preaching in and he was talking in Swedish so I have no idea what was
going on. Then I went into the bowels of the Palace to where they stored the
crown jewels. I really did go there and I wasn’t allowed to take pictures.
There were several different crowns and several swords from the 1700s that were
all ceremonial. I was able to get in with my Stockholm card as that worked
wonderfully and I think it has more than paid for my time in the city, but
there are still museums I have not seen yet. After I surfaced from the jewels,
I found the Royal Armoury was closed on Mondays, so I knew that left one
option. I wanted to visit the cemetery.
I had to wind my way round the narrow streets of Gamla Stan
and I did buy two little trolls along the way. I realised by this time that I
needed a loo and in the station I asked a lady who worked there and she told me
where to go. What she didn’t say however was that it required a credit card or
payment card of sorts. I used my travel card to pay for it and the door opened,
which was great. They do say Sweden is a cashless society except I have nearly
used all my cash up. I jumped back onto the train that would take me to Skogskyrkogården,
which is a cemetery of course. This one was built in the early 1900s and is
UNESCO heritage listed. The cemetery even has a tour that you can take with
your phone. The cemetery isn’t like any other cemetery I have been to as the
headstones are small with some that are like garden cemeteries and the trees
make the whole cemetery look like it is a natural area. I took a wander and I
was actually looking for Greta Garbo and I did find her eventhough I used a
cemetery bus stop as a point of reference. People were using the cemetery to
ride their bikes and drive their cars as well.. By this time I thought I should
walk back to the station and get the train back.
On the way back to the hostel, I got something light to eat
and I knew I needed to sort out my bag as I was flying out the next day to
Brussels in the next leg of my journey. I wanted to pack my bag and make sure I
had everything right as I was going to fly instead of getting a train. I could
have gotten a combo of bus and train, but that would have taken nearly a day. I
can sort out the washing side of the trip when I get to Brussels and figure out
the trams too.
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