On Thursday I went to Gamla Stan island. It's south of the heart of the city, but still very much a part of the city's pulse. It's the old town. It has a beautiful port where I took this panorama.
Then I went to the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. That was really neat. They had one of the few mounted military bands. The kettle drummer rode a big Clydesdale and only controlled the horse with his feet. The other members were all brass pieces: trumpets, french horns. They did a great job. Here are a few photos. Unfortunately no ceremonial gun shots.
The changing lasted for about 30 minutes. Lots of well coordinated marching and they had a few girls in the forces that were way shorter than the guys and it was kinda funny. They would do like a trot (the soldiers, not the horses) and then when halt was called, they took a few more steps and then stopped in kind of a sliding step down. It looked and sounded great.
After that, I went to the Royal Armory Museum. It was a very packed exhibition with lots of pistols, muskets, a few swords and a lot of famous clothing. King Gustavus Adolphus' clothing and horse from his death in battle were on display. So were another king's clothes when he was killed in the trenches and the death shroud of another king are on display. A crown from the 1500s is still on display here!
These were burial items for King Karl X, I think. All gold, very expensive, Douglas. They said the country spent a small fortune making these.
They had an entire flood dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden, the daughter of King Gustavus Adolphus. She inherited the throne when her father died in glorious battle (well, I say glorious, but this wasn't Viking times, I might be a little off base) but had a very memorable, controversial life. She never was interested in marriage, dressed like a man commonly, spoke her mind freely, and converted to Catholicism must to Protestant Sweden's horror. Today she is seen as somewhat of a role model for non-heterosexuals, but her sexuality was never understood. This picture is poorly lit, but it is a modern portrait of her doing a manly thing like hunting. She looks pretty sexy to me.
After that I found King's Park in the middle of the city and enjoyed the state of Karl XII and read for a bit in the sun. Then I wandered up the street and found the Stockholm Fringe Festival. It was really small. Mostly confined to one smallish 5 story building. It was pretty out there. A lot of the exhibits "challenged standards". Didn't really interest me much. There were big wire framed models that where probably double the size of a real woman and they were a little more rotund than typical skinny models. They were in swim suits and they represented the real women. Wow, shocker.
There were some comedy acts later in the day and I had no plans, so I got some food at mAx and then headed back. I was a few minutes late, but instead of a German and a Palestinian (or some unlikely combo) comedy act, it was a big guy in a Bathory shirt playing some melodic soundscapes. I act liked the sound and took a video, but I didn't feel like sitting through an hour of that and then waiting for the next comedy act. So I went back to hotel. This... sculpture? is outside of the fringe fest building in a model looking square.
Last, but definitely not least, I saw this guy with I am assuming designer jeans on that were made to look like he had three pairs of jeans on at the waist. Check this out, zoom in if you can. Count the waists.
Then I went to the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. That was really neat. They had one of the few mounted military bands. The kettle drummer rode a big Clydesdale and only controlled the horse with his feet. The other members were all brass pieces: trumpets, french horns. They did a great job. Here are a few photos. Unfortunately no ceremonial gun shots.
The changing lasted for about 30 minutes. Lots of well coordinated marching and they had a few girls in the forces that were way shorter than the guys and it was kinda funny. They would do like a trot (the soldiers, not the horses) and then when halt was called, they took a few more steps and then stopped in kind of a sliding step down. It looked and sounded great.
After that, I went to the Royal Armory Museum. It was a very packed exhibition with lots of pistols, muskets, a few swords and a lot of famous clothing. King Gustavus Adolphus' clothing and horse from his death in battle were on display. So were another king's clothes when he was killed in the trenches and the death shroud of another king are on display. A crown from the 1500s is still on display here!
These were burial items for King Karl X, I think. All gold, very expensive, Douglas. They said the country spent a small fortune making these.
They had an entire flood dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden, the daughter of King Gustavus Adolphus. She inherited the throne when her father died in glorious battle (well, I say glorious, but this wasn't Viking times, I might be a little off base) but had a very memorable, controversial life. She never was interested in marriage, dressed like a man commonly, spoke her mind freely, and converted to Catholicism must to Protestant Sweden's horror. Today she is seen as somewhat of a role model for non-heterosexuals, but her sexuality was never understood. This picture is poorly lit, but it is a modern portrait of her doing a manly thing like hunting. She looks pretty sexy to me.
After that I found King's Park in the middle of the city and enjoyed the state of Karl XII and read for a bit in the sun. Then I wandered up the street and found the Stockholm Fringe Festival. It was really small. Mostly confined to one smallish 5 story building. It was pretty out there. A lot of the exhibits "challenged standards". Didn't really interest me much. There were big wire framed models that where probably double the size of a real woman and they were a little more rotund than typical skinny models. They were in swim suits and they represented the real women. Wow, shocker.
There were some comedy acts later in the day and I had no plans, so I got some food at mAx and then headed back. I was a few minutes late, but instead of a German and a Palestinian (or some unlikely combo) comedy act, it was a big guy in a Bathory shirt playing some melodic soundscapes. I act liked the sound and took a video, but I didn't feel like sitting through an hour of that and then waiting for the next comedy act. So I went back to hotel. This... sculpture? is outside of the fringe fest building in a model looking square.
Last, but definitely not least, I saw this guy with I am assuming designer jeans on that were made to look like he had three pairs of jeans on at the waist. Check this out, zoom in if you can. Count the waists.
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