The Queen’s Palace

I’m a connoisseur of foreign bathrooms. Yes, I am. So far in our travels, the BEST toilet has been the one in Germany at an Autogrille, which are the fantastic restaurants at rest stops on the Autobahn. It had self cleaning toilet seats after each use! I took a video of it at the time. 

The weirdest bathroom was in Italy...it was simply a hole in the floor, with a slightly food pad on each side. I called it the quad burner.

I think you can tell something about a culture from it’s restrooms. Today in Stockholm I approached a restroom but hesitated because I didn’t have any change. I’m used to 50 cents or so. Well...they don’t use money here...ANYWHERE! So, I paid my 10,00 SEK (about $1.00) for the restroom BY VISA CARD! So weird. Then, I looked for the women’s room. Everyone was simply headed to the same place, so I just followed along. Here the stalls are completely enclosed, so everybody has their own room. So, why not ‘go’ right next to any gender that may be right next door?! No problem. No women waiting in long lines while men have no lines. I must say, though, it was a little weird to wash my hands next to a man. Next time it won’t be quite as odd., though.

Now that the essentials are taken care of, we take a boat ride out to the Drottingholm Palace. It’s kind of likr a Swedish version of Versailles outside of Paris...except the Royals actually live here.

It’s beautiful! Here’s the history 

The inside was somewhat dark for pictures, but all sumptuous, ornate, and regal. 

The gardens and fountains were also beautiful. There was the formal area directly in back of George and Tomte, and a lake to the left that was full of ducks and swans.  

How’s this for a royal bedroom? Not bad, eh?
And the Library....well, Tammy, this one’s for you!


I loved the heating...it looks so Nordic! There’s one of these stoves in every room!

Oh...and since the King and Queen were there, so were these guards...everywhere. Thise are real machine guns, by the way.

You’ll also notice...T-shirt weather! These have been the warmest 2 days of the year! Today it’s up to 64! It really feels warmer somehow. Sunday the spell is forecast to break, so we’re doubly enjoying it now!😃

The hour boat ride back to Stockholm is even more delightful as it’s warm enough to sit outside on the top deck, so we shove off back to town. It’s still weird to see the port and starboard marker colors reversed!