Drottingholm Palace

The Drottingholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish Royal family. It is located within the confines of Stockholm,conveniently close to the city center. It was built on a small island for one of the former queens of Sweden to which it owns its name - Drottingholm means "queen's island".

The palace and its grounds have seen many renovations, changes and additions over the past 400 years. But you can still have a feeling of what it looked like when it was a vibrant place of power. This hall is the Hall od State, palaces assembly and ceremonial hall. It is decorated with portraits of the most important European heads of state from the nineteenth century.

In the library, you can find thousands of books. It was created in late eighteen century, with the help of the famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.

Let's take the official staircase. Quite impressive (as it was meant to be).

Amoung the very many chambers, we can admire the Chinese drawing room with magnificent tapestries.

Chinese motives were very popular in Europe an Sweden was no exception. You can find Chinese vases in many parts of the Drottingholm palace.

The Green Cabinet looks a bit like an ancient version of Instagram, all covered with pictures, both small ...

... and large.

This room is the State Bedchamber of queen Hedvig Eleonora. And yes, in eighteenth century a queen would receive her guests in a bedchamber.

On one side of the Drottingholm palace you will find a small lake.

And this is the backyard.

Shall we take a closer look?

The Drottingholm garden includes large alleys ...

... and narrow lanes.

This fountain, shaped like a series of waterfalls, is dedicated to king Gustav VI Adolf.

Though of course the garden is filled with numerous fountains, usually shaped into classical monuments.

Look at this path, it looks like carved in trees!

At its top you will find the Chinese pavilion.

It was a surprise gift for queen Louisa Ulrika on her 33 birthday. When a king thinks of a surprise gift, he thinks big. I only wonder how realistic it was that the woman did not get any hint of a such construction happening in her backyard (no matter how large the backyard is).

Though I guess a wise wife can be surprised whenever needed and by a gift of any size, should it be a pavilion ...

... or a bouquet.

I guess that you will not be surprised to find out that the Drottingholm Palace was inscribed by UNESCO on its World Heritage List.

It is indeed a wonderful and unique place.

Old Town of Stockholm

I will take you today on a visit to the capital of Sweden - Stockholm. We will start at the City Hall. The City Hall was designed by the architect Ragnar Östberg and is built from eight million bricks. On top of the spire you can notice three crowns which you will also find in the coat of arms o Sweden.

The great Nobel banquet is held at City Hall. After dinner in Blå Hallen, the Blue Hall, Nobel Prize laureates, royalty and guests dance in Gyllene Salen, the Golden Hall, with its 18 million gold mosaic tiles.

The City Hall is located on the seaside, let's walk through those arcades to see more.

Between the columns of the arcades a cool shadow reigns.

But on the other side the sun is shining bright.

The red bricks of the City Hall become even more red now.

On the other side of the bay you can see the Old Town and the Royal Palace.

I propose that we see it closer. The streets of the medieval Old Town of Stockholm are narrow and colorful.

The Royal Palace is the official residence of His Majesty the King of Sweden. With over 600 rooms it is one of the largest palaces in Europe! The Palace was largely built during the eighteenth century in the Italian Baroque style, on the spot where the “Tre Kronor” castle burned down in 1697.

In front of the main entry you will always find the royal guards.

 The external walls are quite impressive, decorated with sculptures.

So is actually the interior of the palace.

Next to the Palace stands the Saint Nicolas church, belonging to the Lutheran church of Sweden.

But the most important thing in the neighbourhood of the Royal Palace in Stockholm is of course the statue of the horse of the Crown Prince Karl XIV Johan. And his master by the way.

Since the day is warm and sunny, I propose that instead of visiting all the dark museums the city has to offer, we discover Stockholm in a different way. Stay tuned for the next post on our blog

Luxembourg

I am so happy to tell you that we are not yet done with new countries! Last week we were in Belgium and today I will take you to the last of the Benelux countries - the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

To be more specific, we will visit the capital of Luxembourg, called (what a Swiss idea) Luxembourg as well. The city of Luxembourg is over a thousand years old.

The reason why the country is called "Grand Duchy" is because it is ruled by the Grand Duc who lives, no surprises, in the Grand Ducal Palace.

The emblems on the front porch represents the lion from the coat of arms of Luxembourg.

Obviously in twenty first century Grand Duc is not having an autocratic rule. The country has a parliament and a government. They are located in buildings adjacent to the palace.

The Town Hall of the city of Luxembourg is also a few steps away.

In front of the Town Hall you will find the statue of William II (and his horse!) who ruled Luxembourg in the middle of the nineteenth century and gave the country its first constitution.

What I liked in particular about the constitution of Luxembourg is that since many years the ducal title could be also inherited by women. One of the most respected was Grand Duchesse Charlotte whose statue is also in the city center of Luxembourg.

The city of Luxembourg is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The listing includes the old quarters and the fortifications. Mostly the latter I guess. Let's take one of the many narrow streets and head towards the city walls.

And here they come - the monumental city walls of Luxembourg.

Deep below you see the Pétrusse river, bordered by nice houses and small gardens. You can see them on the right ...

... and on the left. The tower next to the river belongs to the Neimënster Abbey.

To cross the river one needed of course to use a bridge. In the old days, this had to be the Old Bridge.

On the other side of the valley you can see a castle. I tried hard to find out what castle it is but I was not successful. Any suggestion, dear readers?

The clouds are getting darker and darker. Let's return to the city and look for a nice and cosy cafe we could rest in.