Stockholm Royal Palace

After visiting palaces in Europe, my reaction after visiting yet another one, invariably remained the same. I hoped it to be different this time, but..... The King is the biggest corrupt personnel in any hierarchy and I totally agree with it. Luckily or by perseverance and maintenance, most of the European palaces are really in good shape even today. Not like relics in India. In India, only those palaces stood the test of time [?!] whose owners kowtowed  British!

 The Royal Guards have been protecting the palace since 1500 AD and as every other palace , the ceremony of ' Change of Guards' is popular here too !.

 

It is located on the northern part of Stadsholmen island on the banks of north spring and houses many Royal offices including Kroner museum, a museum for Kronor, official currency of Sweden that still has not accepted the Euro! Grandeur no doubt but laced with opulence is the specialty of all these museums. Rooms and parlors too did not lag behind. Ornate beds with embroidered canopies, Velvet bed sheets and covers woven in pure silk and interlaced with real gold threads, ornamental accessory furniture to match, at one level aesthetically, it was soothing to the eyes and soul, probably, but at the other, it was nauseating and repulsive! How can one sleep in such a room, on such a bed without the moral and values taking a back seat! Enumerable bejeweled artifacts costing millions in dollars are displayed for the common man! Every exhibit was displayed as if to rub salt on his wounds made by the day today hard existence? Eh!                             

The palace, that has more than 1400 such rooms with more than 600 ornate windows, [information provided by the tour guide of the palace, God knows who wants to know such things!] though is the official residence of Swedish Monarchy, present-day King and Queen do not stay in Stockholm palace but reside in Drottningholm palace! What a colossal waste of place, people and money. I said so to the sentry at the gate. He simply said,'We love our King and Queen !'

   

The Swedish parliament is located on yet another island in Northern spring opposite the Royal palace.

 The railings of the small bridge that leads to 'Riksdag' Swedish Parliament, had innumerable locks.  I wondered initially, but later I came across many such bridges all over Scandinavia that were laden with locks. It's general belief among-st the young romantics of Scandinavia that if a lock is locked to the bridge and key is thrown in the stream, 'No power in the world can separate them !' Ha ha ha, imagine this dialogue in Bollywood lingo!

The Swedish parliament building houses police headquarters too. The point to ponder is, you can walk through the two buildings without any police, guard, border security personnel raising even en eyebrow on your trespassing!
 In fact, it is a short cut for many Stockholmers for their daily chores!

The day was about to end and I was getting tired. Leaving other parts, for the day after, I rode to my hotel room. All the countries in Scandinavia call their day off earlier in winter and late in summer as the sun lingers on the horizon till late. I was told that the old monuments are illuminated in the night for the effect. By 12 midnight too, dusk was still lingering so at 1 AM I ventured out to shoot the illuminated buildings after asking the manager about the safety of such adventure. 'Go ahead it's extremely safe in Stockholm, at any time in 24 hrs !'

Attired for night cold, in my jacket and Cannon DSLR dangling around my neck I stepped out of the hotel. No sooner did I step out, this black young one appeared from nowhere and  pointing towards my camera said, ' Expensive, take care !' 

I dropped the idea immediately and returned to my cosy bed for wonderful sleep! B**ls to adventure at midnight!