In late April I left Estonia to travel to Sweden to deliver a paper in
Uppsala and work with Prof. Bertil Belfrage on a Berkeley project. So I
flew into Stockholm and had a day to explore. This is the famous Town
Hall. Inside is the 'Blue Room' where most of the Nobel Prizes are
awarded.
The city of Stockholm is built on a series of protected islands, so when
the weather is nice, the city is quite charming. Here is a shot of the
history museum from a far shore.
The offices of the Nobel Prize committee. The peace prize is awarded in
Oslo, the others in Stockholm.
A view of the front of the royal palace in Stockholm. The building is
pretty much just a square looking thing. It does not really look like
what you would expect from a castle.
I was fortunate and caught the changing of the guard on the palace
grounds. A cavalry unit (bright blue) was relieving a mechanized
infantry unit (on the left).
The cavalry unit had a mounted band that played while ahorse. They were
quite impressive.
A close up of some of the soldiers playing the band. The band consists
of conscripts who do a year of mandatory service in the military. How
they manage to develop horse skills along with their musical talents in
such a short time is not clear.
The Swedish parliament building. Off to the left (but in the picture) is
a part of the royal palace. Many of the museums and exhibits do not open
until May so I did not get to see much of the palace or other
attractions.
