Arrival in Stockholm

K and I got an early train to Stockholm this morning so we were here in the city by 9am. We walked through Gamla Stan (Old Town) to the island of Södermalm where our hotel is. Scandic hotels rock – the standards are great, the breakfast buffet huge and they even had our room ready at 10am in the morning. After a look around the room were heading back into the center down Götgatan and across the bridge to Gamla Stan. We stopped by Sundbergs Konditori in Järntorget to sample their coffee and cake – it was delicious of course. Sundbergs Konditori is one of the oldest cafes in the city and it was wonderful munching cakes and imagining people 200 hundred years ago doing the same thing.
Refreshed we made our way to the Riksdagen (Swedish Parliament) and although they no longer do tours during the week we were allowed into the chamber to see the MPs talking. The parliament is now in the old bank building and the area the MPs work in is modern and relatively low key.
We then rushed up to the Royal Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. It was a trifle terrifying because the guards had machine guns with bayonets attached. The whole experience was cheered up by a marching band which played a variety of songs including one by ABBA.
We stayed in Gamla Stan for lunch and then crossed the river to the new center of Stockholm and spent some time in the Kulturhuset where we had a good look at the library, the photos on display and the various cafes there. The building also houses a cinema and a theatre. After a bit more wandering we hauled ourselves back to the hotel for an early night.