Day Three in Stockholm

Today we had a late start and made our way to a local book store so Kathy could buy some mystery books in Swedish. She needs the challenge to read in that language but also have a backup English copy to fall back on. After that we walked to the old part of town to view the changing of the guard ceremony. It was quite a show and included a navy band that gave a concert after the changing ceremony. Military service is compulsory for men and women but not are all selected and mostly train and march in ceremonies like this as Sweden has not been in a war for over 200 years! After the ceremony we hiked to the National Fine Arts museum to view Swedish impressionist paintings and household objects from different periods. After a rest back at the hotel we had a meeting with the 20 other guests on this trip. They seem like a fun group and our guide is also a character. Tomorrow will be a full day of city tours with the group. We will have to get used to following someone else’s schedule now (630 wake up call!) but it will be fun to be led around and not make all the decisions about where to go and what to eat.