22092015 - Today, I explore Drottningholm Palace. I walked to Central Station from my hostel and asked the ticketing officer how to get to the Palace. One take the train to Brommaplan and then take bus 323 to the Palace. So, I got down at Brommaplan and saw a small fresh market. Very tempting to buy fruits but I was in a hurry to catch the bus. I got the bus 323 just in time before it started its journey. It was about a 15 minute bus ride. By the way, you can even take a boat to Drottningholm Palace from a pier closely located to City Hall.
I was very pleased that I managed to find Drottningholm Palace easily considering my very bad sense of directions. The reason I am visiting Drottningholm Palace because it is a UNESCO World Heritage! I am always on the hunt for UNESCO places.
Drottningholm Palace has been the home of The Royal Family since 1981. The name Drottningholm (literally "Queen's Island") originated in the late 16th century, when King Johan III built the first Palace on this site, for his Consort, Queen Katarina Jagellonika. The 16th century Palace was destroyed by fire on 30th December 1661. Earlier that year the Queen Dowager, Hedvig Eleonora, had bought the Palace. (Source from Kungahuset.se)
The current Swedish royal family have used Drottningholm as their primary residence since 1981. Since then, the Palace has also been guarded by the Swedish Military in the same fashion as Stockholm Palace. (Source from Wikipedia)
I bought my entrance ticket at the gift shop. The entrance fee is SEK120. It is expensive, I agree, but this is a UNESCO place. No complaints.
I stood in front of the Palace and was amazed by its huge structure and wonders what does a Royal Palace looks like inside. I hope it was worth my SEK120.
As soon as I step foot inside the Palace, I was greeted by sculptures on the ceilings, walls and pillars. The amount of time it must have taken to build the Palace. You can see from my photos on the intricate sculptures, the porcelain vases, the bright chandeliers, the grand furniture, the countless number of paintings and portraits of the royalties, old door knobs and some hairline cracks on the doors. There were 2 floors in the Palace. One may get tired after entering and exiting after some number of rooms. I must admit, though, that each design is so detailed and flawless. I wondered if there were any defects at all in the building. Great credit is given to the contractors of the building. I wonder how much are they paid.
There was also an exhibition on the plants in Drottningholm Palace. One of the royalty who stayed here was a keen gardener. The visitors got a chance to smell some of the plants too. There was a box where one can squeeze out the smell.
The view of the massive garden from the Palace.
I spent an hour and 15 minutes in the Palace. Next was to explore the Garden. The Garden compound is huge. Huge could be an understatement too. I did not have enough time to walk the entire Garden. I probably walked half of the area. The view of the Palace from the Garden is magnificent.
One must not forget to have the obligatory solo tourist photo with the building to prove I was there.
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