One of Sweden's must-sees is the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Although in future posts we will talk more in depth about this stay, -the visit is a delight-, today we want to start at the beginning, with the prolegomena.
And it is that the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Gamla Stan, is one of the least "Swedish" shows that one can find.
We explain ourselves. Nobody expects to find the typical changing of the guard in the style of London, Madrid or Athens. The Changing of the Guard at Slottbacken Palace o Kungliga Slottet in Swedish, it has something surreal to it. It is supposed to start at 12, but nothing happens until after 12.15:XNUMX; just expectation. And at that time, the guard leaves, with three flags, and different groups that will make the changes of the guard at each of the security checkpoints.
The first change, -three soldiers are heading towards the first sentry box-, arrives minutes later, and after exchanging words with the soldier on duty, -it is supposed to bring him up to date on the incidents-, the change takes place. The soldier who has finished his guard joins the remaining group, and they continue on their way to the next sentry box, -which is obviously not seen, since it is not in the same square as the Royal Palace.
And so on. Over the loudspeaker they announce everything that the members of the Swedish Armed Forces do, and they approach it more as a ritual for the tourist than as a military act. It has something, I don't know, very different from the usual.
In any case, it is a nice, pleasant and curious sight to see. An excellent aperitif for the main course, a visit to the Royal Palace. Then it will be his turn to scratch his pocket.