Day 11 - Royal Palace & Concert in Vasteras

We started the morning off with another wholesome breakfast at the hostel. These breakfasts contain hearty bread, cheeses, meats, granola and cereal, yogurt, freshly squeezed orange juice (which of course the kids were thrilled to see happen before their eyes!) bacon, scrambled eggs, milk, bagels, and coffee or tea for the adults.

After breakfast, it was off to the Palace! The Royal Palace of Sweden -- Drottningholm Palace to be exact. We were wowed by the faux painted marble, the grandiose pillars and paintings dating anywhere from 100 years to 400 years old, the history, the royal family lineage and the gorgeous lake in the back yard along with a magical front garden with water fountains, and labyrinth hedges that Bob and the kids played hide and seek in for about an hour. Highlights included singing in the Royal Chapel with the best acoustics yet to sing in (and conveniently can be rented out still to the general public! Just in case you were looking for a destination wedding anytime soon!) and the ballroom that no one was allowed to dance in (ha!) and was the sight of the wedding rehearsal dinner for the royal family only a few years ago. In fact, the Palace used to be a summer house for the queen, but is now part museum and part house to the royal family.

After a fun-filled morning and early afternoon at the Palace, we headed out to Vasteras for our dress rehearsal and concert in a fantastic cathedral dating back to 1271, where part of the church was old and the front part was the "newer" part being more roman in style. Parts of the old church had dark stained glass and the new parts had only clear glass. Interestingly, the church also has 163 grave stones, which seemed like a lot, but thankfully to the relief of our kids, were only the head stones.

Our dress rehearsal was rough, with low energy and a lot of tired singers. But thanks to a snack break and strong determination of our group, we all came together for a strong performance. It was incredible to watch as a listener to see how our choir arrived in time for a performance. Bravissimi!

For dinner, we enjoyed a traditional Swedish meal with meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy and a sweet and tart fruit. The veggie alternative was also just as delicious with vegetarian lasagna with zucchini, carrots, peppers, potatoes, cream, cheese, onion, and tzatzikisauce on the side. What made the meals especially delightful wasn't just the good food and company of being together, but also the breathtaking view of the city and the church we just performed at. With the light still shining late into the night as it does in the Scandinavian countries we've visited, we were able to see so much of the small city and the forestry scene surrounding it.

After our fun dinner, it was back to the hostel to get some much needed rest. Of course there was a well deserved surprise in store for Kennedy who has been getting hints from Julie for several days now, only one a day to keep her guessing! She got a one on one hair consultation for her curly locks!! Tomorrow she will get round two of this treatment along with some other curly haired hopefuls. :)