We still pinch ourselves when we stumble upon treasures like this, just a short drive from our home and just minutes away from the city of Stockholm. The Ulriksdal Slott was built in 1640 in an area now known as Ekoparken -- the world's first National City Park, established in 1995. Ekoparken extends from the heart of Stockholm north to Ulriksdal and it encompasses 27 square kilometers of green parkland and beautiful buildings like this palace. The grounds were laid out in the mid-17th century and showcase some interesting sculptures.
On this past Sunday, we toured the grounds of the palace and enjoyed fika (Swedish for coffee break). We saw other people enjoying the day on their bikes, on horses and walking their stick-carrying dogs. We were surprised to come upon an enclosure of sheep grazing on the grass. They were surrounded by a flimsy fence that we discovered was supposed to be electric according to the signs, but actually wasn't as Graeme could attest to after having grabbed onto it without getting a jolt. The sheep never looked up at us, despite the kids calling. They just kept at their task, busily munching the grass. Were we ever surprised when one little sheep slipped his head under the fence to get a taste of the clover on the other side then followed through with her whole body! There was an escapee! None of the other sheep even looked up to notice this risk-taker. The five of us looked at each other and laughed, then wondered what would happen to her. Would anyone else notice? Here she is, the bold escapee, carrying on as if she wasn't aware of her freedom!
We looked at each other with a bit of guilt and wondered if we should assume some responsibility for this situation, but live and let live! So we carried on our way. We explored the vegetable gardens and other statues then found a quiet place to sit near the water at the front of the palace. The kids played with rocks and Kris and I sunbathed in the strong late summer sunshine.
This day proved to be another great find that we added to our evergrowing collection!
