We did our travel thing back over to the town square and I snapped this picture of a royal guard that was at the entry way.....
The big event for us today was going to be to catch the changing of the guards that we had only caught the tail end of the day before....They had another hour before they were going to do their thing and were getting into position. These guys are the royal band I guess.
the coffee at the hotel was not that great, so we found a little cafe and got more......
We sat in the courtyard after our coffee and discussed whether or not to go and see another exhibit between the changing of the guard or after. We decided after. But when we went we discovered that we were not allow to take pictures and that it was not included on the ticket that we already had....what!?....
This is the building we went into. It was dedicated to St. Petrus (Peter).
The workmen were working away on the restoration of this fountain that had been in the courtyard for forever.
Well, enough time had passed where we should be making our way over to where the changing of the guards was going to take place....
The Royal Band were in position in the upper windows ready to play......:-)
they always played music before every incident.
and there they went......:-)
after receiving the watch of the grounds for the next 24 hours, the current guard detail marched back inside.
The whole process lasted about 15 minutes and was over about as quick as it started with a lot of nothing in between. Chris took a video, but the file was too big to load here.
This is a Peregri. He is able to see for up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) with pin point accuracy.....He is three years old. He can also travel up to 300 kilometers in a "dead dive". They go straight down using their wing tips to steer and they hit their prey with accuracy. The fastest bird of prey on earth.
This is a Golden Eagle. She is 8 years old and has a life expectancy of 70 years in captivity. She too is well trained. Her handler was on the other side of the yard watching closely. She has a very large wingspan that can reach up to 6 feet 6 inches. and can catch a rabbit or a fox with no problems.
The bird on the back wall is called an Owl Eagle or what we call in the West the Great Horned Owl. She too has a large wingspan and can kill with accuracy whatever it chooses to eat. They mostly feed on rodents and smaller animals, but have been known to be adventurous. All of the birds require special training and licensing to own since they are considered lethal weapons just like firearms.
We took a stroll over to one of the Royal Gardens knowing that our time was winding down. All we wanted to do at this point was to sleep.
This statue was one of three I believe that stood at the entrance of the gardens.....
and the guards were out and about making sure nothing fishy was going on......
We didn't get any further than this as we were just too tired and needed to have lunch. It had been overcast for the past two days and raining off and on. Now, it was suddenly in the 70's and everyone had jackets on and was sweating.
We passed these beautiful Cana lilies on the way back up the hill.....
and decided to stop near by and have a bite to eat.......
Chris ordered some wild boar with cheeries and something else.....
and I ordered some pototoe thingees with some cabbage and bacon bits......It was 'different"....
and that was the end of the day. We came back to the hotel and passed out at 4:00pm, woke up at 7:00pm and went for dinner at the hotel restaurant.
We have concluded that our bodies have done all they can at this point. So, tomorrow will be a day of rest unless we suddenly wake up with a strange surge of energy! Monday most things are closed. That leaves us Tuesday to do whatever else we want. We leave Wednesday for the United States....:-)
See ya soon!
1 comment:
As tired as you were I am surprised you saw as much as you did on this day. At least you got out and enjoyed the sunshine a little.
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