Checking out the Royal Palace

Walking up to the Royal Palace to check it out for the first time.  A little unnerving at first since there was next to no security around!  Very different from checking out the White House...



I did manage to finally make it into the US Embassy for some business, but it was quite an ordeal.  Apparently the locals call it "Fort Knox."  There's a small security room with all the usual scanners and one of those chemical detection machines, but only one person can go through there at a time.  And the guards were rather surprised that I showed up around 3:00pm to talk to someone.  They said normally all business takes place between 9 and 12.

Here's a little video of one of the bigger intersections by our hotel where most of the buses and trams stop:



So there's a few video snippets to share.  I figured some things are better/easier to show you rather than just tell you.

Notice all the beautiful colors of the leaves!  It was so relaxing walking through the parks around the palace and the smell of the fallen leaves on the ground and the crisp cold air.  It has been interesting watching the sun throughout the day since we've been here.  We're so far north and since it is winter time the sun does not rise all the way to the top of the sky.  It gives the illusion of having a day of perpetual sunset because at it's peak the sun is only about as high as it might be an hour or two before setting back home.  It makes for some great photos! ;-) Here's one I took hiking down at the lake Songsvann the other weekend:



More later, enjoy the picture and videos for now :-)