Sweden Tour Curlers 2013: Capital Curling

Friday morning was time to say Goodbye to our hosts and head for Stockholm. It was only a short journey and we then had a couple of hours free time before we headed off into the city centre.

We stopped first at the Royal Palace where we were told all about the Royal Regalia. Some earlier kings really liked crowns - there were lots of them!! From here we walked to a bar for a drink and then on to the Gondola restaurant for a delicious meal of baked witch flounder with artichoke, trout roe, Savoy cabbage, white wine sauce and Parmesan potato followed by Cloudberry mousse with almond and chocolate ice cream. This restaurant was on the 12th floor so we got good views of Stockholm by night.

Saturday was a beautiful morning in Stockholm made all the better by the fact that we didn't have to rush too much over breakfast.

We were driven to the ice rink (we had to find the right kind of car to take broom bags - thank goodness for Volvos!) by some of the curlers we were going to play against and when we got there we were greeted by an archway of brooms held by the Swedish curlers.

Djursholms is another beautiful 8 sheet ice rink, with antique sleighs, potted trees and sheepkins on the benches. There was the singing of the national anthems before we took to the ice which was very emotional.

Following a good Scottish win we had a delicious lunch of spiced asparagus soup and quiche with fantastic chocolates for pud.

We were given a lovely gift of brass tealight holders and lots of badges then Anta presented gold, silver and bronze medals to our points winners.

With just enough time to draw breath and being a few (!!) shots to the good it was onto the ice for our very last game of the tour. The adrenaline was pumping and all the Scottish ladies played their socks off. The final score will be posted very soon...

But here are a few photos from the last couple of days......