Sweden was amazing. I spent 10 days in Stockholm with Sarah, Denise, and Erik, and two days in Gothenburg with my brother’s friend, Christian. The differences between the two cities are amazing. Stockholm was absolutely beautiful. The architecture, colored buildings, and many waterways are all very impressive. I noticed that the people were always very well put together, trendy, and in control. Recycle, recycle, recycle, babies, babies, babies everywhere! Uptight might be too strong a word but I’ll use it anyway. There was an overwhelming sense of “we” vs. “I”. Gothenburg had a completely different feel. More of an industrial city and it had more of a relaxed and friendly feel. Overall I’ve been very impressed with the Swedish culture and way of life. Here are some fun stories.
One of the evenings in Stockholm Erik and Denise hosted an American style BBQ/beer pong party and invited all of their Swedish friends and classmates. We set up the BBQ on their rooftop which had an amazing view of Stockholm. This turned out to be a very good time. I really enjoyed meeting all of their friends and the lively discussions about healthcare, Socialism, culture, President Bush, ABBA, etc. The real fun started when then beer pong tournament began. Everyone was timid at first but after a round everyone found their competitive side and really started to enjoy the game. I think that’s one American tradition they’ll hold on to :).
One of the nights in Stockholm Denise had made reservations for us to spend a night on the Cinderella, a Viking Line cruise ship traveling up to an island called Mariehamn, off the coast of Finland. When we arrived at the dock, we noticed that we were the youngest people in line…by about 45 years. We were about to enjoy a booze cruise with a bunch of senior citizens. No problem, we could make it fun. The only option was to start drinking heavily, which we did and enjoyed watching the people. At one point we made the decision to stay up and watch the sunrise so the four of us sat in a cramped cabin eating cheesy puffs and drinking tax free/duty free beer. By the time the sunrise came we were having such a good time, and were so cold, that we convinced ourselves that we were watching a ‘sunrise over the North Pole’. We were absolutely in awe. The next day we consulted a map to find out that we weren’t in fact that far north but had a fantastic time anyway, well worth staying up.
Note to self, never stay on a hostel on a boat. There will most likely be a limited hot water supply. Learned that one the hard way…twice.
The train ride from Stockholm to Gothenburg was an interesting one. First of all, I woke up from a nap completely surrounded by punkish teenagers and was pleasantly surprised how quiet it was in the cabin. After further observation I noticed they were all signing to each other. How did I luck out to get in the cabin with a group from a school for the deaf! This got me to thinking, is sign language a universal language? Are there different signs in the US vs. Sweden? Anyway, at one point the conductor came by and one of them was having a problem with their ticket. One of the other students called who I guessed to be his teacher, and using the video on his cell phone, was able to communicate with the teacher and sort out the matter with the ticket and write it out for the conductor. Technology is amazing. Then the train broke down. I didn’t realize this until after the engines completely shut down and the lights turned off, we had run out of battery. After questioning many people I finally found a very nice gentleman who explained that another train was coming in 45 minutes and that there were limited seats. He was going to wait out in the cold, closer to the other platform to be sure he was one of the first on the other train. Good idea, I followed. Eventually we got on the other train, packed in like sardines and I ‘enjoyed’ a 60 min train ride on my feet with 500 of my closet friends. The guy let me use his phone to call Christian and let him know I was running late. Turns out this guy had spent the last few years in Southern Africa doing research for his thesis. I picked his brain about foot, culture, where to go, sights to see, etc. Great guy.
Once in Gothenburg, Christian showed me all the sights and introduced me to the nightlife. Of course we had to go to the alcohol store before 2pm to pick up the alcohol for that night, and naturally there was no bulk purchase, just enough for the evening. I was absolutely amazed at how well everyone speaks English. There I was, sitting around a living room with 8 Swedes, and because I was there they all flawlessly switched to English. As soon as I would join a group or sit down at a table they would switch to English. Amazing. At one point I was getting hit with a bunch of questions about America and American culture. One of the questions that I thought was hilarious was “Do all Americans carry guns around with them all the time, I have this vision in my mind of everyone having a gun and that it’s OK to shoot people for no reason at all.” Thank you Michael Moore.
Favorite Swedish food: Tunnbrodstrulle which is mashed potatoes, hotdog, grilled onion, shrimp salad, and mustard all rolled up in a flat bread very similar to a tortilla. Wow, this one had Jen written all over it. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed the reindeer kebab. Least favourite: herring.
Thank you for visiting us in Stockholm; we had a wonderful time! See you soon-EF
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