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Published: April 11th 2008
Swedish Toilet
Naturally harsh, Sweden is full of culture and spirtApril 9
Today, starting from our 3pm arrival at JFK, was a bit of a shocker. Nothing particularly bad happened, but we did nothing but travel for almost 30 hours (I think; too many time zones!). We started with a 4-hour wait at JFK airport, before a 6-hour flight to Heathrow. The flight itself was no problem, although neither of us got any sleep.
Arrival at Heathrow was a bit more of a problem, as we were scheduled for the now infamous Terminal 5 (they have apparently lost 28,000 bags since openly last week). Firstly we were stuck on the plane for half an hour as they waited for buses to transport us to the terminal - this was not all that bad as most of our fellow passengers had left already, so we hung out in 1st class for a while. We were then stuck in a holding terminal for twenty minutes, bused to Terminal Five (Officially 18 minutes - the subway from Heathrow to the central city is 21 minutes!) and waited in an extremely understaffed customs for around an hour (I was in thermals, thought I was going to pass out). Following this section of customs, we
Our place
A homestay is so much nicer than staying at a hotel than had more queues before travelling upstairs and waiting for another half hour for a final bag check. You cannot really complain too many when you are travelling round the world, but this was pretty shit. The staff looked really lost, and I don’t blame them.
The time taken was frustrating more than anything else, as we had a 6-hour wait until our flight to Stockholm. The actual terminal was fairly nice, but we were too tired to care. I was very glad to finally board the plane.
Unfortunately, however, I am becoming an increasingly poor flyer. Basically I just don’t believe in it. Not that I don’t believe it is ethical environmentally (it is not really justifiable, but it too late to worry now), I just don’t believe that the plane can continue to stay suspended in the air. I know, of course, that planes do, I just have no confidence that our plane will. Every little bump sends me shuddering. On takeoff I wait for the sound of the tail hitting the ground as rise. I start to wonder what it feels like to blow up. Once you start thinking like that, you are in all sorts of
trouble. It’s a bit like worrying whether your heart is going to beat again, and nervously awaiting the next beat. This is all a bit neurotic, as rationally I know nothing is going to happen, but how can I be sure?
I am never more aware of my mortality as when we first takeoff and begin to climb, taking that first turn. When I was younger I was very blasé about it, not really caring for the consequences. Now though, as we make that first turn, I am very aware that I, Chris McMillan, am very keen on continuing to live. I fly, therefore I want to be.
Somewhere in all of this it became April 11 and we arrived in Sweden to be picked up by Lisa’s parents Agneta and Pelle, who are wonderful people and have welcomed us into their home. The only part of it we really saw though was the bed, at we crashed out (having no real sleep for the entire travel process) sleeping for 14 hours.
April 12
Today, after weary beginning we caught the bus into Stockholm. The city itself is very beautiful, having an old European charm, which is very
refreshing after the artificially flashy USA. We spent the day walking around the city, visiting the Royal Palace and the VASA Museum, an old Nordic Naval ship, which is quite impressive. Dad, I think you would have enjoyed this.
Sweden is very different from the US, and it has been at times quite difficult not speaking the language, although all Swedes speak English, and seem happy to do so. More of that later. For the moment, I am off to bed. Tomorrow we are catching the train up to Lisa’s university (about an Hour north) to spend the weekend with her. Should be good fun
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