Sweden

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Hej

Thats Swedish for Hey. Since we last spoke I have spent many hours on a train and a few in Stockholm. I bought a netbook computer so these updates should come more often in the future. Also, I think I have enough pictures and stories to do individual entries so expect a wave of these in the next day or three to catch up.

Any who, leaving Copenhagen I headed to the city across the water called Malmö. As a note to anyone considering visiting Stockholm by train, they are always full so book in advance. Since I did' plan ahead, I got to spend four hours waking around this small town which really only takes two. It was nice though and I didn't mind because I was in Sweden so the people are beautiful. In all seriousness Malmo and Stockholm were not at all like the stereotype I imagined in my head. Sure everyone was blonde, beautiful, and in bikinis, but almost none were eating meatballs or using Ikea furniture.

The Train To Stockholm

Once my train arrived I hopped on board to find an old german couple in my assigned seat, which I didn't mind at the time because the train was largely empty. Then at the next stop a Swedish family (a mom and two daughters, one with an infant) walked to my seat and obviously knew I was in the wrong spot. Even though at the time the train was still mostly empty they took the two seats behind me and put the daughter and her
infant next to me with a giant bag-o-babystuff at my feet. I'm pretty sure it was intentional punishment. Then on the next stop another couple arrived with their infant just one row away so the two babies crying would cancel out. Along the way every ten minutes or so one of the two would decide they wanted to eat or poop so they would cry to announce their decision to everyone. On two occasions this crying resulted in the baby next to me being breast fed so at least I got to see a Swedish boob. I also learned something on that trip. I knew that women couldn't always control their farts when they were pregnant but it was news to me that a new mother was prone to farting out loud as well.

Stockholm

I pulled into stockholm at around 10:30 and walked to a nearby hostel that luckily had one bed left. All the rooms were in the basement so there were no windows and my room was pitch black when I entered. Finding a bed, making it, and digging though a backpack via cell phone glow was tough, but the beds were comfortable and the place was quiet. The next morning I talked with my roommate who was a motorbiker from Switzerland and he offered to show me around, so we spent the morning sightseeing. That afternoon he even convinced me to kayak through the harbour. While full of good views, by the end I was tired, soaked, hungry, and moody so I would say it was not worth the time or money. Also, by this time I started to realize Stefen did not know as much about Stockholm as he said he did and was starting to get on my nerves. Unfortunately he was the only person at the hostel that spoke any English so we got dinner together and tried to find a bar to get a drink. Turns out there are only a few bars in Stockholm that are open after 11 on weekdays and none were near us so we called it a night. Very uneventful. I have decided finding the right hostel is critical for enjoying the nightlife and this hostel fails in that regard.

As far as Stockholm itself the city is a beautiful place spannig across several islands. The coolest part was the old town. Located on an island in the middle of Stockholm, this area felt very much like a small European town. Even though the city is huge and loud, you could walk through the old town and hear only birds chirping and kids playing. The rest of the city is very clean and busy during the day but seemed to be pretty dead at night. What I found most interesting was that the people there seem to take their fashion very seriously. The guy working at the kayak shop was wearing wingtip shoes, designer jeans, a sweater with a side sipper, a lot of hair gel, and a diamond earring. On top of that I'm pretty sure he knew nothing about kayaking. His entire tutorial was only in response to the question 'what if I flip over,' to which he said with a shit eating grin, 'don't flip over.' Also, I can't be certain, but on more than one occasion I encountered people standing very still in sometimes odd positions as if they were posing for imaginary pictures. I feel like I have a more negative review of Stockholm, but I blame that more on the hostel than the city. I would recommend it and would definitely go back if given the chance. I would probably fly though because Stockholm is pretty far out of the way of everything.

Leaving

Turns out getting a ticket out of Stockholm is just as difficult as getting a ticket in. In order to get a spot out I had to change seats four times and spend an hour in the cafe car. Plus I got to spend another five hours in Malmö waiting for my transfer. When I arrived in Malmo I intended to book an overnight train to Berlin but it was booked so I ended up heading to Munich instead. It was a little longer, but overnight time doesn't make much difference to me anyway. It just means more sleep. Next time on the Europe blog my misadventures in Munich. Oh and whats this I hear about MJ dieing? I assumed he was one of those guys that would live forever.

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Photos

Malmo Street
Perhaps the prettiest most peaceful street I've seen

Karaoke
I walked past this tent in a busy park to find Karaoke and of course the girls were singing ABBA.

Old Town Gnome
I didn't even notice until after I took this picture that there was something not normal about the guy on the left.

Part of the Stockholm Harbour
This stretch had a long promenade next to the waters edge with cafes on the left and boats on the right.

T.G.I.Fridays
Would you believe there is one in Stockholm? The weird thing is its nice and set up like a cafe/bar overlooking this park instead of the American "Chili's" feel.