So finally after 15 hours of flights and lay-overs, I arrived in Stockholm in the early afternoon. The first few things I noticed arriving in Stockholm's train station : Edmonton should have a high-speed train from the airport to a downtown train station, Sweden seems very multicultural (not everybody is blond with blue eyes!), and there are a lot of people in the train station. I met up with my friend Erik, who I met in Ecuador, and he showed a little around Stockholm. I couldn't find a locker so I was still carrying around my big bag, which was starting to get pretty heavy!
Sidenote: It's a little interesting being in a country where everyone is speaking a language you don't understand, but they also all speak English (it kind of makes you feel ashamed you don't speak their language).
Jetlag has been affecting me quite a bit. I didn't sleep on any of the flights so I ended up taking a little nap between two chairs in a coffee shop where I was chatting with Erik.
Later, we went back to the train station to meet my friend Lisa (I also met in Ecuador) who was getting off a train from Lund, in Southern Sweden where she studies. We went to stay with her friend Anna in one of the suburbs of Stockholm. The suburbs in Stockholm seem to be centred around the nearest subway station, and you get a bunch of apartment blocks centred around a grocery store and other necessities.
The next day we went walking around Stockholm. It was also the same day as the Swedish Princess' wedding (to her personal trainer), so there were a lot of people! I watched the bride arrive at the church on a big screen with a couple thousand Swedes. Later that night (at midnight actually), the three of us went to a big dance party in a central square in Stockholm with DJs Eric Prydz and Basement Jaxx. The party went until three in the morning (when the subways are still running, by the way) as the sun was rising (not that it ever really set - it doesn't really get very dark here in the summer).
Monday afternoon, Lisa and I left for her parents' place in Ostersund (even farther north). We spent most of the day at their summer cottage on the "Great Big Lake" (that apparently has a great big monster too). It is a really nice place with amazing sunsets (at least that's what I would say from last night). After dinner we watched Honduras vs. Spain (not surprisingly, everyone seems to be a big fan here), headed back to town and climbed a mountain at midnight (when you still don't need a flashlight!).
More to come!
Cheers,
Chad
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