A Swede in Stockholm

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
From The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

As the plane landed in Stockholm,  the weather couldn't have been more different than what I'd left in Amsterdam.  The sun almost blinded me and the blue sky went on as far as I could see. I could only see the trip sailing smoothly.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

Usually maps and I get along swimmingly.  Once I orient myself, I'm good to go.  Apparently,  not in Stockholm.  It all started when I tried to find my hotel.  I wandered for almost twenty minutes - knowing where I was,  but unable to find where I wanted to be.  It was awful!  It happened again and again.  It wasn't that I was lost at any point - I could pinpoint my exact location on my map - but repeatedly throughout my time in Stockholm I searched for where I was going for almost as long as I was in the site!  By the end of the trip I was blaming the map, there's no other explanation for it! This, however, did not ruin my trip,  instead I saw it as an opportunity to see more of the city (I was a bit cranky when I had to dragged my luggage for so long).

My first morning started off wonderfully with the discovery that they were serving Swedish meatballs for breakfast. How awesome is that! Oh and they were not served with gravy, so take that you skeptics who thought it was weird that my family never has gravy with our meatballs!  (cuz there are so many of you :-). )

For me traveling is an endurance game.  I know,  sounds like a lot of fun.  But I have a plan and by following it I accomplish the most with the least amount of wasted time. Key to this is knowing what the busiest place will be and get there first. So that's what I did (duh). The one place everyone who heard I was traveling to Stockholm told me to go was the Vasa Museum.  It's cool, the whole thing is built around a salvaged ship from the 17th century that sank on its maiden voyage (okay,  its kinda funny - it got tipped over by a wave 1,500 meters from its berth,  talk about poor construction!). I successfully slipped in front of the groups and purchased the second ticket.  From that point on it became a game of "keep in front of the mob" - a rather fun game.  And I totally won. Not once did I have to crane my neck to see an artifact or read a plaque.  Don't judge me too harshly, it's the little victories that matter. 

My final stop of the day was the Swedish History Museum. The information lady told me that "because the museum closes in an hour and forty five minutes,"  I wouldn't be able to get through all the exhibits.  I took this as a challenge. And of course I always rise to any challenge!  About half way through, though, I hit the wall. But I refused to give up.  I only read the big signs and the ones that caught my attention,  but an hour and a half later I had seen every room,  in every exhibition.  Ha! I won . . . because going to the museum was not about learning about my heritage but getting through it. Right.

One of my favorite things about staying in hotels in foreign countries is watching television at night.  The things that are on are . . . revealing. On this trip I've discovered that northern Europe has a lot of American television, but mostly Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory - and apparently American Football (strange,  I know). But the show that I found the most fascinating and bizarre in Sweden was "Celebrity Diving" - at least I think they were celebrities, considering I didn't know any of them.  I don't know what they are saying but it was like watching a train wreck,  I couldn't change the channel.  The best part was at the end whoever gets eliminated has to "hang up their towel" - literally - under their name on the rack. Oh. My. Goodness. It was epic!

Have I told you that I've been reprogrammed to the wrong side of the road?  Yep. Its been a good time on this trip.  This was the first time its been so bad. I mean I had no idea which direction to look first when crossing the street, and walking down the sidewalk was a nightmare! My feet put me on the left,  but my brain was like "wait,  no that's wrong," so I switched to the right but then I was like "or is this wrong? " In the end I just found myself walking down the middle - it was easier that way.

On my final day I decided to spend the afternoon at a place called Skansen Open Air Museum. What is this you may ask? You see, this guy at the end of the 19th century saw how quickly the world was changing,  so he decided to collect the history and culture of rural Sweden in a single place.  So how did he do this,  you wonder? Oh, just move old buildings from all over the country to a single location!  For you Minnesotans it's like taking the Kelly Farm and Murphy's Landing and super sizing them - oh, and adding an awesome zoo. This place is every child's dream come true (or at least it would have been mine growing up). Oddly, there was a lot that reminded me of rural Minnesota.  Which makes sense,  I guess, considering that most of the immigrants from Sweden came to the Midwest. The animals are even similar!  However, as great as the buildings and Scandinavian animals were, it was the zoo (they called it the aquarium, but the didn't make sense because only half the things in it were in tanks/water,  but whatever). What made it unique?  There is an entire exhibit where you walk amongst lemurs. Take a moment to review that statement.  No glass,  no fence. They are just hanging around in the same space as the visitors.  It was pretty sweet. There were too many snakes for my taste,  but the funniest thing of the trip came at the crocodile exhibit. The crocodiles Skansen have are rare Cuban Crocodiles,  which it is illegal for American zoos to buy.  Why, you ask?  Because they are Communist Crocodiles. Yes. That is not a joke. However,  because Skansen has a pair that have babies consistently,  American zoos can purchase them because they are then Swedish, not Cuban.  How ridiculous is that?

At last it was time to return to Coventry,  then home.  As I looked back on my week I realized something: Amsterdam is one of the most amazing cities for adults,  while Stockholm is every child's dream city.  I know that I must return to Amsterdam, but when I have children the first foreign city I will take them to is Stockholm. As I've discovered about every place I've visited in my life,  there is something special about each - and it is the traveler's job to uncover it.