Day three
I took the dog out again. We went to the same spot and watched the ducks swim around. It is so nice out there. Did I mention that Rasmus and Marie live right across the street from where ABBA used to have a recording studio. True story. It is now a gym and some offices. Nice ones.
Since our Stockholm Card ran out at 12:30pm today, we had to act fast. We went to Hard Rock Café because I collect the pins. The collectable pins. (I know, lame hobby- but some of the pins are really intriguing). It was closed, so we went to City Hall and took the tour there. That was really engaging because we had to have guide. Totally worth it. We saw the “Blue room” where Nobel Laurites get their Nobel Prize. We walked to the different chambers and city parliament. The riveting part of this was to learn that 90% of the city parliament have other jobs. Meetings are held in the late afternoon or the evening to accommodate those who work. I think this is the way that politics should be. People are not over consumed with election because if they don’t get relected, they still have a job. They know what it means to be a working class part of society and make decisions as such, not a disconnected member of politics. Also, anyone from the city is allowed to come to any of the meetings. All sessions are open. I really appreciated this aspect of the Swedish Parliamentary procedure. City Hall itself is a beautiful building itself; of course it needed to be if it were to hold the Nobel Prize Awards every December 10th.
Went back to Hard Rock to buy a pin. They had a lunch special so we just ate there. It was good. I ate half a sandwich there and the other half later on. I bought my pin too but I won’t mention how much I paid for it because things in Sweden are borderline prohibitively expensive. Not really, but coming from Armenia, or Turkey, or Lativa, it certainly is.
Since our Stockholm card ran out and the center of Stockholm was not too far away, we just walked to NK which is like the Harrods of Stockholm. This was Mike’s idea. He wanted to walk around a department store. He found something. A hat you would see in the 1994 movie “The Newsies” (I don’t know if that is the right year, but it does have Christian Bale). Again, I won’t say how much he spent on that hat.
We also saw Patti Smith, the winner of the Polar Music Awards. If you don’t know who she is, neither did we. She must have been big there though because there were some teenage girls crying. Either that, or she got some hot pepper in her eye in the proximity of Ms. Smith.
Knowing that our cards were expired, we went to the metro station to see how much a ticket would be. It was $3.50 each for a one way ticket. We said “Tak” and turned around and decided to walk back. Thirty minutes later, we were back. It was a really nice walk. That is the beauty of the Stockholm Card, if a museum is bad, doesn’t matter, you have already paid. If you make a mistake going somewhere in the wrong direction or whatever, doesn’t matter, because you have already paid for the card. Winston-Salem, get a “Winston-Salem” card, and develop the same kind of public transportation as Stockholm. (This is a joke- albeit, maybe not funny).
Since the following day we would be going to Orebro, we decided to stock up on some supplies. We got two tubes of stuff. One was cheese in a metal tube and the other was crayfish flavored metal tube thing. We haven’t tried either yet. We are excited to try them in Israel. (I mean, they have to still be good right? They were not refrigerated and they are in a metal tube).
We ate dinner with Rasmus and Marie. They made the traditional dinner for Thursday night. Pea soup and pancakes. No, I am not kidding. This is tradition in Sweden. You eat Pea Soup and pancakes. Marie scared us by talking about the Pea Soup and making it sound like it was awful. It was really good. The pancakes were more like crepes and we ate those with blueberry jam that Marie made and cloud berry jam (I don’t know what that is either…) We also drank Swedish Punsch. That is how it was spelled on the bottle. It is a 21% alcohol, extremely sweet liquour. It was good but one glass was enough of that stuff (and by “glass” I mean one shot glass.”)
I took Liza out at night and saw the amount of people who were out. After work it seems like everyone either rides their bike, runs, or cross country skis on roller blades that look like short skis.
We then packed and watched TV. TV. It had channels, in English too. We saw “forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Why not?
Day 4
It looks like the rate that I am typing it is about a page and a half per day. I hope you (as the reader) are hanging in there. Good thing there are pictures too…
Mike and I woke up early, again, and made sure we had everything. We took showers and had breakfast with Rasmus and Marie. Apparently a traditional Swedish meal of oatmeal with yogurt, fruit, and some juice. It was good and I think I will try and eat the same thing when I return home.
Rasmus was super nice, again, and went with us to the train station. Maybe to make sure we got on the train, so he wouldn’t have to deal with us anymore. Kidding. We had a great time with Rasmus and Marie and I really hope that I meet them again sometime in the future. Mike is convinced he is going to try and study in Sweden. He better get a job, buy a house, pay it off, and use his house as collateral when he takes out a second mortgage to pay to go and live in Sweden.
To Rasmus and Marie, thank you a million for letting two strangers stay in your house, showing us around, talking with us, and cooking us dinner and breakfast. Overall, making us feel very welcome in your home.
We went to the platform and hung out there for a while until we learned that the train was delayed. But only by 5 minutes. And we had to change tracks. So it wasn’t too bad. We got on the train and watched as all the beautiful forests and yellow fields pass by us. We arrived in Orebro around 11:30 where we walked around a bit until we met John and Okia. They are Mike’s relatives from way, way back.
They took us by car to a water tower restaurant. It was really great because you could see over Orebro. Okia, Mike’s relative (of some kind, I never figured out the exact lineage) told us his father helped design or make the water tower. On top of the tower, Okia treated us to a Swedish buffet, which was a shame because we had just eaten our turkey sandwiches on the train. There was still room for more. (Mom and Dad, imagine your child, now add about 30 pounds. That is what your son is going to look like when he comes home- be ready).
Again, by car, we left Orebro and took a drive out in the country. That was really great because the Swedish countryside is definitely worth seeing. Very beautiful. Everything reminded me of the North Carolina forests up in the mountains around mid-fall. The air was so fresh. It’s amazing how you can tell when you are breathing in fresh air.
Mike’s story:
Apparently in the late 1800’s, Mike’s great, great grandfather left Sweden and came over to the US and settled. There was some kind of drift in the family. Okia was interested in finding out what happened to the family and in 1983 started looking. After many attempts he was unsuccessful and gave up for many years. He posted articles in US newspapers, and did other kinds of gumshoe work to find out what happened to his distant relatives. Something happened (I forgot what) but he decided to try again, one more time). He did and ended up getting a phone call in 2005. The year after, the Swedish family, who are now the Eriksson’s, went over to the US to visit. Now there is some kind of constant line of communication between the two families. Really cool how that worked out for them.
We went to the house where that great great grandfather lived and the joke was, if you can picture all the men standing around, “and that is where it all started,” which is true.
We spent the next hour or two driving around the area looking at churches and getting some more history. We stopped at a monastery and then made our way to Okia’s brother’s house. There we met many more of Mike’s extended family and sat down to have a nice Swedish meal of amazing Chedder and Brie cheese, crackers, spread, ham, assortment of breads and pasta. Topped off with pear juice.
We had dessert and coffee and then went over to Ander’s house (Ander is Okia’s brother’s son-in-law) and watched a movie. We got back to the house at 11:30pm, exhausted and ready to go to bed.
Day 5
Again, we woke up early, took showers and ate breakfast together with the family. Not all of the family. It was just Okia’s brother, his wife, daughter, Mike, and myself. We then packed our things and said our goodbyes. The wife gave me a huge hug. One of those really nice ones that just made my day.
They dropped us off at the train station and made sure everything was alright and left after the train started moving. Really a great family and super nice. The train ride was an hour long before we switched over to a bus taking us the remaining hour to Uppsala. We arrived at the train/bus station several minutes early so we went to find lockers for our bags. Soon thereafter, John, from the day before, met with us and took us around.
He took us to the Uppsala Cathedral, showed us his University, and described to us the details of “Nations” which is similar to frats in America but not really. Nations are basically small clubs based on what region of Sweden you are from. They have “functions” as well and sell cheap food. Too bad they didn’t take credit cards.
We went to another place and got kababs. We got the food to go and went to the river and ate it there. We walked around the city some more, but there really isn’t that much to see because it’s a university town. Interesting though and we had a great time.
Four o’clock came and it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes and headed to the airport. There we checked in and took a nice flight to London where I am currently finishing up this ultra long entry.
Overall thoughts of Sweden: Amazing. It is a country and seems to make sense. The people have a nice level of privacy and look out for each other. It is safe. People smile at each other and stop and have conversation if you have dogs (even if you don’t). Everyone speaks English and to me, seemed very eager to help in case we had some problems. The bus drivers seemed as though they loved their job and they were happy to be there. It is an amazing country. It is beautiful too. Not only Stockholm with its beautiful architecture and bridges connecting all the little islands, but also Orebro and Uppsala. It is so clean here. Very expensive. Beautiful ladies… everywhere. I would come back in a heartbeat… after I got a solid job.
In less than 24 hours, I will see my buddy Graham who I haven’t seen in about three years. Really excited about it. More to come. Thanks for reading those who managed to get through it.
Until next time…
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