Day 2 in Stockholm!

-IceBar

-Farmer’s Market

-McDonalds!

Day 1 in Stockholm!

Yesterday was mine and Alex’s scavenger hunt. We started out so well! We were blazing through the list. And then, in true American fashion, we got distracted by food (and the pretty water). Nonetheless, we had a good time and went all over Vasteras.

First, we went to two very unique hotels. One was in a tree, and one was underwater. They were pretty cool, but both are tiny so I imagine they have a long waiting list.

Then we went to lunch at a really cute cafe at a harbor. We had paninis which were SO good. I had the mozzarella, pesto (I think it was pesto) and sundried tomatoes one and it was delicious. Then we got ice cream and wandered around the harbor for a long time (it was too pretty to leave). After that we drove back into the city center and my pants ripped on my bike so we had to take ~45 minutes to change my pants.

Once back from that, we had to go into H&M and try on summer fashions, so we tried on each others (I made him wear leopard pants, there are pictures :) ) and then we tried to find two “streets” on the map so we went to the expresso house and got drinks while we searched. We never found the maps, but we got really distracted and spent an hour or so in the coffee house. So, we never finished our scavenger hunt, but at least we had a fun day!

Then we met back up with Sara and another guy from the foreign exchange committee and went to dinner at a really yummy Greek restaurant (I’m eating my leftovers now!) and Sara and I split baklava for dessert :)

Then I learned how to drive a stick shift! In a parking lot, of course. I didn’t even stall out :) Now I may get a manual in America after all.

Today I’m going shopping in the city center with a friend of Sara’s, Callie. I’m hoping to find cute shoes. Tonight I’m going out with the exchange students and the committee :)

On Saturday night in Vasteras, I went to SkyBar! It’s a famous bar around here because it’s located on the 24th floor of the only real skyscraper in town.

It’s super fancy and expensive, the cheapest drink costs about $15. But it’s very modern and the view is beautiful! You can see the entire town :) There’s also a piano with a singer who sings a lot of American songs. We only went for a little while because we were exhausted but it was a sight worth seeing for sure.

I was only in Stockholm for about 30 hours and I had no computer so I couldn’t update.

Stockholm is entirely different from Vasteras and Norberg. It’s like a normal city except smaller, cleaner, and pretty. The building are so cool! There aren’t many ugly ones, and they’re in the process of building new housing and buildings on top of the worn down old industrial areas. Almost all of the apartment building were amazing looking, I would be happy to live in any of them. Since Stockholm is made up of 14 (or 16? I think 14) islands, there is a ton of waterfront property. I took a 2 hour boat tour and got to see most of the city. I took almost 200 pictures on the tour, I’ll be sure to post some later (tonight or tomorrow, it’s already 1:15 am here). 

So I took a bus to Stockholm on Sunday morning (a bus with plugs and free wifi! Awesome) then walked to the boat tour. After the boat tour, we walked through the old city and the king’s palace. Everything was bright and charming. I bought some touristy souvenirs and took a lot of touristy pictures. Then, we met up with Sara’s friend Ida and went to get lunch at a really modern Italian restaurant called Vapianos (mostly Italian food). It was open and airy, as are many of the restaurants. Their front windows open up completely on nice days, and Sunday was beautiful! I couldn’t have asked for better weather. 

After lunch we walked through the city a bit more and then went to a movie theater where I watched an American movie in English with Swedish subtitles. The movies here aren’t usually dubbed in Swedish because so many people speak English. Afterward, we went back to Ida’s apt (super cute). We stopped at the grocery on the way and I napped while they went in. They got me some swedish candy, and made me mushrooms on toast which is a classic Swedish snack (it was yummy!)

Today, we went back to Stockholm to do some more shopping. When we got there, Sara and I both had to pee, but it cost 10 SEK (~$1.70) to use the bathroom so, being a stubborn American, I decided to hold it until we found a free bathroom. So, we walked to get lunch at a yummy food court type place, and I had Swedish Chinese food! It was pretty good, but the breading on my fried shrimp was thicker than the shrimp (odd). I finally got to pee, two hours later, because the girls leave the doors open in the bathroom so you don’t have to pay 5 SEK. 

Then we met another of Sara’s friends, Ke Lu, and went shopping. We went to H&M which was founded in Sweden, and then a couple other Swedish stores. I spent a good bit but I got some cute Euro clothes :) Then we went to the iconic Nordic IceBar in Stockholm (it’s a local counterpart to the northern Ice Hotel). It was super cold, but we got stylish parkas and took lots of pictures, it was pretty cool looking. We decided to get different drinks, Sara got the Snow Flake (delicious!) and I got the Torne River (not as delicious, but still good). The drinks are served in ice glasses, so they melt as you drink them. 

Then we went to McDonald’s, and as usual in Europe, the McDonald’s was super cool looking, and the food was almost exactly the same as America, though slightly more expensive. I just got my usual little cheeseburger with ketchup and mayo only.

We headed back to the train station and shopped for a bit until it was time to catch our bus back to Vasteras. When we got home, it was raining and we had to bike back from the bus station (my butt was very, very wet). We stopped on the way to get Subway for dinner! Tastes the same, but also more expensive. Fortunately, Sara and I both get Sweet Onion Chicken Terriyoki so we split a footlong. 

We came home and ate while watching American TV, it was just like being at home!

Tomorrow, Sara is sending Alex and I on a Scavenger Hunt through Vasteras while she works to acquaint Alex with the city and teach me some Swedish. Should be fun!

I’ll post pictures soon-ish :)

I arrived back in Vasteras this afternoon, and promptly took a nap. My body has decided that the best way to adjust to the time change is to not sleep at all at night. 

Tonight we were supposed to go on a pub tour, but it’s a little rainy and cold so I think we’re just going to Skybar. Skybar is on the 25th floor of the only skyscraper in Vasteras and it overlooks the city. I’m excited to see the view :)

Sara’s brother, Saman, invited his friends over to have a Swedish party for the American Cheerleader.

The blond girl really loves Birttany Spears. She cried when she got tickets to see her in concert this coming October. She told me that “Brittany Spears is her” even though Americans don’t like B.Spears. Interesting

I also went to the only pub in the town of Norberg, but I didn’t take any pictures, I was too tired.

All of the Crayfish for the Crayfish Festival in Norberg! There were 4 of us, and we ate them ALL. I spent most of the night to stuffed to do anything else. 

We wore party hats with crayfish on them to celebrate.

Sara homemade a Swedish version of potato salad (it has fish in it). She was really excited about it. She also ate some of it for breakfast this morning.

A park in Norberg where kids our age like to hang out. It’s also a hot hang out for ducks.

This is the famous cafe I went to with Sara and her mom in Norberg. Two of the pastries we got were a pink marzipan heart cake and a “vacuum cleaner” (the green one). Both we’re great :) And Swedish coffee is much stronger than American coffee (which is PERFECT)