Stockholm, Sweden

So far Sweden is my favorite country! I did a lot of eating in Sweden, and the food is quite good! At the train station I went to a bakery and tried three things. One is called a vacuum cleaner, it is marzipan and some kind of liquor made into a pastry, I liked it very much. Another was a cinnamon bun, that was just okay. Then this other vanilla roll that was just too sweet. It was a 5 hour train ride from Copenhagen to Stockholm, but it was really nice! I saw such beautiful scenery. Apparently Sweden is famous for stunning water. On the last train I was on a Swedish guy told me that the tap water in all of Europe is potable, but it is best in Sweden. Being on the train we went by these beautiful lakes, all still and calm like fluid mirrors. Then the trees and the plains, sometimes nice meadows. There is also a nice cafeteria on the train where I sat, so I did not feel like I was on a train, instead I was in a cafe watching...nice scenery. It was very relaxing, considering how much I have been walking lately!



By the way, another note on Copenhagen. On my way to the train station this really gross fat looking middle eastern guy tried to grab my arm! Ewww, I was really surprised and I yelled and gave him an angry look and he left me alone. This was in broad day light! The Scandinavian countries have very low crime rates, the people are very nice and it is very safe; perhaps this disgusting person was tourist. Anyhow, that made me feel kind of nervous. Copenhagen is pretty, but in that city my camera broke and I almost got grabbed by some creep. Now it is ranked quite low in my list.



On the train to Stockholm I met a very nice black guy who is Swedish, and he told me he does not want to go to Eastern Europe because people there are very racist. He also said people in Denmark are racist too. Apparently there is a rivalry between Sweden and Norway and they like to make these jokes like, "why did the Norwegian bring sand paper to the desert?" the answer is "because he wanted to have a map". Anyhow, I asked him about good food in Sweden, and he said that it is very international, and that growing up his mom, who is Swedish, cooked Italian food...I told him I wanted to try Swedish meatballs, but he said that if I have had Ikea Swedish meatballs those are just as good as the authentic ones. Also, there is a popular Swedish desert called a chocolat ball, but it used to be called a (n word) ball. Hmmm. He said I should try them anyway since they are very good. I will do so when I am in Malmo, Sweden later.

Stockholm is sooo pretty, I feel like it is a different world. Like something out of Harry Potter. All of these beautiful old buildings are around these canals that are super clean. I walked around the city and visited the Royal Palace where the King resides and saw the changing of the guard. Swedish men are not that tall...I was always under the impression that Scandinavian people are super tall but people here really are not. So far the tallest people where in Amsterdam, and I think Germans are quite tall too. I went to Gamla Stan, the old town which is very charming with cobble stone or brick streets (I do not remember which), lots of ice cream stands and bakeries as well as Italian restaurants. I ate Swedish meatballs anyway, and they were exactly like the Ikea ones. But I do love the Ikea ones so I was happy. Stockholm is still expensive, but less so than Copenhagen, perhaps because the Swedish Krone has dropped in value lately.

After the changing of the guard I saw the Vasa Museum from this island (I was too lazy to cross and go into the actual museum) and I took a picture of that famous boat that sunk. I met a very nice French man who explained to me in French the history of the boat and some other famous things in Sweden. I also saw the Nobel Museum and took had someone take my picture there :D This museum is all about Nobel Prize Winners. I have been using the self timer on my camera more lately and the results have been quite nice!

A sidee story: In Gamla Stan this middle aged swedish man stopped me and asked if I was Swedish. I said no, but he seemed really excited to talk to me. After what happened in Copenhagen I was cautious, but during this time I was also very hungry so I asked him where I can find a good place to eat Swedish food, since he is a local. As it turns out he was not a creep, but someone who really really likes Asian stuff...he got very excited and showed me his grocery bag which was full of instant noodle and dried mango. I told him instant noodle is very unhealthy and caused my kidney infection, possibly, and he should not eat it. Apparently he wants to buy a house in the Phillipines. But then he asked me for my e-mail address and told me I was very pretty, so I left. I like people who really are excited about Asian culture, but I do not like people with Asian fetish! Ewwwww. Seriously, what was he thinking? I often let my guard down with people who are the same age as my dad because I figure they cannot possibly be hitting on me, since it is soooo obvious that I am WAY too young for them. Ugh. What a pervert.

After seeing the main attractions in Stockholm I hopped onto the ferry to the archipelago, which is supposedly something that locals recommend. I went to Vaxholm, a pretty island full of lilacs! Purple lilacs, white lilacs, honey suckle and jasmine! I think. It smelled so nice walking down the street. I wandered around there, but all the shops were closed so I just ate ice cream and sat for a while. Then it started getting really cold. On the ferry I met a very nice Canadian woman, and I ate salmon for dinner. The fish here is very fresh and fairly cheap (this was only a little more than a bagel in Copenhagen).

I got lost trying to get back to my hostel (so far I have gotten lost in every city). This hostel is very clean, but my room smelled so bad! By then I was exhausted from walking around and cold, plus my skin got really bad. No one here seems to have acne, and I think it is because the wather is so dry! My legs are getting really chapped and gross, so I bought some intensive lotion. I loooove American Express, I have been able to use it at a lot of places. I actually ran out of Swedish Krones, but thankfully seven eleven accepts Amex so I was able to save my skin. Anyhow, being completely tired I was really upset to find out that the shared hostel smelled soooo bad. Like feet and sweat! There were these two big Australian guys there, who were really friendly, but I KNEW that the odor was because of them. So I went to the common room and someone from New York was there and I started talking to him. Then I said that I was really sad and did not want to return to my room because it smelled really bad. I think the Australian guys heard me say that!! Because when I went back to my room, they had sprayed it with an air freshener. So I felt really bad about that, I do not want to be a diva :( But at least now my room smells better.

Seven eleven made me so happy that I am starting a new photo project! I will collect seven elevens in every country! At every country I go to I will now take a picture with the seven eleven store! I did this in Sweden and asked someone to take it for me and they gave me a funny look and said "okay...you just want the seven eleven? what about the cathedral in the back?" I said no, just the seven eleven!

I am really tired now so I will go to bed. I have a train to Oslo at 8 am tommorow! I am most excited for Norway, and tommorow I will be taking the scenic train to Bergen. More on that later!