Rock the Stock '09 Stockholm, Sweden

I lied in a previous post. This was the most expensive weekend of my life. A sweet little cafe visit consisting of a small sandwich and a coffee cost $18 bucks. Sweeeet

Ok, that aside, storytime. A group of 5 other close friends from Marquette and I are all studying abroad this semester. We thought it would be a shame if we went the time in europe without seeing each other so we decided to book a trip in a mutual place none of us had been before. Why Stockholm? we don't know either, but it turned out to be a great time anyway. The currency, once we got there, was exchanged to SEKs (plenty of jokes over the course of the weekend). 10 SEK equals 1 Euro so it was sort of weird paying such a high number for everything (40-80 of anything for a beer just seems like a lot) plus cost was high to begin with. After taking a bus into town from the airport, a few friends and I set off into the old part of town to explore. Walking out of the bus station it was dark....wait, what time was it? 3:30. Thats right, the sun had already set.

We walked around for a while and saw all the pretty shops, old buildings, beautiful skyline at night, and all the beautiful people walking the streets. Ever heard that Scandanavians are the most beautiful people in the world? I can confirm it. (my plane ride over, I sat in the last row, every head in front of me was blonde) So its getting late, or so we think, and we set out for a liquor store to buy some supplies for the night. Apparently, theres no such thing as an open liquor store after 6 pm. Really, though, the government closes all the L-stores to give the restaurants more business. We found an emergency liquor store (open til 7) and paid the most ive ever paid for anything alcoholic. Sheesh, I felt like I was poor. After paying for the hostel and the liquor, I was almost out of money on night 1. We went back to the hostel, met up with some more MU friends coming in, and set out to a bar. We met some nice guys there who bought us beer and talked to us until we left. Man, these Swedes love Americans. Besides the fact that were loud and dont all have blonde hair, they still treated us like royalty. We get back to the hostel again, meet with the last guy from MU to come in and chill for the rest of the night.

The morning after, we set out for what few hours of daylight we have, and simply get a hold on the city. We must have walked a few hours, walking through a swedish jungle, down the posh but empty and not so large shopping district, and then finally to the Stockholm tower. It was already dark so we decided to head back and get ready for Bandy! Bandy is a (presumably Scandanavian) game similar to hockey without pads, on a larger field, and played with a ball, that is very cultural and somewhere tourists dont go. We went. Walking in the beer tent (required for entry) the people immediately knew we didnt belong (or Definitely belonged, in our case). One guy asked us where we were from, then bought us all fan gear (like I said, they love Americans) and hung out with us, took pics, and taught us everything about the game. He talked to the president of the team and she came over and chatted with us for a long time (again, she was in love with us because we were American). Once Bandy started, the fans couldnt help but notice our Americanness and they were all talking to us. Halftime came, and our friend who bought us team hats bought us fundraiser balls (sort of a halftime split the pot type thing) to throw in the middle of the field to win the pot. What a nice guy. Later after the game we went back to the beer tent and had a great time with the fans. The rest of the night, we met a fun group of foreigners at our Hostel kitchen (so, being out of money, I resorted to free Pasta provided by the Hostel in order to stay alive) who fed us drinks and a good time. We talked for a few hours, walked around town, and really had a blast doing nothing but getting a feel for other cultures (german, italien, greek, other places...). After meeting so many older people who don't have a plan in life (which is oddly normal everywhere but the States) I feel like I have a bit of a new look on the stresses of life and what everyone thinks is "normal". On all my travels, Ive met almost no people 35 and younger who are 1. Married 2. have a job 3. stressed about life. These people aren't poor or creeps or weirdos, but rather awesome people who can say they lived a different life than most. I've learned that you don't need to live a cookie structured life to be successful, but rather do what you love, go for it, and let life happen to you.

The next day, we took it easy with sight seeing, walked around, and got ready for the IceBar. Since Stockholm is the hometown of Absolute Vodka, we found out they have a bar made of ice, sponsored by Absolute (of course we had to "taste the culture" so we had to do it). We booked a time and took the 5 minute trek to this amazingly cold, amazingly icy bar. We were given large coats and gloves because once you get into the completely ice room, youre locked in for 40 minutes and get to enjoy your time with the rest of your eskimo friends. Included in the experience, we all got a drink of wonderful absolute. The chairs, walls, bar, even our cups were made of ice. The room is kept at a warm -4 Celsius so nothing melts. Later, we found a Soviet Bar (I think everyone there was a communist) where we finished the night. The next morning, we all left for the airport, said our goodbyes, and called it an end to an Absolut-ly amazing weekend. The Swedish SEK burned holes in my pockets, but I found ways around it and I've also learned that things come with a price and you can't always get around it. Despite how cold it was there as well, I think it reminded me how spoiled I have been with great weather in travels and in Germany as well. Chicago, Milwaukee, I'm comin home to bitter cold soon enough.

Thinking about it, I am looking forward to coming home, but I know I will be missing the culture, people, and ability to travel so easily. Europe has taught me a load of life lessons, how to relax, and how to get things done. I keep the saying "If you want things done correctly, do them yourself" close to heart after all these experiences.

Apparently they continue having Holidays while I'm abroad and I didn't realize it was time to Give Thanks already. Happy Thanksgiving to all! I have a lot to be thankful for, but theres too much to list. Know that I'm thankful for you reading this. Until next time.