Stockholm stuffers

Sorry for the delay in posting. The title is Annalise's.

So, Sweden. Sweden was great. Another few days totally different from all our previous ones. Can’t believe Sweden was six days ago, and we arrive in Chicago in six days.

We were put up perfectly, that was the most remarkable thing. I mean perfect. We’ve never had more accommodating hosts on this trip, or perhaps ever, than Marshall and Pia.

To give you an idea: 1) They cooked for us all the time and paid for everything 2.) When I was nervous I had lost my USB drive, Pia searched the laundry room and even opened the vacuum cleaner bag to make sure it was nowhere to be found 3.) They gave up their own beds for five nights, absolutely refusing to sleep anywhere but on cots in the study. 4.) They bought us flavored vodka. 5.) Marshall met us at Stockholm Central station. 6.) When we weren’t looking, our laundry had been done.

We are grateful for their tremendous hospitality.

And we had fun! We drank so much vodka. I ate reindeer. Blitzen, I think. He tasted like steak. Marshall talked to me about Linux computing, the family and a few other things.

Spent a day in Stockholm. Stockholm is a balanced city, straddling eastern and western Europe, juggling neighborhoods old and new without making it obvious. (We tried to take more pictures, but they weren’t coming out at 2:30 p.m. To put the paradox in Marshall’s vocabulary, the capital city is both ‘fine’ and ‘grim.’)

This was Christmas, by the way. Trekking around Europe, we barely noticed Christmas coming. We were even less aware when it showed up. Now it’s done. Apparently it’s winter in Chicago, but it hasn’t been cold in Europe. Right now it’s about forty degrees in London, which is what it was in Sweden.

We flew Ryanair to London from Stockholm. It was about $30 per person. Only 1342 catches. Here’s a few:

Upon arrival to the airport, we had to pay $3 processing fees. The airport is an 80 minute bus ride from Stockholm, and these busses cost money. The destination airport is 60 minutes bus ride from London.

Final two: the flight left at 6:20 a.m., and we could only bring one small carry-on bag each without incurring a hefty extra fee.

This meant that we had to stay up all night, taking a bus at 2 a.m. from Marshall and Pia’s to Stockholm Central station, taking another bus at 3:25, getting to the airport around 4:45. And, to shed luggage, I transformed into a suitcase myself. I wore two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, two T-shirts, three button-ups and all seven of my boxers. This left hardly any clothes, the remainder of which I crammed into my laptop bag and coat pockets. I looked fat and mean and wasn’t messed with. Annalise doubled-up on some items and, between the two of us, we cut to two bags total without leaving anything behind but lotions.

Now we are in London, which is for another post. We saw a TV show last night called “Can fat teens hunt?” Can reality TV get more real than this?

Pictures.