5-days Nordic Love Affair
My dear social animal,
with a purpose of boosting healthy relationships and mitigating any weird accidents in your life, I suggest you read this piece of ripe consolidation of all my love to Stockholm just a few minutes later after you arrive home and make yourself comfortable with a cup of tea, or just an hour later after you say goodbye to your friend who is at the moment sitting in front of you and sipping a glass of whiskey, having these kitty eyes staring at you.
The story below is ripe indeed and will unfold around the splendour of Stockholm (but not the splendour of Skavsta Airport). Stockholm Arlanda Airport seems to me the most convenient one as it is located at the approachable distance to where your desires wanna lead you.
The beginning of September is sort of super fantastic timing to visit the Nordic capital. The weather will give you its allowance to wear comfortable clothes (to even stretch your nude legs along the coast of the Baltic Sea), to have a very pleasant experience with a concert guard claiming "no umbrellas allowed", to enjoy an hour-stunningly-picturesque journey to the Stockholm archipelago, to laugh at scared people in the amusement park, to eat korv (pronunciation spoiler: Swedish 'o' is very closed to /u:/) in the rain and to chase a deer in the evening forest. Moreover, it is a perfect chance to catch the locals kinda complaining about the high temperature.
My first day I spent in Gröna Lund, the amusement park, where I sang 'Final Countdown' and learnt new lyrics of Europe, in both direct and figurative meaning. Of course, I was meant to come across a religious sect, surprise surprise they exist at 59°19'57.29"N, 18°3'53.64"E.
But those who won my sincere respect are car drivers, so compassionate Swedish creatures. Bicyclists, on the contrary, tore my heart apart, so irrational Swedish creatures. Maybe it's all correct once a cycle lane is due coloured. But, you know, those suburbs where I met magnificent cows and horses proved bicyclists cannot tolerate pedestrians. Another cultural shock was to see all vehicles have Swedish registration, lol.
As for the underground, I was pleased to use it, clean, diverse and spacious. Almost every station looks like an independent artistic endeavour. People were apparently glaring at my height (unexpectedly), not at my dark hair. Using the underground, I always exploit the time spent there on assessing a particular aspect of life, that deserves a distinct stress, especially on the premises of a train carriage. My Swedish observation focused on men's beard. As a general rule, I remain ignorant of a beard. Swedish men showed that a beard can look handsome in its routine understanding. Men in Sweden appear to take good care of their appearances.
About monuments, why is this happening that every single monument involving a hero riding a horse tends to preserve this disproportionate pattern: I am the horse here, let me look two times bigger than my horseman?
If you are offered to try Swedish meatballs with cranberries and smashed potatoes, go for it. The dish is totally worth a try.
A lot of spots are being reconstructed in Sweden at the moment. This fact does not distort a beautiful image, landscapes, and architectural masterpieces the city has to offer.
While visiting Stockholm, do take a boat to the Swedish archipelago. The nature is so calming there. The best option is, of course, to go there for a week to have a legitimate functional use of the trip to Sweden, enjoy solitude and embrace diversity.
The highlight of my trip was undoubtedly ABBA the Museum, an interactive exhibition. There one may find entertainment for themselves for at least 2h: play the guitar, record oneself, watch happy people, listen to refined music, perform in front of passing museum visitors, take satisfaction in real life settings, and fall in love with Waterloo (unless you want to become a dancing queen, of course).
On the street you may accidentally happen to witness film shooting or orange massacre, do not worry: Stockholm is in order.
***
One day I will be back to be officially employed as a sponger in Stockholm.
