Stockholm, Sweden – Week 3 (6/2-6/8)
- Robert Walley
- Jun 8
- 8 min read
The last full week in Stockholm is complete! About halfway through this week, it dawned on us that we would have to go home, which had been forgotten by some (myself included). Looking back on the week, though, it was another good one, and I've made the most of my time here thus far! Monday began with class, of course, which was about genetics and the tools used to investigate genetic abnormalities. Some content was review from a biology class I had last year, but most was content I'll learn in the next couple of biology classes I take back in the States, so I'm glad to have had a preview of it.
The plan for the afternoon was to go to another island by ferry, but we didn't make the ferry after misconstruing the port we needed to depart from. Initially, I was bummed, but heard from some others who went that day that we didn't miss much at all. For plan B, we went on an afternoon stroll through Stockholm and then played some Bandle back at the apartment. It's like Wordle, but you have to guess a song instead. The daily puzzle starts with only the song's drumline, and with each wrong guess, one instrument is added until 6 guesses have been used. It's pretty fun, but it can be challenging.
In the evening, I heated up a frozen pizza from the grocery store. Pretty boring, but 3 for $8.50 was too good a deal to pass up, especially when eating is so expensive here. A few were still seeking some adventure after missing the ferry earlier, so we decided to embark on the search for a great fika spot. After about an hour on foot, scooter, and train, we finally found ourselves walking through a short door in Gamla Stan that had some of the most delicious pastries we have had yet.
Back at the apartment, a fellow UNC student and I tuned into the baseball game against Oklahoma. It didn't finish until 12:30 in the morning, but it was worth staying up to watch a win.
Some of the best weather yet came on Tuesday, and after class, a classmate and I decided to go west and explore some of Stockholm that we had not seen yet. After riding to the end of Östermalm, we found green space and decided to trek further with the scooters. We thought we might have to ditch them to keep going, but we were happy to see that bikes and scooters were welcome on the trails for commuting. Seeing such wide open fields was a nice change after being in the city, especially on such a nice day. We rode around for a while, coming across some horses and other wildlife too.
About an hour later, we settled on a sushi place for lunch. One of the 2 employees was napping in the only booth the restaurant had to offer, and I'm not sure how they are still in business since it was empty on a weekday at lunch. Nonetheless, our sushi was some of the best we've had, which we let the employees know.
That evening, about 10 of us attended the Sweden vs. Denmark women's soccer game. Swedish fans filled the trains toward the Strawberry Arena, and things got even louder as we neared the box office to buy our tickets. This was my first professional soccer game, and it was a good one! Less than 4 and a half minutes in, Sweden was already up 2-0, and ended up winning 6-1. I didn't expect such a high-scoring game, but it sure made for an entertaining 90 minutes of soccer.
Tuesday's gorgeous weather was short-lived by Wednesday's return to dreary clouds and the occasional, unexpected drizzle. I almost forgot about it at lunch, though, which was the best lunch I've had here so far. We sat down at STHLM Brunch Club and were not disappointed in the slightest. The outdoor patio has you seated in close quarters, but it's no issue considering how tasty the food is. I got the Brekkie Plate, which had a variety of breakfast items thrown onto one plate. I was going to get the house special, a twist on eggs Benedict, until someone else in the group ordered it. At good restaurants, I have a weird thing where I can't order the same thing as someone else. There is something of an unwritten rule, if you will, constantly reminding me that as a group, we must try as much of the menu as possible if the food is that good. In this case, it worked out, since I was hungry and the Brekkie Plate was bigger than the house special anyway 😊
When I got back to the apartment, I planned on doing laundry. Part of me didn't want to do laundry, though, so I went on a run. Usually, I run in populated areas and leave my phone at home, but I brought it this time just in case I got lost. I have a decent sense of direction, but when I run in new places, I like to wander and find new places. On this run, I did just that. About two and a half miles in, I saw a red painted fence beneath some trees, and decided to explore what I assumed to be a park. As I kept running, the park seemed a bit scarce, with only the occasional important-looking person out and about. Once I reached the training grounds, I confirmed the thought in the back of my mind that I could be on a military base. I saw it fit to see myself out, so I got to kicking in search of an exit. As I came across more gates, I noticed a theme: they were all heavily locked with a discouraging amount of barbed wire for any fence jumpers. Finally, I gave up the search, running back through the middle of the military base to the tiny red gate through which I initially entered. I'm still unsure how none of the military personnel I passed questioned me, but I'm just happy to be back on my side of the fence with no trespassing charges.
Thursday was an interesting day. I saw that Café Pascal was a great fika spot within the city, so I decided to check it out with the intention of staying a while and getting some work done. Instead, a conversation with a Swedish entrepreneur got in the way of my backpack ever opening. We chatted for roughly an hour about his past and present ventures and what he sees for the future. It was an interesting conversation, and if nothing else, I feel as though I have successfully taken part in the Swedish tradition of fika (coffee break).
After exchanging salutations, I went on my way, thinking about finding another coffee shop to actually get some work done. However, the sun came out and I was behind on my steps for the day, so I kept walking. I'm not one for walks back home, because I'd rather just run to get some exercise. In a new place, however, I've found that walks are a great way to make a mental map of the city. Just like my run on Wednesday, I had my phone, but would navigate only by signs, visible landmarks, and other context clues unless I became severely lost. I ended up just fine and discovered a new route to Gamla Stan, where I spent the rest of the afternoon popping in and out of some art shops.
Come evening, I was hungry after forgoing lunch, and decided to hit Meatballs for the People. It's a Swedish meatball joint that started a few years back and serves a delicious array of meatballs that are handmade from many kinds of meat. Much to my dismay, the meatballs looked somewhat small. To compensate, I ordered the entreé with 10 meatballs and got an extra 10 on the side. At first, the waitress didn't understand what I was asking for, and despite it only being her second day on the job, I think I'll be her biggest order for a single customer for a while. The meatballs were absolutely delicious, and I ate every last one of them plus all the cucumbers, which I usually toss aside. I got 15 classic meatballs (a mix of beef and pork) and 5 chicken meatballs, and the classic meatballs are far better. Other meats offered include bear, veal, mutton, moose, salmon, and more, but paying extra for exotic meats isn't too cost-effective when hungry.
Sweden's National Day fell on a Friday this year, making for a 3-day weekend. Many other students caught a flight to see another country this weekend, but I stayed in hopes of a lively equivalent to the 4th of July. Unfortunately, Friday was rainy, putting a damper on some of the typical activities that ensue on National Day. Even with the inclement weather, I must say, Norway's Constitution Day is far more patriotic and festive than Sweden's National Day. In Oslo, I was shoulder to shoulder with people of all ages dressed to the nines, celebrating. Here, though, things were far more relaxed. In the afternoon, some of us went for a walk around the city to see where the hubbub was, only to find that not much was happening. We did go to a delicious bakery, Storia Bageriet, where we grabbed some coffee to wake us up.
When we got back to the apartment, I was happy to have a night in since UNC was playing the first game in the Super Regionals against Arizona. We won 18-2, which made it a great night!
Dark skies still loomed on Saturday, but that's pretty much the norm here. I decided to go find a coffee shop to get some work done, and stumbled across an interesting dance going on near city center. To say the least, it was weird. There was no music, just speakers blasting some bass. The performers didn't so much dance, either. They took tiny, robotic steps from the right side of the picture to the left side of the picture and made other weird, slow movements. It was so slow that it kind of peeved me, so I left after a few minutes of watching in hopes of some elaborate performance ensuing.
The coffee shop I found is called RC Café och Pâtisserie, which is a great spot to get some work done, particularly because they have outlets. Something I've noticed about Sweden is that you cannot sit down at a coffee shop and expect to find outlets like you can in the U.S., which seems a bit odd to me.
Come dinner time, I was out of things to make in the apartment, so a group of us went to STHLM City Food Hall. Inside, we found an enticing cluster of stands and took our time making up our minds as to what we would order for dinner. I decided on the sandwich place, which was delicious. I got a chicken Parmesan sandwich, but it was nothing like its Italian-inspired namesake dish. Instead, it had grilled chicken, lettuce, ham, an egg, and some more ingredients stuffed between two slices of sourdough. It made my taste buds happy.
Sunday was more laid back, just as it was a week ago. I decided to return to the coffee shop I visited the day prior, where I got a different pastry this time. On my way, I found myself atrop a bridge with a nice view of one of Stockholm's big shopping streets, still adorned by floral arches from National Day. It was nice to watch the quiet Sunday street since it is usually bustling with cars and people.
I returned to the apartment from the coffee shop just in time to preheat the oven for my last frozen pizza and turn on the last game of the Super Regionals for UNC and Arizona. Despite our 18-2 win on Friday, we lost 8-10 on Saturday, meaning game 3 on Sunday was win or go home for both teams. I had full confidence that we could come out on top in this best out of 3 series, but unfortunately, Arizona is the team that has punched their ticket to the College World Series instead.
That put a bit of a damper on the evening, but after finishing out this week's blog, our loss has escaped my mind a little bit. And, flipping through this week's photos has reminded me that I only have 4 more full days in Stockholm before I'm deprived of legroom in seat 44B as I head back across the pond. Time to make the most of my time left here!
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