Big trip of 2014 - Prologue and Day 1

In a departure to what had become the norm in recent years, a motorcycle trip didn't seem in the cards this year.  With my riding partner moved away and a girlfriend without an endorsement or a motorcycle, a different sort of trip seemed inevitable.  Therry, my girlfriend, taught summer school this year to help fund her newly purchased home, so we had a specific window to shoot for if we wanted to take a trip together.  I put in my request with work and made sure we'd have the opportunity to go somewhere. 

We didn't know where, but we both knew we needed to get out of town.  I'd grown accustomed to the somewhat laissez-faire style of trip planning that Chuck and I had adopted in our journeys, much to Therry's consternation.  When she pressed me to decide on something, we'd agreed on tentative plans to explore some of British Columbia and Alberta, ultimately making it to Banff.  It sounded good to me, and so we penciled it in the books.

Then, about a month before our scheduled departure, Therry let me know that a complication had arisen.  Her work had asked her to attend some meetings at her university's sister school in Sweden to discuss the nursing program.  I didn't know the details other than I was jealous of a job that would send her to Sweden, and that it was right around the time we'd scheduled our vacation.  I remarked how I wished that I was being "made" to go to Sweden, and Therry said "Well, do you want to go?"  She threw out the idea of staying after her meetings were done and me flying out to meet her.  Off the bat, I couldn't see much wrong with the plan, so I said, "Sure!"

In the subsequent month, we got our plane tickets bought with some difficulty (it turns out there are complications with having access to internet deals when you're buying international tickets.)  In the end, I ended up getting my ticket for around $1200, which was more than I'd planned on paying, but wasn't too far off the mark from the best of what I was finding online.  With Therry's motivation/prodding, we at least managed to secure a place to stay the first few days in Stockholm, via AirBnB.  We knew we wanted to see Sweden, and made plans to stay with Therry's friend in Copenhagen, but beyond that, our plans were nebulous.

The last couple weeks in August were busy for me, having a motorcycle rally to attend and my dad coming out to visit (both of which I'll try to write about later), my mind wasn't really focused on the trip.  It would be the first time I'd been overseas in 18 years, and part of me was excited by that, but it didn't really seem like a reality until the day before my flight.


Day 1 Sep. 1st. - 2nd 

As mentioned, prior to leaving, my dad had come out to visit.  As it happened with planning, we'd both be flying out of the airport around the same time.  It was a good visit, and fortunately with it being Labor Day, my roommate Erica had the day off.  She volunteered to take us to the airport. and we gladly accepted.

Everything went smoothly at the airport, and my dad and I hung out for as long as we could before going our separate ways.  We hugged, said goodbye and wished each other safe travels.

My first leg to JFK was largely unremarkable, which is exactly how I like my flights.  Therry had done a lot of the legwork in getting my ticket secured, and she'd managed to get me exit row seats on both flights.  It was sort of a score--I had the window seat which usually is desirable, but the rules change a bit when you're in an exit row. It means that you have to contend with the life raft embedded in the door, which takes encroaches on your lateral space.  Basically, you can stretch out, but you'll have to do so at an angle. It was still definitely better than a standard seat though.

Fearing I'd have a major walk ahead of me once I got to JFK, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually was flying out of the exact same gate at which I'd arrived.  Heeding Therry's request/advice (she'd seen the alcohol prices in Sweden), I made sure to swing by the duty free shop while laid over, and eagerly awaited my transatlantic leg.

On the flight to Stockholm, not only was I in an exit row, I was in THE exit row.  I was in the first seat in the main boarding area, so I was the first person anyone saw when getting on the plane.  Hi, I'm Tim, I'll be your American on this flight.  It was more than apparent that I was a foreigner on this plane--there was lots of talking going on, and the only English I heard was an American flight attendant ineptly trying to make small talk with boarding Swedes.

It was going to be a long flight and I was ready to get underway.  But as air travel seems to go for me, fate had other plans.  We sat for a long time.  Since I was next to the door, the annoying American attendant kept asking me if I'd seen the jetway move.  I repeatedly told her no.  It turned out that a passenger was a no-show, but his luggage had made it to the plane.  Regulations dictated that they remove the luggage, but since it was already loaded, that had to sift through all the bags to find it.  Of course, it was one of the first loaded, so last found.  About an hour late, the jetway pulled away and we eventually taxied out and were able to fly.

After a long flight, and attempted slumber, we landed in Stockholm.  I was officially on foreign soil, and not exactly sure what to do with myself.  Therry had given me detailed instructions, which helped immensely, and I mostly just followed the crowd and pretended like I knew what I was doing. I must have done it convincingly because several other travelers asked me about what they should be doing.  Even though I had paid Verizon an extortion fee to use my phone in Europe, it didn't fully work when I landed, so I sent a $.50 text to Therry telling her that I was on the ground, and I'd only text again if I had trouble.

Thanks to Therry's instructions, I was able to figure out the queue system at the information desk, and procure a Stockholm 72 hour travel pass.  I found my way to the bus, and then caught a commuter train to the central station, where I'd rendezvous with Therry.  I did all right, I only almost got hit by one bus, and didn't know how to operate one elevator.  I found Therry without much issue--Filipinos weren't so prevalent there.  It was good to see her after over a week, and also good to see a familiar face in a foreign land.

I was exhausted, but it was still early in the day.  I was up for seeing some of the city, but wanted to put my feet up for a bit first.  We boarded another train and made our way to our AirBnB apartment, Johannes' place.  It was about a 15 minute train ride, and a 5 minute walk to get to Johannes', but it seemed like a nice enough place. (Finally, pictures!)

Just a basic studio apartment

Having a kitchen was one of our few requirements

View from the balcony

 After a bit of relaxation, a bite to eat, and a celebratory swig of duty free, we made our way back to the heart of Stockholm to visit Gamla Stan, which literally means "Old Town."   As the name implies, it's the old part of Stockholm, dating back to the 1200s.

A picture of the train we rode in on, or one like it

This was an emblem indicating that the house had paid the fire tax. If you wanted firemen to put out your house fire, you would have wanted one of these on your doorway.

A runestone as part of a building's foundation. Along with similarly illegible modern graffiti.

A view of Riddarholm Church 

In front of the Royal Palace

Iron Boy the smallest statue in Stockholm.

Rubbing his head for luck, with what I deigned an appropriately touristy smile. Are you feelin' lucky, punk? Well, are you?

Stortoget, or The Big Square, basically Times Square of medieval Stockholm

What a lovely place for a bloodbath.

By this point, we were pretty hungry.  Well, Therry was pretty hungry. I thought that I might be hungry, but not exactly sure what hour my body was on, my stomach didn't know what it wanted.  We looked at some places nearby in Stortorget and in other parts of Gamla Stan, but decided to look elsewhere that wasn't in the heart of tourist town.

Along the way though, Therry did take me to a science fiction book shop which appealed hugely to the nerd in me (e.g. me in general).  Not only did they have the implied great selection of sci fi books, but also a great selection of graphic novels, manga, DVDs, and tabletop gaming supplies.  I was somewhat interested in picking up a book with a snazzy cover that we don't normally get in the states, but didn't see anything that caught my eye, or that I wanted to lug around for another two weeks.  Still a great shop though, I wish we had something similar in Seattle.

We got on the train and went a couple stops to Sodermalm, where there were a bunch of restaurants.  We decided to check out this place called Snaps, it seemed popular and trendy, so we gave it a go.  I wanted something authentically Swedish, so I ordered köttbullar, aka Swedish meatballs, with lingonberries. Therry got some sort of shrimp pasta dish, and we had a couple glasses of wine along with the meal.

The bags under my eyes and far off stare indicate that the flight has caught up with me.

The meal was nice.  It wasn't extraordinary, it certainly wasn't bad, it was...nice.  The bill came to something like $70, which was to be my first shock of the expense of Scandinavia.  Therry treated me to dinner, and didn't seem affected by the cost as much as I, but I was pretty taken aback.  I figure something like that would cost $40 at an overpriced "trendy" Seattle restaurant.  At least tipping wasn't expected here.

After dinner was a blur, we went back to the apartment, and I think I was barely able to get my shoes off before I fell asleep.