Finnhamn (not Finland)

When we last left off, I was on a ferry through the Stockholm archipeligo - bound for the tiny island of Finnhamn:


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It was about a three hour journey, and by the time I got there I was the only person left on the ferry.

The island has a restaurant/cafe/pub, a tiny store that I never saw open, a campground, and tons of tiny little cabins. Dirt paths connect everything on the island (there are no vehicles) and it seemed like every family there (because they were ALL families) knew each other. I don't know if they own those cabins or if they've just been coming to the same place for a long time, but it had the feeling of a giant family reunion (and for all I know it very well could have been).

Since I was just sleeping out on my own in the woods (much to the confusion and annoyance of some local deer) and didn't have money to spend at the restaurant, I totally became just this weird creepster, wandering around, observing families on their summer vacation. But no one seemed to mind. In fact, everyone was extremely friendly. When I would pass someone on the road I would give them the normal, southernly greeting of a nod of the head and a "hey" (except here it's "hej." But in Finland it was "hei." Sometimes in Sweden they say "hej hej," but in Finland "hei hei" meant good-bye. Confusing, I know). But the Swedes always greet me with a "hej!" of surprise and delight. Like I'm an old friend they're excited to see. It's nice, but it still takes me a little off guard. I've tried to improve my "hej," but I still haven't quite gotten the level of enthusiasm genuinely integrated yet. I've been going with the "hej hej." I find it's the most fun.

But anyway, here I am, roaming the island like a vagabond, while these people try to enjoy a nice summer evening with their friends and family.

Some gnarly oaks:

There were hundreds of these HUGE slugs:

For a size comparison:

I got tired of carrying my water bottle around, so I hid it in this tall grass. I took a picture of the spot so I wouldn't forget where it was.

Ever wonder how to make steps on a solid, smooth rock? Here's how:

I was also trying to stay up all night (add that to the creepster image) because the chances of seeing the northern lights were supposed to be really high that night. I thought that out in the middle of the Baltic Sea should be a pretty good place to try and see them. I put my sleeping bag on this rock (the largest patch of Sky Viewing Area that I could find):

The view from my rock:

But it didn't get dark enough to even have a chance of seeing the northern lights until almost eleven. So I wandered around a lot.

(I like this picture)

I didn't see the Aurora Borealis. I did, however, see a lot of good shooting stars, and got very wet with dew. I also had quite a special moment thinking about shooting stars, and how making wishes on them never really seems right to me since most of the times you see a shooting star it's because you're outside somewhere away from lights at night. And usually that means I'm already feeling pretty lucky about my life. So, I decided it would make more sense to think of something you were thankful for instead. And that seemed right.
And then someone started playing Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" really loud and yelling some sort of Swedish drinking chant. And I was thankful for that.

The largest IKEA in the world

As I'm writing this I'm on a train up to Abisko and, for being north of the Arctic Circle, I must say it is doggone hot! I don't know what the temperature is outside,  but it's like a sauna in here. Maybe this is how Swedes get their tropical island experience. I'm doing my best not to sweat since it might be a week or more before I can take a shower again.  But anyway....

Why else would one go all the way to Sweden except to go shopping at IKEA? The largest IKEA in the world(!) is just outside of Stockholm, and there's a free shuttle that runs every hour to take you there. Since it was raining and all the museums were expensive and IKEA was free (as long as you don't buy anything, which I didn't (Ha! Take that IKEA! You just drove me 20 km for nothing! (Not that I have anything against IKEA. I actually really love it and wanted to buy a lot of stuff. But I could get everything cheaper in America, and how do you get a new end-table home on a plane anyway? Even if it is neatly packaged in a nice, little, flat box?))).  The IKEA bus was so packed that not everyone could fit. And this was on a Wednesday afternoon. I guess we know where the Swedes go for their home furnishings...

In "the states" I would always go to IKEA to pretend like I was in Sweden. And here I was actually in an IKEA in Sweden. It was kind of like being in a fractal. And it was exactly the same as being in an IKEA at home. Except the kids were much cuter (sorry, American kids) and everyone was speaking Swedish. So, if you've ever been to an IKEA, you can basically say you've been to Sweden.

While I was waiting for the bus back, I crossed the street to the grocery store, just to have a look around. Being somewhere like Sweden it is very easy to forget that you are in a difference country most of the time. Until you see something like this: A very normal, smallish grocery store with regular grocery store items, and then a whole huge section that is only shoes.

Just a little bit "off."

When I think of dry hands I always think of vikings.

Back in Stockholm. This is SoFo, the "happening" district.

And this is what my car would look like if it were Swedish:

Stockholm has nicer flower boxes on its bridges than most people have on their windows!

Lilly pads in the city:

Not quite the same as the viking burial mounds I saw in Norway...

People (and me) enjoying a sunny afternoon in the park:

There was also a band playing and people (not me) dancing in the park:


Now it's time to get on a ferry for a trip through the Stockholm archipelago!

I think I was sitting next to Rick Steves: "Now, when I'm going on a boat through an archipelago, I always like to wear an all-purpose 'go anywhere' shirt, a good pair of comfortable shoes, and some wrinkle-free slacks."

This is where I'm going to be staying on my return trip to Stockholm! Seriously! It's a hostel! I already have a reservation!!!

A fun looking amusement park:

The Swedish version of a hoagie: cold meatballs, pickled vegetables, beet salad, and lettuce (with a thick layer of butter under the lettuce) on rye bread. (I bought it from the dinning cart on the ferry.)

It seemed like there were hundreds (and there probably actually were) of little islands like this:

A quick shot of a Swedish child:

A big'ol ferry

On each of the thousands of little islands, there would be at least a few people enjoying the sun. Doesn't anyone in Sweden have a job? Socialists....

And then there was only me.

Next stop: The 900 meter long island of Finnhamn for the night!

Adventures in Scandinavia: Round 2

- Before I begin this post I would just like to make a statement: Back in May I went on an 8 day kayaking trip through the fjords in Norway. It was the most amazing trip I've ever been on. I wanted to make sure I did it justice and didn't skimp on the blog posting of the trip, so I was supposed to do it over the summer. Well, I didn't. And now I am in Sweden and don't want to let my blog get behind, so I'm going to just skip the Norway stuff for now, do Sweden in "real time," and come back to the Norway post when I have time. I also went to Lake Superior this summer, which was amazing as well. So that will pop up at some point too. Now that that's been said - 

I'm in Sweden! The place I've dreamed of living as long as I can remember. I'm here for the second half of the study abroad component of my Master's program: a semester in the Euroforester's program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. My school is in Alnarp in southern Sweden:

Visa större karta

But I can't go down there until the 25th of August, so right now I'm in Stockholm!

If I had to list (from my 1.5 days of experience) the things I think Stockholm should be considered the World Capital of, they would be:

1. People wearing horizontally striped clothing
2. Clean streets
3. Adorable children in adorable outfits 
4. Gays 
5. Fluent English speakers in a non English speaking country
6. 7-Elevens 
7. Fathers taking care of children 
8. Beautiful, healthy looking people 
9. Hot dog stands
10. Flowers 

It was raining when I arrived in Stockholm.

(view from the airplane window)

Stockholm:

Bakery where I had breakfast:

Obviously, a "bike friendly city" 

Ambulance/historical building of some sort (am I becoming Euro-jaded?):

A harvest facade! 

Unique use of boxwood. P. Allen Smith could learn a thing or two from Stockholm: 

I love the flowers! (there's your alliums, Mom) 

Swedish Virginia Creeper: 

You can go see the Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace every day at 12:15. It was quite the event. I got there a half hour early and still could hardly find a spot where I could see. That being say, I thought it was a little on the sloppy side. I just kept wondering "where do they get these people? Is it like working for Epcot for the summer?"

And here's a video for the full experience:

Next, to a super crowded cafe in Old Town for lunch. 

The inside was decorated with photos of gay Leggo men.

Blue cheese and broccoli pie with a micro-greens salad. Yum!

There aren't too many capitals where you can fish in the middle of the city:

One of the many 7-Elevens:

Massive window boxes:

One of the MANY street hot dog stands. Kind of looks like an Ikea catalog, doesn't it? I'm not sure what the "special" is. Mashed potatoes? Vanilla ice cream?

A very tasty street veggie burger for less than 6 bucks. Not too bad for a super expensive country. Not to mention you can get a veggie burger on the street! (note that I'm wearing a jacket. In August! It's cold here!)

Literally miles of sailboats in the city.

How cozy is that boat?

Or this one with all the hammocks?

Flowers:

There's this giant open-air museum (the first one in the world) in the middle of Stockholm. It shows Swedish civilization throughout the ages. It was pretty nifty. Here is a Sami (the indigenous people of Lapland) dwelling. It's up off the ground so the bears can't get them:

Moving up through the ages. The roof is made out of birch bark!

The only reason I took this picture was because of the super cute little girl picking flowers in the lower right corner.

Fencing:

Why do people think it's creepy if they see you taking pictures of their cute kids? I had to pretend like I was taking a picture of the reindeer this time:

Sod roof:

Ahhh! Chickens running loose!

A traditional Swedish family coming out of a traditional Swedish house:

Like any good educational/tourist attraction, the Skansen Museum ended the day with one of it's summer music concert series. Here is some boy band playing Katy Perry's "Hot n cold." (I like the guy in the end with the BabyBjörns covering his kid's ears).


Fun times.

So, I feel like it's rather unfair for me to compare Sweden to Finland considering:

1. I've spent nearly 2 days in Sweden and nearly 5 months in Finland
2. It was winter when I was in Finland and it's summer here in Sweden (a BIG difference I imagine)
3. I have a slight predigest towards Sweden considering I've been obsessed with it since I was little. 

But keeping that in mind I have noticed that: The Swedes are much friendlier than the Finn's, they wear brighter colors, and seem much happier. Stockholm is WAY more diverse (people wise) than Helsinki. Swedish kids seem to be more interactive and a central part of the family (Stockholm is a very "kid friendly" place, and no one frowns on kids running around and touching things).

And those are my first 48 hour impressions of Sweden. Overall, varsågod!