Stockholm Syndrome

Ok … so it’s been almost five months now since I went to Stockholm. I debated whether or not I’d post anything about my Nordic trip. At first, it made me a bit sad because now I am back at home and I can’t travel like I used to. Then a few months later, I thought “Why bother?” I contemplated just posting pictures. But right now I’m sitting at home after working a short day – bored – and thought, “why not”?

If you read my earlier posts, I was expecting to stay in Spain for a third year, teaching near Barcelona. But I was going to change companies and since they didn’t offer an educational course, I had to ask my university to sign an externship paper. Well, since I graduated two years ago and I wasn’t taking any classes, they declined, meaning I lost my opportunity for a third year. I’m back at home now, but looking at options to go abroad again. The good thing, though, is that I make more money now, but it’s definitely not a job I love.

So after that and having a not-too-great au pair experience, I decided to go out with a bang and travel to Sweden to see my Swedish family one more time before I left Europe. I went to Stockholm for a day before I visited them and then spent one more day in Oslo, Norway before flying back home.

This was also my first time traveling alone. I had been some places in Spain by myself, but that’s a country I’m very familiar with and speak the language well. I was definitely nervous at first, but if you’re going to travel alone, Sweden is probably one of the better countries to take that first plunge. I got into the Stockholm airport pretty late, probably around 9 PM. I took the train that takes you into the center of the city, which honestly is a complete rip off. But one thing you must learn is that Scandinavia is not somewhere to visit if you’re pinching pennies. I arrived at my hostel, Generator Stockholm, and settled down … except for the fire alarm that went off around 11 PM because someone was smoking in their room. We all had to mass exodus out of the hostel … and this was a very large hostel!

The next morning I made sure not to wake up too late. I only had one day in Stockholm, so I wanted to pack as much into my day as possible. Of course, the guy who was assigned to the bunk on top of me strolled in and passed out as I was leaving. What a life.

I was super lucky because the weather was perfect. Apparently there aren’t many clear days in Stockholm, but I chose one of them to visit. I stopped at one of the coffee chains in Sweden, Espresso House, which as I learned later, is a total joke among native Swedes. Oh well, the carrot cake and lemonade were good!

For my day, I basically planned on doing tours so I could get a nice overview of the city. My first tour was a modern history. We saw the more modern architecture and I got to see the place where the term “Stockholm Syndrome” was coined. Apparently the victims are still friendly with their captors and get along great. The story is truly bizarre. The former bank is now a fashion store/Indian restaurant. We also saw where the Nobel Prizes are handed out. Fun fact: The Nobel Peace Prize is considered the “fake” prize and is actually handed out in Oslo instead of Stockholm. Oslo used to be a part of Swedish territory in the early 20th century until Norway completely separated in 1905. The tour ended in front of the palace.

I always find it interesting that in today’s day and age monarchies still exist, especially in such a socialist-y country as Sweden. But for some reason, I eat up all the royal family stuff. This was the one thing I decided to spend my money on and take a closer look at the palace. I was lucky to have gotten there at the right time (sort of) so I got to see the changing of the guards. I was kind of funny and some girls laughed, who were then told by other visitors “This is a very solemn event.” Well, when army guys show up in bright blue uniforms and a pointy thing on their helmet, it is a bit funny. I’m a bit short and people had lined up before me, so I didn’t get a good view of everything going on, so I decided just to go inside the palace.

The palace was pretty. I walked through their special bedrooms and halls, saw some brilliant awards and tapestries. I especially liked the part where they listed all the heads of state who have visited. At the end of the palace tour, there’s a room with clocks. One of the kings really loved clocks. So if the sound of “tick tock tick tock” drives you crazy, just plow through this room.

After eating an overpriced lunch, I decided to go on another tour that pointed out the more medieval aspects of Stockholm. On this tour I learned that the literal translation of strawberry in Swedish to English is “earth old man”. Teehee. We saw the Opera house, which is in the direct center of the city. There’s one square in the old part of town that was home to a major massacre when King Christian of Denmark slaughtered the nobility of Sweden. I learned a lot about the bloody history between Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, which I loved.

The good thing about going in summer was that the sun stayed out for a long time and it was moderately warm weather. But when my tour ended, I still had some time to kill before I could get some awesome shots as the sun went down. I ate an overpriced dinner at a Chipotle wannabe. The worst part is when I get free time I like to go shopping … and there are a million H&Ms there … so I spent a lot of money.

And then the sun started to set and I took pretty pictures. I walked back to my hostel listening to the A-Teens. I settled down for the night and got ready to ride the train to Karlstad the next day.

When I was walking around Stockholm, it was kind of weird. I felt like I was in a Stepford Wives kind of city where everything is clean and tidy and futuristic. But in hindsight, I’d love to go back. I’d like to the see the museum with the Vasa ship, a giant ship commissioned by King Gustav Adolphus that was too heavy and not mathematically planned out well. It sank after sailing out a few yards in 1628 and was forgotten about until the 1950s. I’ve also heard the ABBA museum is amazing. I nearly went, but after seeing the tickets were about $30, I felt I had spent enough money for the day.

So go check out Sweden’s most famous city … but I definitely recommend it during the summer months so you have a chance for fair weather!