When I stepped out of the airport, thinking about how I was currently the most northward I had ever been on the planet, and in the middle of winter, no less, I was fully expecting to be hit by gusts of icy cold freezing wind. Rather, I felt that I had somehow landed in the middle of a black-and-white movie. The landscape was entirely a monochromatic variant of gray, white snow glued onto the black tree branches with ice.
Actually, I would say that the weather was nice the whole weekend. It was the crisp, refreshing sort of cold that makes the lungs feel good and hearty. Someone explained to me that the little humidity accounts for why it doesn’t feel so bad. I was grateful that the air was dry, except for one thing…
Know that feeling that you’re forgetting something important before going on a big trip, but you can’t think of it, even though you’ve checked your suitcase a million times? For me it’s unavoidable as I’m heading out the door. And normally it’s nothing, but this time I really was forgetting something important: my chapstick. Granted, not so grave, but now I can attest that chapped lips for a weekend aren’t so much fun.
For purposes of full disclosure regarding my impressions of the temperature outside, I will admit that as a precautionary measure I dressed myself in more layers than an onion. (It was quite the ordeal getting dressed in the morning; my movements were on the stiff side and I was feeling a bit like a snowman.) But the important thing was that I wasn’t cold.
One place I visited was the world’s very first H&M. I probably shouldn’t have bothered, because it isn’t too different from the one at home. The only thing is that it is easily five times bigger, and it’s even spread out among separate buildings. I decided that I could never actually go shopping there; it’s too overwhelming to be surrounded by so many clothes.
I had also considered going to the origins of Sweden’s other big claim to fame, Ikea, but it involved a bus ride to the outskirts of the city, which would have been tricky time-wise.
But if you’re acquainted with the vibe of Ikea, it gives a good idea of the vibe for the rest of Sweden. There is a focus on modernity, practicality and utility. The buildings and architecture are more simple and straightforward. Another representative example would be Stockholm’s omnipresent font, Futura (also available for viewing in any Ikea catalogue):
Reading a tourist brochure, I couldn’t help but groan when I saw printed, “Stockholm, Venice of the North,” as EVERY European city with bodies of water flowing through it loves to compare itself to Venice. Stockholm is in fact built on a cluster of close islands that has been linked together with bridges.
An enormous congregation of swans and ducks (a bridge in the background)
Yet on all fronts, Stockholm met or exceeded my expectations. For instance, in surveying the crowd, there were indeed a disproportionate number of blonde people. And the majority of cars parked along the road were Volvos.
Volvo Land
Practically the whole time I was there I had an Abba song stuck in my head, as I kept overhearing them on the radio or playing on the background music of stores. And there was a nice accumulation of slush and snow on the sidewalks, meaning my hip flexors got quite the workout.
Sand = very important for anti-slippage
Cursed toilets.
On a side note, I am in love with the Swedish language and its charming orthography, eg coffee = kaffe, and how some vowels have little bubble or dot accents on top of them. Although I was intimated in trying to pronounce some of the longer words, with all their multi-syllable clumps.
Judging by the selection at the supermarket, Swedes like putting pureed meat in a tube, caviar and shrimp flavors included.
