VÄLKOMMEN TILL SVERIGE

Stockholm Central Station • Hotel C Stockholm

Currently, the SAS pilots are on strike, and as a result, the airline is canceling 50%-75% of their flights daily. When Joelle receives the email that our flight is cancelled, she does not miss a beat, quickly booking us on a train from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Although the travel time is much longer via train, it is cheaper and offers views of Southern Sweden.

Stockholm Central Station

--- Map Point 1 ---

Our first glimpses of Sweden, out the train windows, reveal lots of green. There are forests and farms and several lakes, making us excited to explore Sweden outside the city after a day in Stockholm. Our train takes us all the way to Stockholm Central Station, just a six minute walk from our hotel (a definite perk). Popping-up from underground, the air is chillier than when we left Copenhagen. Across the street, we see the entrance to Central Station. Behind us is a tall, historical looking tower, although we do not know what it is. This city, similar to Copenhagen, clearly has great history woven through today’s streets.

Hotel C Stockholm

--- Map Point 2 ---

The walk to the hotel is brief and simple—no noteworthy stories of getting lost and confused (thank you, Google Maps). Upon entering, the hotel front desk staff—a young man and young woman—welcomes us with excitement and friendliness. The initial conversation is (roughly) along these lines:

Joelle: “Hello, we are checking-in.”

Young Man: “Welcome! How are you? What is your name?”

Joelle: “Joelle McDonald”

**brief pause with computer clicks and typing**

Young Man: “Is that really your name??”

Joelle: “Yes…”

Apparently, he found the last name “McDonald” intriguing and proceeds to share that his last name is “hi” in Swedish, often causing confusion as he turns to look around when people are just saying “hi” to one another.

After Joelle taps her card to pay for our hotel room (we will split it, of course), the young man working the desk hands her a pen and asks her to sign the receipt. Meanwhile, I talk to the young woman working the desk about recommendations for our time in Stockholm, discussing our interests. Soon, there is confusion and laughter coming from Joelle and the young man. Intrigued and now districted, we turn to see what is going on. Evidently, Joelle, after signing the receipt, placed the pen in a hole in the desk, thinking it was a pen holder. However, the pen simply disappeared. The young man, confused by what happened, puts his pen in the hole, trying to determine where the other pen went. Now, two pens have disappeared. All four of us are now erupting in laughter. This is just a hole in the desk (that apparently eats pens); not a pen holder. As two pens have disappeared in the depths of the desk, Joelle sarcastically whispers, “Americans,” and the young woman (who seems to be the only one who knows what is going on) chuckles, along with the rest of us.

Having recovered from the pen incident (they are still lost in the depths of the desk), we return to Stockholm recommendations. The young man mentions a few areas, including restaurants, Old Town, and an area with several museums. Joelle then asks about The Vasa Museum, which has been recommended to us by multiple people. Another wave of confusion results in trying to differentiate Vasamuseet, the ship museum, and Vikingaliv, the Viking museum. Only one is on the map. The two front desk staff go back and forth, the young man asking, “wait, what is that is Swedish.” It was entertaining to observe, and ultimately, we land on both museums being in this area, next to each other.

What a great interaction to kickstart our Swedish adventure.

Entering our hotel room, Joelle’s first reaction: “Oh my gosh, this is so small. Literally just a bed.” I respond, “smaller than our campervan??” It is not smaller than our campervan, but it is just a bed (with a very small comforter that will certainly result in comforter hogging). The bathroom, however, is a mansion compared to the one in our tiny Copenhagen Airbnb (where to toilet and sink were inside the cramped shower).

We only got small snippets of Sweden today and look forward to exploring Stockholm tomorrow!

Stockholm Central Station

Stockholm Central Station