I didn't realize it had been since July that I last blogged. But anyhonk, I am currently in Sweden but leave tomorrow. I've been here a week and have loved this place. The Swedes are very mild tempered, structured, calm people and they get to live in this amazing part of the world - although 7 months of the year its freezing here. Even now its only been up to 50 degrees all week. But all the leaves are changing here and the trees all surround the many lakes and my hotel is literally across the street from the Baltic Sea. They live in a very expensive society where they pay just under 50% in taxes. However by paying those taxes all Swedes receive free tuition to university, healthcare, retirement, and yes even their funeral is paid by the government when they die. But that doesn't change the fact that I just bought a diet coke for over $2 bucks! My journey began with an interesting start...while on the flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm I happened to be seated next to the King of Sweden, Carl Gustav. The sad fact is I had
no idea who I was sitting next to until after the flight was over. We only said hello to each other upon boarding. As we departed the plane, two men is suits, presumably his body guards, seemed to appear from behind me and escort him off the plane and then suddenly out of a side door, down the stairs, onto the tarmac and into a limo that had those little flags on the hood. So I asked someone walking next to me who that man was and the person replied, "you didn't know you were sitting next to the King of Sweden?" And she had this look of utter amazement, almost dumbfounded that I didn't know who that was. But how was I supposed to know who the old guy was??? He stared out the window the whole flight, ate his meal, read the newspaper and even slept a little. If I knew who he was I'd have asked for a picture with him because I am that shameless. So upon getting into my room I fired up the laptop and searched for a picture and sure enough, same guy! After telling some of the Swedish folks here about it they all said they weren't surprised that he was flying on a commercial plane. Apparently the King prides himself on blending in and it seems that in Sweden to blend in and be "common" is a compliment. The Swedes aren't known for being lavish or outlandish it seems but they do LOVE Abba - the only major export Sweden has ever had. So after the first night of activities here, I was told that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were staying in our hotel and sure enough, later that day I saw Zac. However he was standing on the balcony of the hotel 6 stories above and I was sure it was him because there was a crowd of girls all outside screaming his name and taking pictures. In case you are wondering, I didn't scream. The hotel here is apparently the most famous hotel and all the celebrities stay here when they visit.
So on Monday we had our meetings - blah, blah, blah - but that night we had dinner in Stockholm City Hall. This is the very hall where every year on December 10th the Nobel Prize awards are given out. We sat in the Gold Hall which was a room made up of gold tiles that are no bigger than your fingernail. We were told that over 18 million tiles made up the room. We ate the same exact meal that was served in 1901 when the first award ceremony was held. It was an impressive night and everything was set up in the exact way the ceremony is. Pretty neat to think that I was able to eat in the same room where the greatest minds in literature, physics, chemistry, and peace have sat.
Tuesday after more meetings - blah, blah, blah - we were able to take a short boat ride to the royal palace. We toured the theater that was built in 1762, then toured the palace which was built in the late 1600s. And believe it or not the current King and Queen live there. However their wing is completely upgraded. I did learn though that during the 1700s when you were invited to the palace to dine, the experience would last about 5 to 6 hours. No one was allowed to get up - not even to use the restroom. So to compensate, they place bowls beneath the table so people could freely conduct their business without having to inconvenience anyone by getting up - number 1 OR 2. And to top it all off it seems the Swedes were not known for bathing that often. So you can imagine what the smell could have been like during a royal dinner.
Wednesday night we went to the local office for our goodbye dinner. Upon entering the building, this choir of girls came walking down the stairs singing. They sounded amazing. Dinner was a classic smorgasbord and yes by the end of the week I finally had Swedish Meatballs. I waited all week despite asking many times. I was sick of being hungry because every other meal was fish. The Swedes love Herring. Its SO GROSS. Don't ever eat it.
Tonight, after being in smaller meetings today and doing some sightseeing, I went with a group of people to dinner and ate duck. I was really nervous because while in China I ate duck and hated it. But seeing as the only other options on the menu were fish, I chose the duck. To my surprise, it was very good. Tasted like a well cooked stake. After dinner we went to the famous Ice Bar. This is a bar where the temperature is -5 degrees Celsius. They give you this parka and gloves to wear while there. Literally everything in the bar is made of ice - the bar itself, walls, couches, and even the shot glasses. I drank two glasses of froze orange juice.
Here are some other pictures of Sweden...Enjoy!
