Thanksgiving Weekend in Stockholm

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I don't care for the shopping, or even so much for watching the Lions being demolished on TV, but I think about Thanksgiving dinner all the time. So when Thanksgiving rolled around in Scandinavia, it was quite a weird feeling to see it pass by just like any other day.

To make up for missing my first Thanksgiving ever, I decided to skip town and head to Stockholm for the weekend with my good friend from Yale, Roberto, who lives in The Hague. Upon arrival in Stockholm, the string of bad luck I had throughout the day continued - I got locked inside an airport bathroom because the handle had broken off on the inside. I should have taken a picture to commemorate the event, but I was too busy freaking out and dreading how long it would take for someone to walk by and hear my calls for help. I wasn't in there for more than 5 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

Outside of the bathroom incident, Stockholm was quite pleasant, even despite the 20 degree temperatures. Stockholm is quite a beautiful city, kind of like Copenhagen except a bit more colorful, more water, a bit more modern in the city center, and people are a bit blonder and taller. Contrary to popular belief, not every Swede is blonde, but it is true they are generally tall and are indeed quite pretty. They also talk like the Swedish Chef on the Muppets show. It seemed like a great place to live, though, and if it weren't for the crazy cold winters with 6 hours of daytime, I bet it would be a bit more crowded of a city.

Stockholm is a network of islands - here we are looking across one of the waterways towards the main center of town, with the rich people homes off to the side.

This part of town is quite pretty because it's where the rich people live.

This is what I meant by Stockholm being more modern than Copenhagen. I have no idea what this is, or what it's used for. A Swede giving us directions called it "the mushroom".

Think of Swedish food, and you think of meatballs, fish, or something from the Ikea cafeteria. While in Stockholm, I had none of that - rather, I had breakfast at the Marriott, sushi, a kebab, and this...the Östermalms Special. There are a ton of hot dog carts around Stockholm, and since I love low-class street food, I had to try this beauty - a concoction of hot dogs with mashed potatoes and dressing, wrapped in flatbread. An interesting $10 somewhat well-spent.

Some friends that Roberto and I hung out with. I only include this because two of them work for Ikea.
Here's Roberto at a Christmas market in Gamla Stan, the old part of town where Stockholm originated. The buildings here are quite colorful, and the market full of things you don't really need.

A more ominous view of Stockholm. The city only appears more sullen because it was already 2 PM and the best sun of the day was past, and the snow was coming down quite hard.

I see London, I see France...

Similar to Sarah Palin, I can see another country from where I reside. Well, not really from where I reside, but from where I work. But unlike Sarah P., who has Russia at her doorstep, I have Sweden right across the way. I am now as experienced in international relations and policy as she is! For those who don't think Sweden is much of a threat, well, you are correct. But just this month in Malmö (right where the bridge in the picture leads to), there was a D.C. sniper copycat, only this guy was targeting immigrants. There was a bit of concern that the sniper would jump over to Copenhagen and its super-international community. They caught they guy, thank goodness!

That big arrow points to Sweden! I still think my view of the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island when I worked at Gap is still the best work view I've ever had, but this is still pretty cool.

Jeg forstår det ikke (I don't understand)

Danish is a tough language. So much so, I've been told by Danes that I shouldn't even bother trying to learn. Weird pronounciations, dropping of the back-end of certain words, and the inability to use the spelling of a word as a guide makes it quite difficult. For example, the street I live on, Nyborggade, is pronounced "neue bo gael". Amagerbro is "Amá bro". Christianhavn is pronounced "Kristanhau", yet I've heard København pronounced "Koubenhagn". What the deelio? So far, I've mastered "hi", "bye", "thank you", "yes", "no", "excuse me", and "cheers".

Today was a momentous day because I did my first load of laundry in this country. I'm fortunate that I have a washing machine in my apartment, but it was a struggle to figure out how to use the thing. The manufacturer used pictures instead of words, as I imagine they figured it would be a more universal way to communicate across language barriers. However, it would have been a lot easier if they just wrote it in Danish and allowed me to do a Google translation, rather than sit in front washer for minutes on end trying to figure it out.

It took me longer than it should but I finally figured out what these symbols meant

This one I couldn't figure out. Anyone have any idea what the left four buttons mean?

Bikes, Bikes, Bikes!

It's been awhile since my last post - honestly, I'm still in settling-in mode, and haven't done anything too interesting lately. I did go out for my first night on the town this past weekend with some friends of a friend, and I learned two things: 1) I think I'm going to be considered the lame old guy here - we stayed out until past 3AM before calling it quits, but that would still be considered an early night, and 2) I should always carry a camera - on my way home I came across an abandoned car, driven into a sunken pedestrian plaza with its rear end sticking up 45 degrees into the air. Considering that car tariffs are 200% in Denmark, that was a costly mistake. I wish I could have taken a picture!

One of the cool things in Copenhagen I can write about today, though, is the biking culture. Bikes are all over the place - perhaps that 200% car tariff, $10/gallon gas and lack of parking has something to do with it, but it's really easy to get around with a bike in this town. People bike to work, to the grocery store, across town, to a night on the town - I have seen plenty of women in miniskirts and high heels biking on the weekend nights.

A common site in front of a store

I guess the Danes figured out that a painted line on the road doesn't protect bikers so well. Cars get the road, pedestrians get the sidewalk, and bikes get their own dedicated paths separated from the road and sidewalk. I constantly have to remind myself to look out for bikes when I'm crossing the street.

There are bikes for everything - general transportation, transporting goods, and bikes for transporting kids. This is a Christiania bike, which is the coolest thing ever if you are a kid. You get to sit in a big bucket in the front of the bike while mom or dad pedals you along. In nice weather, the canopy comes off so the kids get to bask in sun while being pedaled along.

An interesting site: both bikes and electric wheelchairs parked outside a bar.

Arrival to København

Five days ago, I finally left Portland. Yes, hard to believe, but the room to the left was my home for 8 whole months, at the good old Residence Inn. I leave with tens of thousands of bonus airline miles, over 100,000 hotel points, and a handful of free Marriott stays, but I don't particularly miss the redundant breakfast menu and rooms with sealed-shut windows. I will, however miss being treated like a VIP, and having a mysterious fairy enter my room once a week to clean my room.

That said, having moved to Copenhagen, I really enjoy living in a more urban city again. My neighborhood can be best described as Park Slope, Brooklyn-like. Quite a pleasant area to live, with lots of shops and restaurants (but perhaps not the best nightlife area), and tons of strollers parked outside storefronts. One big difference, however, is that Danes often leave their babies inside the strollers parked outside while they shop inside. As alarming as this sounds, it does make me feel quite comfortable about how safe the neighborhood must be.

Having moved to a city that is almost 800 years-old, one wonders, "wow, what must it have been like to live in Copenhagen way back when?". Well, I sort of have a clue. My first five days here have been in a virtual communications blackout, having no internet connection (the management company forgot to leave it in the apartment for me), and no phone (I don't start until Thursday). To make a phone call, I would walk nearly 2 miles to the train station to find the only pay phone around. Every day I feared leaving my home because I knew that the internet people and the movers were supposed to come sometime...I just didn't know when. Well, the internet guy finally showed up today, so I am quite happy, and feeling like a part of society again.

First thoughts of Copenhagen? I can't pronounce anything, and it's damn expensive. Being as frugal as I am, if it were not for this unfamiliar currency I have to use, I think I would die. However, I am a decently-smart boy, and can do currency calculations in my head, and it doesn't take me long to figure out the price in dollars if I take the time to do so. Grocery shopping is a struggle - both with prices and trying to understand what I am buying - but I am learning how to make do with less. You could argue that I am adapting to European-style living, but in reality it's because 1. The grocery stores are tiny, and don't stock much 2. I don't understand what 2/3rds of the items are (no picture on packaging = no purchase) and 3. I refuse to pay $3 for a single avocado or $6 for a bag of chips.

I will leave my first post with a picture of my first big-boy apartment. Yes, after reaching my 31st year, I finally have an apartment to myself. When I first walked into my bathroom, I thought, "small, but I can make it work". Then I realized something was missing - the shower stall! I only heard stories about bathrooms like this being in old tiny New York City apartments, but this is the first time I've seen it in person. I was told my apartment building is around 100 years old, back when they used to have showers and toilets outside in the backyard. My bathroom likely used to be a pantry or closet. The shower curtain protects the toilet area from getting wet, while I shower in the sink area. A bit weird at first, but I've gotten used to it. I'm just glad that I get to take a shower in the sink area, as opposed to the toilet area. Upside is, it'll be real easy to clean the bathroom.