My time as a Viking

Pentacost: some random religious holiday that resulted in an entire week off from school. Let's see...I'm living in Europe and have 10 consecutive days off from University. Hmm. What to do? What to do?

First stop: Stockholm, Sweden

Getting to Stockholm was a complete disaster. It normally takes 1 hour by bus to get to Lübeck airoprt, but a crummy lane merge caused us to sit in traffic for 3 hours. Thankfully, we were taking a Ryan Air operated bus to the airport, so they had to hold the flight until we arrived. Most of the airport workers were trying to rush us through security as quickly as possible, but this one security guard was being really weird. He pulled my bag aside, instructed me take out my camera, turn it on, and take a picture for him. He then promptly informed me that taking photos was not allowed in the security checkpoint and made me delete it. Thanks buddy...I sure feel safer now that you've checked my camera. Once we got to Stockholm, we ended up sitting in more traffic. Once again, a supposed 1 hour bus ride from the airport to downtown turned into a 2.5 hour ordeal. This time it was caused by a random stop light at the end of a major highway - brilliant design plan. We were tired, frustrated, and hungry when we finally arrived in Stockholm. Not a good way to start a 10 day trip.

Ten days worth of clothes, toiletries, adaptors, chargers,
and paperwork stuffed into one backpack. That takes skill.

Sad and unhappy after being stuck in traffic for 3 hours.

My day continued to go downhill after we checked into the hostel. Stockholm uses the Swedish Korona, so we had to find an ATM shortly after arriving. On the way to the bank, this random guy on the street started following us and talking to us. I refused to answer him, but Kaitlyn felt bad and just couldn't ignore him. As soon as she opened her mouth, he started gushing over the fact that we were American. He asked us where we were from, but before Kaitlyn could answer the Masshole in me promptly told him that it was none of his business. He turned, faced me, and told me in a snooty voice: "I wasn't talking to you!" He then turned back to Kaitlyn and continued to talk to her. Insult #1 of the night. As we walked back towards central station to get food, a super sketchy man turned, looked us up and down, then pointed at Kaitlyn and said something along the lines of: "I like that one." Even though I don't appreciate creepy men on the street saying nice things to me, I still felt offended! Insult #2 of the night. Needless to say, Kaitlyn was a big hit with the Swedish freaks that night!

On Saturday we walked all over downtown Stockholm. At first I was very much underwhelmed with the city. It had a very cookie cutter and industrial feel to it. I expected it to be much more in tune with its aquatic surroundings, resembling something more along the lines of the old fishing towns you find in New England. As we got closer to the water, it kind of evolved into more of what I was expecting. In the afternoon, we visited the large park Djurgärden which is located on a massive island just outside downtown. The garden was so serene, and it offered a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Stockholm is apparently a massive shopping city. H&M
was founded here, so it's on every other street corner. We must
have passed 10 different H&M stores in a 3 block radius.

Looking across the water into Galma Stan, the oldest part
of the city.

The Royal Palace 

On Saturday morning, we just happened to be walking by
the Royal Palace, when all of a sudden we heard music
playing and saw this random processional of men dressed in
blue uniforms riding by. We followed them all the way to the
Royal Palace where there were men standing with cannons
and guns. Apparently, the Changing of the Guards also takes
place in Stockholm. Who knew! 

This boy was making waffle cones from scratch!

A typical view in Stockholm - lots of water, lots of boats, and
lots of beautiful buildings.

Djurgärden - the park was huge. It had open fields, forested
walking paths, tons of flowers, and a large lake for people to
picnic around.

Eating on Saturday was...challenging...for lack of a better word. Everything you've heard about Scandinavia being expensive is true. So rather then wasting a ton of money on mediocre food, we decided to slum it for a few days. Most of our meals came from COOP, the local grocery store, and 7-Eleven. A box of pasta and tomato sauce cost $8 at 7-Eleven. So word to the wise, either prepare yourself for the outrageous food prices or be ready to fast for the duration of your trip.

On Sunday, we took a boat through the archipelago that surrounds Stockholm to the Viking island of Birka (Björkö). While in Sweden, we wanted to do something Vikings related, so we decided to take a Viking's themed tour. This ended up being a really amazing experience because we got to see the more rural side of Sweden as well as learn about the history of their people. Birka is an UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is one of the best examples of a Viking trading settlement. Apparently, Nordic people did not live in towns. They were farmers and self providers, so the fact that a town once stood on the island of Birka makes it exceptional. I learned a ton about the Vikings on that tour. First off, apparently a Viking is an occupation, not a group of people. Only 1-2% of the Scandinavian population were Vikings, or Norse warriors and explorers. Also, those funny little Vikings hats with the two horns that you see them wearing in movies is false. They never, ever, ever wore hats like those. The "horns" were actually drinking glasses. Lastly, Vikings always buried their dead in small boats. They would put the dead in a boat with some of their most prized processions and then cover it with dirt creating a large mound. Hence, burial mounds are scattered all over Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It is against the law to dig up the mounds, search for artifacts, or disturb a historic site, but if you happen upon an artifact from the Viking age, it's worth quite a bit.

Touring the archipelago on our way to Birka.

Somewhere along the way I fell in love with
a Viking <3

A reconstructed version of what a traditional house in a
Viking trading settlement would look like.

The Vikings were known for building some
of the fastest ships in the world.

Viking burial mounds. Under each mound is the grave of
a Viking or Nordic person.

The location of the Viking trading settlement of Birka. 

Ta da! The beautiful Swedish scenery. Water, pine trees, and
rocks. It reminded me so much of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Our last night in Sweden was a tad bit uncomfortable. We were staying in a six bed hostel room, and our roommates up to that point had been relatively young - the traditional hostel crowd. On Sunday we had this really old guy with a greasy combover staying in our room. He was easily old enough to be my grandfather. It just kind of creeped me out to be sharing a hostel room with him. Kaitlyn and I had gone to bed early that evening, but at one point he left the room and I whispered to Kaitlyn: "Kaitlyn? Are you awake? I'm really freaked out." Needless to say, I tossed and turned all night long, and I constantly found myself dreaming that the old man was watching me sleep. Thankfully we left early the next morning to catch our flight to Estonia...