Shipping Up To Dublin: Hej from Stockholm, Sweden!

Hello loyal readers! This past weekend, seven members of the Boston College crew headed off to Stockholm for the weekend! Cheap flights on Ryanair were the catalyst for our four day Scandinavian adventure. Thursday morning started at 2:30 AM; many of us decided to forgo the short slumber for a movie or a Skype call back home. We successfully found our gate at the airport in time for our 6 AM departure. Ryanair is a unique and highly cost conscious airline in that they don't use jetways. Incredibly fascinated with planes, I absolutely loved the experience of walking on the tarmac to our jet. Driving rain and invisible puddles gave reason for fellow group members to be less keen on Ryanair's no-frills boarding experience. At any rate, we were off!

Upon our arrival into Stockholm Skavsta Airport, we had one final bus journey that took us from the countryside into the city. Once there, street names such as Klockgjutargränd, Trädgårdstvärgränd, and Österlånggatan provided equal challenge and entertainment as we made our way through the city to our hostel. The weather was as brisk and clear as we explored some of the 14 islands that make up the city. Mike and I had a memorable experience at an Uzbek kebab shop. Our 'babs were delicious, however, our conversation with the owner fell victim to the "lost in translation" complex. When asked about the shop's Swedish Meatballs, he responded with a smile, "I have a wife and three kids." Classic. Our group also got serious mileage out of jokes stemming from bizarre road signs such as "Utfart Forbjuden". Who knew culture shock came in such a humorous form?

Casual chainsaw.

I scream, you scream.

Sarah's structural integrity test.

As John Zimmerman would say, "That's Hilarious!"

Myself, Zander, Tej, Ryan, Mike, Sarah, and Grace.

It is an understatement to say that we took advantage of our free hostel breakfasts. After eating horse sized portions of muesli, cornflakes, and toast, we were ready to roll. We ventured down to City Hall and found it's riverfront location absolutely stunning. We spent a great portion of the day observing people and the architecture. To put it simply, Stockholm is a living, breathing J Crew advertisement. Every man wore a scarf, peacoat, button-down shirt, cuffed jeans, and brown leather shoes. The women were sharp as well. Our group looked like schmucks in comparison. Sweden's a far cry from Dublin's casual sweatpants culture. The Swedes give off an impression of perfection. Dads happily push along Pram strollers, in which their children never cry. Seriously, we didn't hear one peep out of the rosy cheeked passengers.

The palace square.

Never gets old.

Little piece of home.

City Hall.

Founder of Stockholm.

Changing of the guard at the palace.

On Saturday we checked out the changing of the guard at the royal palace in the morning and proceeded to a cafe for a Fika (Swedish lingo for coffee and baked goods). Later on, some of us went to an amusement called Skansen in Djurgården. It is a famous open air museum/zoo that seemed more like a weird abandoned amusement park frozen in the 19th century. Although unusual, it was quite fascinating. Sweden was such an incredible trip for the seven of us! Stockholm was amazingly beautiful and a great location for our first international trip from Dublin.