Cold, breezy, and beautiful:
These are the three words that come to mind when I think about my experience in Sweden. If you are a little lost geographically, Sweden is situated in Northern Europe between Norway and Finland. Being from the Southern part of the United States, I am not a person who handles cold weather well. Part of me felt like I was in Lubbock, Texas during the weekend because of the constant breeze. The actual temperature in Stockholm was not unbearable, but the breeze chilled me to my core! The drive from the airport to Stockholm took about an hour by bus. That amount of time sounds like a lot, but believe me when I say this, the countryside is amazing. The trees were many different shades of green, yellow, and red. - The perfect scene for a Fall movie. Additionally, the city of Stockholm is a perfect mix between old and new. Walking down the streets, you will see buildings that are hundreds of years old sitting next to buildings that look as though they belong in some futuristic city.
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| A picture from the bus as we drove towards Stockholm. |
Absolut Ice Bar:
Visiting the ice bar was at the top of my list of things to do while in Stockholm. I have a few friends that had gone to ice bars in other places and said they were really cool. Having the opportunity to do so myself, I can now attest to the fact that the Absolut Ice Bar is awesome! Upon entering, you are given a parka along with some gloves. The actual temperature in the bar is around -5 degrees fahrenheit. The entire room is comprised of ice, including the glass your drink is placed in! The group I was with spent about an hour in the bar before we headed out to explore other pubs in the area. If you ever have the chance to go to an ice bar, I would definitely recommend it.
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| "Guns Up" at the Absolut Ice Bar. |
We have all heard that the Scandinavian countries have the prettiest people. This statement was confirmed this weekend! I felt like I was walking next to somebody from Vogue almost constantly. The people in Stockholm were very well dressed, to say the least. The men and women both seemed to be very interested in fashion. Every other store in the city was a clothing store of some sort. All I can say is marry a Scandinavian if you want to have some ridiculously good-looking children!
Besides being very attractive, the people of Sweden were extremely friendly. After the Absolut Ice Bar, our group found a local pub and decided to have a few drinks. While enjoying the music and conversation, we ended up meeting a young couple from Stockholm. A few exchanges of "hello" led to an hour-long conversation with this couple. We were both interested in the culture of one another and had much to talk about-- ranging from politics and education to Americans and Swedes in general. I was surprised by the fact that the Swedes had such a positive view on Americans. In contrast to other countries such as Italy, the Swedes viewed Americans as friendly, helpful, and for the most part, well-educated. It was nice to know that we were understood, liked, and respected by another country.
School is in full swing this week. I have a lot going on and am ready for the weekend! This weekend I will finally visit the island of Venice. In addition to Venice, Sunday I will be traveling to Milan to watch a futbol game between Inter Milan and Chievo Verona. After this weekend, I have a pretty intense week of school but then I am off to Budapest, Prague, and Vienna for my second travel week!!
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