We flew Ryanair, which is a budget airline. This means that they can't be bothered with things such as printing off boarding passes (you have to do it before going to the airport or you get charged something like 50 pounds), baggage (you're allowed 1 carry-on bag that has to meet Ryanair requirements. Checking luggage costs something like 50 pounds), or seating assignments (however you can pay to have priority seating). This means people like up and fight for who is first to get on the plane. It really wasn't that bad, but people are very territorial. Flying Ryanair is really just an experience in itself. They also don't have safety leaflets. Nope, they have handy dandy stickers on the back of your chairs.
Like this.
They also try to sell you things through the entire flight. They come on the announcing thing and say "this is a non-smoking flight. However, we can provide you with alternatives." And then they try to sell you fake cigarettes. They also do food, perfume, magazines, and my favorite, Ryanair scratch-offs. It was a good time. Then, we finally arrived in Sweden to another Ryanair specialty; the Ryanair airport. Some of Ryanair's airports are literally in the middle of nowhere and are just for Ryanair. This was one of those airports. It really wasn't bad, but just funny.
We got off the plane and went through immigration. (First, I need to mention that somewhere during this flight I came to a realization: everyone in Sweden is blonde. I am not. I am going to standout. This is especially funny considering my friend Katelin is part Swedish and is of the Aryan race. Yes, there was favoritism on this trip...not towards me.) So, I go up to the little booth thing and this immigration officer is the scariest looking woman ever. She scans my passport and says...
Lady: "Why are you here?"
Me: "I'm travelling."
Lady: "How are you here?"
Me: [blank stare...I figured that she didn't mean by airplane]
Lady: "You came from Scotland."
Me: "I'm studying abroad in Scotland."
Lady: "Oh. How long are you here for?"
Me: "2 days."
Lady: "Do you have somewhere to stay?"
Me: "Yes."
Lady: "Is it a hostel?"
Me: "Yes."
Lady: [skeptical look] "Ok." [gives me back my passport]
So, I'm standing on the other side of the door minorly freaked out by the intensity of this woman when Katelin comes through and tells me that the only thing the lady asked her was what she was planning on seeing in Stockholm. Stupid Swede favoritism.
By this point we were really hungry, so we found a shop where we could by food. (We also took a trip to the bathroom where Katelin began her brunette game. This being her saying "hey Jennifer. You're the only brunette in this bathroom." I look around and sure enough, of the 10 women in the bathroom, I am the only brunette.) This is when we discovered just how complicated Swedish money (Kronor) are. Everything is in 10s. So, 1 pound is equal to 10 Kronor. So, my sandwich that I got for lunch was 25 Kronor which equals 2.50. This money business messed with my mind all weekend long.
Here's my first Swedish meal. I also learned my first Swedish word. Ost = Cheese.
After lunch, we got the bus to Stockholm. It was the short distance of 90 minutes away from the airport. See, Ryanair specialty. It was actually a really nice bus ride. I slept through the whole thing. Then, we finally arrived in Stockholm.
Stockholm is amazing. The bus terminal is right within the shopping district. So, we began exploring immediately. Remember how I said that London was a little crazy for me? Stockholm was like Edinburgh (very relaxed without the panicky feeling of London) but on a larger scale. It is huge! We wondered around for a while before going to the hostel to drop off our bags (our hostel was right within the shopping district too). Then, we went back out to explore some more.
Just to illustrate my blonde point. Look at these mannequins.
Here's some more.
While we were walking around, we discovered a candy shop that looked amazing. So, in true us fashion, we went in and bought candy. Then, we found a bench and ate it and people watched.
It was like the Mecca of candy.
I have no idea what the bag says, but it was good. Also, I totally ate Swedish fish. This really made me happy.
After our candy experience, we wandered down the shopping area some more. We discovered many things along the way. For one, did you know that Pippi Longstocking originated in Sweden? Well, she did. And Sweden is the birthplace of trolls.
See, trolls.
Eventually, we made our way into Old Town. Which, is the are of Stockholm that has all of the beautiful buildings. Really, the best way I can describe this is through pictures, so I'm just going to post a whole lot of them now. We wandered around Old Town for a long time.
Here is the entrance into Old Town.
This is City Hall
A pretty square with traditional Swedish buildings.
A palace. (I say "a" because there were literally 5 of them.)
A Swedish guard.
Another palace.
A church.
After all of our walking, we decided it was time for food. So, we headed back towards the shopping area where we saw a Mexican restaurant called Taco Bar earlier in the day. It was really good. I was happy just to have some Mexican food.
While we were eating, it began to rain. And it rained hard. This is when we began our search for Ikea. (Ikea is a Swedish store. They have them in the US, but the largest one is in Sweden). Well, after wandering around for a while, we found a computer in the basement of a mall (go figure) where there was a library. We finally figured out that Ikea is outside of the city. So, we decided to leave that for tomorrow.
Afterwards, we headed to the hostel to get a good night's sleep before heading out for day 2 of Stockholm.
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