Stockholm🇸🇪

Thursday 09/07/23

On Thursday I got up relatively early (8:30 a.m.) so as not to get stressed in the morning, so I had a relaxed breakfast, got ready and then took the bus to the train station. Of course, I was in the wrong compartment on the train again, as you had to reserve a seat on the train for an extra charge. When I found my right place, in the right compartment, I was able to continue in a relaxed manner. On the train I opened the envelope that Alva had given me the day before. She wrote me a really sweet letter, printed out two pictures of us and packed in a pair of Swedish Konen because I said I'd never seen any before. Afterwards I listened to my audio book (the last part of the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley) for a long time and just looked out the window. There was a lot to see, lots of small lakes and cute little houses. I had actually reserved a seat on the aisle but I was lucky and the seat next to me by the window remained unoccupied the whole time. After arriving in Stockholm I walked straight to the hostel, this time less long, just 10 minutes. When I got there, I was so exhausted and lay down and napped a bit. Afterwards I set out to explore the city a little. My first stop was the Ikea here in the city center. I mean, if you're already in Sweden you have to check out Ikea. Of course it was exactly the same as ours, only there were no hot dogs :(. Instead we had Veggie Köttbullar which were really delicious. Next I made my way to the old town, and I ended up at the Parliament Palace (really a huge one Palace) and the Royal Palace. In the old town I found an incredibly cute little art gallery owned by an older gentleman, where beautiful paintings of Stockholm and Swedish nature were sold and exhibited. On my mission to quickly get to the nearest supermarket and finally get to the hostel To be able to switch off, I got hopelessly lost in T-Central, the subway station at the main train station, and in the end it probably took me longer than if I had just walked. After successfully shopping, I quickly found myself at the hostel with the noodles freely available there Made pasta with pesto and went to sleep. That evening there was live music in the restaurant next door that shares a backyard with the hostel, so I listened to a bit before eating.

Friday 09/08/23

On Friday morning I went to the Fotografiska Museum, I really liked it. There were four different exhibitions:
1. Peter Lindbergh, these were mainly black and white photographs, some of famous models. Very expressive.
2. AdeY, a British artist who makes very stylish nude photographs. I also really liked it, the pictures expressed very strong emotions.
3. Alexander Wessely, these were mainly sculptures highlighted by strong lighting. Unfortunately it wasn't my thing, but it was very interesting to see what a little lighting can do.
4. Shirin Neshat, who worked in a very feminist way and also presented the situation of women in Iran.
After a slightly longer stay at the hostel, I just wandered around the city in the afternoon and then I just got on the T-banna subway here in Stockholm and just went somewhere. Back at the hostel in the evening I showered, did laundry (for the first time!) and then made a super delicious mushroom cream sauce with... of course the free pasta from the hostel!! After dinner I spontaneously went to an Irish pub with some people from the hostel to watch a Rugby World Cup game. New Zealand played against France and the two New Zealanders in the group were of course fully committed. But then I went back to the hostel early because I was very tired and I still had the laundry in the machine. I then stuffed the laundry into the dryer and waited until it was finished. In the middle of the night someone just screamed in the dorm room like it was a nightmare or something, but it was very scary and after that I kind of slept with one eye open, which of course wasn't entirely restful.

Saturday 9/9/23

On Saturday morning I went to the Abba Museum, the museum's motto: "walk in, dance out". It was a really great exhibition, although it probably would have been cooler if I hadn't been there alone. From karaoke to dance sessions on a stage, there were quite a few interactive sessions. After that I just took the next ferry that left there and just drove around for 1-2 hours. It was really beautiful weather!! Then I took the bus back to the hostel.

Sunday 9/10/23

On Sunday I started the day very relaxed, after all it is Sunday. After a coffee in the hostel, I went to a flea market and looked around a bit. Of course nothing was bought because my backpack is already full enough. Same thing in the stores that I looked at afterwards. In the morning I "bought" a ticket for the exhibition "Frida Kahlo her Pictures"; since I'm still under 19, the ticket was free for me. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take pictures in the exhibition, but it was definitely very interesting. Until now I didn't know that much about Frida Kahlo, but the exhibition actually gave a very good overview of her life. In the same building I went to a library for 15-25 year olds where you could borrow books for free, but you could also do a lot of other things like painting or playing games, I think you could also do pottery and make bracelets, there were even programming/DJ courses. And all for free!! For lunch I decided to eat again at Ikea Köttbullar, this time with a very tasty chocolate cake. Afterwards I went back to the old town because I really wanted to go to the cute little art gallery again. There I bought a very cute art print of the famous houses in the old town. Back at the hostel I wrote four postcards and sent them off (it's really incredibly expensive from Sweden...). In the evening I cooked myself a portion of pasta with tomato sauce that was far too large, and I ate it for the next two days.

Monday 9/11/23

On Monday I had absolutely no desire to do anything... typical Monday. With the mission to at least see the famous Stockholm City Hall, I got on a bus. But of course I missed the stop, so I got out at the next stop and walked back (it was about the same route as from my hostel to the town hall). Then I saw the town hall from the outside, it didn't blow me away, maybe I should have gone in, who knows. Anyway, I then got on another bus and went to a part of the city that I hadn't been to before. I walked around there a bit, listened to my audio book and looked at everything. I bought a wonderful disco ball keychain in a small junk shop that fills me with joy every time I see it hanging on my fanny pack (like a little child, but well sometimes it's the little things in life). I had a cappucino and a pain au chocolat in a nice cafe before I went back to the hostel and actually didn't do anything for the rest of the day.