Stockholm, Sweden

Well, to begin with, I must apologize for being quite behind on my posts. My internet port was broken for about a week, and then I had midterms so I have had trouble finding time to sit down and post. But here I am! The week of the 12-16th, me and four friends flew to Sweden. We caught an early flight and arrived in Stockholm at about one in the afternoon. There is a company in Europe called "Ryan Air" and they are known for their cheap flights, so of course being cheap college students, we flew with them. This proved to be a bit of a mistake as we quickly realized upon our arrival. You know the saying "Too good to be True?" There is usually a catch when tickets are this cheap. Ryan Air cut a major corner by advertising flights to Stockholm, so one would automatically assume a flight into the city center right? WRONG! We landed into a small airport that was one and a half hours away so we then had to buy bus tickets that were almost equal to our flights and travel the distance. It turned out to be a nice ride as we got to see lots of the country side of Sweden, which was absolutely beautiful. The sun sets at about 3:3o and is completely dark outside by 4 so by the time we arrived in downtown Stockholm, it felt like it was midnight outside. We were starving so we grabbed some dinner and then walked around a bit. The city was gorgeous because it is surrounded by water. The best part was that it was all decked out for Christmas, so it made it even more stunning. We turned in for an early night from the full day of traveling. The next morning, we dressed in multiple layers anticipating the cold and headed out to greet the day. We decided to walk down to the harbor and take some pictures. It became stunningly clear to us how cold it was outside, so after a few hours of freezing, we headed for a cafe to thaw out and get a warm drink. I have really come to adore my friends here. We just sat and talked for a while and enjoyed each other's company. After a while, we decided we needed to enjoy the last few hours of daylight that was left. We walked to Parliament, The Castle, and many other tourist attractions. We noticed how expensive the city was, so we tried really hard to budget the things that we spent our money on. Compared to Prague, almost every city is expensive, so we would try to pack a lunch and then ate out for dinner. That night we ate at an India restaurant. We tried to find Swedish food, but could not find a place, and our hunger was not patient so Indian food had to do. We headed back to where we were staying, took really hot showers, and watched a movie. The third day, we got this crazy idea to go to the ferry station and see where the destinations were. We entertained our spontaniety and almost went on a 16 hour trip to Finland, but decided that would leave us with no time left in Stockholm. It would have been a blast, but in hindsight I'm so glad we stayed in Stockholm. After leaving the ferry station,  it was pouring down rain. Within minutes, we were completely soaked. While standing in the metro station, my boots we so wet, I could scrunch up the front of the shoes and wring out lots of water. We trudged through the cold and decided to visit a Museum of architecture, which was pretty cool. We grabbed some dinner and headed back. The next day we met up with some friends who were also in Stockholm and walked over to a park that was next to a lake. It was such a beautiful walk. The weather was much nicer to us, so we really enjoyed the walk, and also got some great pictures. We stopped off at a Muffin Shop, and had some muffins and tea. We then did some souvenir shopping, and decided to try to have an inexpensive dinner so we ate a little restaurant that had kebabs, pizza, and fries. After filling our stomachs we headed back to pack. The next morning we caught a bus at 6:00 and then a flight at 10:00. We made it back to our dorm around 2:00 in the afternoon. It amazes me how much comfort I have found in the Kolej. It used to feel not so cozy and very bland, but now I relish in walking in the door and feeling instant comfort. Of course this feeling does not even compare to home, but for the time being, I have come to really enjoy my room here. The trip was a blast. It is definitely in competition for one of my favorite trips. Everyone there was very friendly and found the fact that we were Americans really fascinating. One guy wanted to shake all of our hands. It was a very welcoming city, and I was sad to leave it.