Sweden Day One

Our eight-hour long initial flight (and first flight for one of our members) was panic-attack-free and an overall success. Though the shakeup that resulted from the trip’s six-hour jump forward in time left many of our members sleep deprived and ripe for jet lag, our connecting flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm provided a much-needed power nap to most everyone. After we got off the airplane, we took a spacious and comfortable train from the airport into the heart of Stockholm. We trekked around Stockholm to get to our hostel—a ship called the AF Chapman that is moored in the waters of the city’s harbor—on a pretty extensive march with our caravan of rolling luggage. We dropped our bags off at the reception building and went back into the city to sightsee. Though the weather was fair for the area, wind and shade contributed to a fair amount of chilly stretches that pushed the temperature just past the point of being comfortable, even in our many layers. We arrived at a walking mall and split into two groups to dine on street food and café sandwiches for lunch, both options being fairly pricey, before reconvening and setting out to continue our sightseeing. We wandered through the narrow alleyways and stopped to admire the small mom-and-pop stores as well as Stockholm’s grander feats of architecture on our way between sites such as the Medieval Museum of Stockholm, two historic churches, and the Royal Palace of Stockholm. As we prepared to move on from the palace, however, we noticed that the guards standing before the palace had begun to call out to one another and march. A military ceremony of some sort took place over the next five minutes as we looked on. After the conclusion of this service, we were even able to snap a few pictures with a kindly guardsman at his post. We bid the gentleman goodbye and proceeded onto the Stockholm City Museum, where we found shelter from the ever-dropping temperature as well as some interesting models and facts about the city’s history before leaving to make our dinner reservation. The medieval-themed Sjåtte Tunnan served these hungry (and increasingly weary) travelers a grand and delicious medieval feast of several different dishes in an atmosphere of crude wooden tables, stone walls, candle lighting, and notes challenging patrons to eat their food the medieval way—without the aid of silverware. We bonded over the extravagant festivities and recalled our exciting, tiresome day. Then, almost as if to wake up those of us who were drifting off into sleep-deprived stupors, our waiter proceeded to dazzle us with an impromptu indoor fire-breathing display before dessert. As the dinner drew to a close, however, many of us were inevitably overwhelmed by our exhaustion. We paid our tab, trekked across the darkened streets of Stockholm once more, and retired to our rooms aboard the hostel.

Christopher George