ABBA, lingonberries, and me

What do these three things have in common? Yup, all Swedish things.

Since I was all the way over in Finland for work anyway, I decided to stay the weekend and visit Sweden (great-grandparents on both sides of my family came from Sweden). Although, truth be told, my first idea was to fly to St. Petersburg for the weekend – it has been my dream since I was a teenager to visit Russia. However, since that would have cost me around $300 just for a tourist visa (for 2 days?) I decided Sweden would be just as awesome. And it was.

I flew from Helsinki to Stockholm on Friday night. My flight was scheduled for 7:45, so I arrived at the airport the suggested 2 hours in advance – and it was a good thing, too. As soon as I got to the airport, I looked at the Departure screen and saw that my 7:45 flight had been canceled. Oh, crap. The kind lady at the check-in desk, who spoke excellent English, told me that since I was early enough, they could re-book me on an earlier flight. EXCELLENT.

I spent most of the day Saturday walking around Stockholm. Beautiful buildings and churches and people speaking Swedish everywhere (pictures below, but not of people speaking Swedish). People always spoke to me in Swedish, so I guess I don’t wear a big “I’m an American” sign around my neck. There were some cases where I was able to have an entire conversation without asking the person if they spoke English – like making a purchase at a store:
“Hej”
“Hej”
"lots of words I don’t understand"
I look at the cash register to see the price
"more words I don’t understand" I take to mean ‘will there be anything else?’
"Nej"
"Tack"
"Tack"

Other times, I’d have to ask people if they spoke English, which, most of the time they did. Then, if I paid with a credit card (or had to show my passport, like at the airport), they would repeat my last name and then start speaking Swedish again. Nope, still don’t speak Swedish. Yes, with a name like Blomquist, I probably should speak Swedish, but alas, I don’t.

Side note, someone told me that I looked Finnish – because I am blond. Um, aren’t Swedish people blond?

Stockholm Cathedral

Stockholm Cathedral

Riddarholm Church

Riddarholm Church

Royal Palace

Katarina Kyrka - my dad used to call my Katarina when I was younger. That's the whole reason I went to this church

Gamla Stan - The Old Town

Gamla Stan - The Old Town