Hej!
As this is officially Vecka Fem (Week 5) of class, I can officially say I've used up a quarter of my time here in Sweden. What a terrifying thought! At times I feel like I can't imagine what it would be like to not hear more Swedish than English, to not have the cathedral and the castle as part of the skyline, and to not eat Wasa everyday. (After a quick review, I have discovered I have not expounded the joys of Wasa yet. It's a flat bread/cracker type of thing, and I put cream cheese, peanut butter, jam, or Nutella on it. It exists in the US, but it's really popular here.) At the same time, I can't believe time is rushing by so quickly, and I feel like it's only going to go faster.
So it's rather fortunate that this week past week my attention has been turned, by a number of circumstances, to making plans for all of the wild dreams I've had but never really acted on. It began last weekend when Henri invited me to join him on a day in Stockholm.
Stockholm is about forty minutes away by train. I was really excited to travel by train, which is something Henri found rather odd. He's used to taking the metro or the train everywhere, and it wasn't until I showed him a map of Denver's LightRail system (which I do love, but has nothing on European train systems) that he understood. Trains are wonderful. They're fast, smooth, and you don't have to worry about anything but being on time. We arrived in Stockholm at 9am, and proceeded to explore Gamla Stan, which is the island that has the "Old Town" on it. Stockholm is comprised of fourteen different islands, all of which have a slightly different character. Gamla Stan includes the currently used royal palace, the Stockholm Cathedral, and a wondrous maze of tiny, winding, cobbled streets.
This was again something that completely enchanted me that Henri was slightly more used to. After some thought, I decided that perhaps one explanation was that most US cities were built in an era of at least horse-and-buggy transportation, if not car transportation, so all of our streets are wide and straight. While he also enjoyed walking around Gamla Stan, he was rather amused with how awed I was. It was beautiful! The buildings are mostly faded red and yellow, and they're all pressed together around the little streets. The best part about Gamla Stan is that no matter how you turn yourself around, you end up on the edge of the island soon enough, and then it's very easy to figure out where you are from the landmarks across the water or from the towers of the various churches and the cathedral. For a bit we crossed the bridge to Norrmalm, which has the modern downtown.
We also went inside the Stockholm Cathedral, which is very different from the Uppsala Cathedral. The inside is made of brick, unlike the grey stone used in Uppsala, so the whole cathedral has a much warmer and cheerier feel to it. When we were there a group of musicians, mostly string and piano, were warming up for a concert. Someday I would love to hear a concert in a cathedral; the acoustics are really incredible. Even listening to them warm up was quite a treat.
After several hours spent like this, we both decided we were cold and wanted a bit of fika. (Fika, loosely translated, means coffee break; it involves hot drinks, some kind of sweet bread, and time to chat, but it can be at home or at a cafe. It's very casual, and one of my favorite things about Sweden.) On our ramblings, we'd found a triangular courtyard with creeper-vines arching over the streets and a large tree in the middle, and a cafe on one side. We managed (somehow) to make our way back to it and ordered semla (a bun with the top cut off, filled with vanilla custard and whipped cream) and tea, and proceeded to spend the next two and a half hours talking. Our conversations ranged from regional food specialties to history to current politics to our homework. Talking with Henri is a joy.
After our extra-long fika, Henri and I took the ferry to Djurgården, another one of Stockholm's islands. Djurgården is part of Stockholm's Royal City National Park, the largest city park in the world. Our goal was to go to Skansen, which is a living Swedish history museum. I'm guessing it's a bit like colonial Williamsburg, if anyone is familiar with that; a town built to historical standards, populated (at least during the day) with people dressed and acting in accordance with the time period. You'll note I said "I'm guessing," because we never actually made it there. When we got off the ferry, I caught site of a really massive building and I wanted to see what it was.
Turns out it was the Nordika Museet (Nordic Museum) which houses artifacts of all kinds about the history of Swedish culture. Henri and I spent three hours wandering around before we realized it was dark out, and at some point we should probably get back to Uppsala. A ferry, a train, and a bike ride later, I was exhausted but completely content with my adventure. Henri and I have agreed we need to go back to see the Stadshuset, where they give the Nobel prizes (except the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Norway) and to finally make it to Skansen!
On the train ride back, I made a comment about how much I love going places. I've always wanted to travel around Europe. Henri gave me a funny look and asked me why I wasn't doing it. He pointed out that I was much closer to the rest of Europe than I will be for a while, and told me that the bargain airlines have really good deals sometimes. "Just book something and go," he told me. After I thought about it for a while, I decided that Americans see traveling to different countries as a much bigger deal than Europeans, simply because going to another country (that isn't Canada or Mexico) means traveling a very, very long way.
He inspired me to spend a rather unfortunate (for this week's neuro reading, anyway) amount of time on a website called Skyscanner, which searches all of the European airlines for really cheap fares. I can fly to cities all over Europe, like Rome, Prague, Paris, or Geneva for under 100 euros. These are cities I read about in stories that might as well be fantasy because they're normally so far away, but now it's a two to four hour plane ride! While I didn't click the green BOOK button last night, I think I will in the near future, if I can ever decide on where to go. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate them!
My last "dream turned plan" is a little closer to home, and was inspired in a completely different type of situation. This week in neuro we covered the somato-motor system (the sensation of touch and the ability to move and balance, which are actually more closely related than most people think). One of the lecturers, Klaus, explained about joint receptors, which measure how much tension we're putting on ligaments and tendons. When you tear something, an ACL for example, you also tear the neurons that feed the joint receptor, and that's part of what you have to regain during physical therapy if you ever want your balance back. When Klaus was explaining this, he was speaking with the air of someone who knew what it was like to tear a ligament, so when I asked him a different question (about stretch receptors) during the break, I also asked him which ligament he'd blown.
He laughed, and told me an ACL in a football (soccer) match, and then wanted to know if I had done one, which led to a conversation about skiing and other athletic activities around Uppsala. He told me it's really too flat around here for skiing, but one thing they do have is long-distance ice skating. Some years, if it's cold enough, the water in the Stockholm archipelago freezes and you can ice skate for miles and miles. Apparently this year it's cold enough, and the ice is in really good condition. On his advice I'm going to try to organize a group of kids to go ice skating in the archipelago. I'm not sure it will happen this weekend, but hopefully week-after-next. (Next week is the second oral exam, and the first draft of the literature overview is due. Turning dreams to plans is well and good, but I should also probably pass my class!)
The other exciting news of the week: this was the first week of my Basic Swedish class, which I have from six to eight every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The first class was mostly administrative matters, but we did get through counting and the alphabet. Swedish has NINE VOWELS, (a, e, i, o, u, y, å, ö, and ä) some of which sound very much the same to me. This will be an adventure in its own right.
Overall I'm really happy with how I've spent the first quarter of my time here, and I can't wait for the next adventure. To make it even better, I keep getting good news from home; my two best ski buddies qualified for USCSA Regionals and Jeff is holding his own at the Steamboat Telemark World Cup Races.
Until the next adventure,
Hej då!
As this is officially Vecka Fem (Week 5) of class, I can officially say I've used up a quarter of my time here in Sweden. What a terrifying thought! At times I feel like I can't imagine what it would be like to not hear more Swedish than English, to not have the cathedral and the castle as part of the skyline, and to not eat Wasa everyday. (After a quick review, I have discovered I have not expounded the joys of Wasa yet. It's a flat bread/cracker type of thing, and I put cream cheese, peanut butter, jam, or Nutella on it. It exists in the US, but it's really popular here.) At the same time, I can't believe time is rushing by so quickly, and I feel like it's only going to go faster.
So it's rather fortunate that this week past week my attention has been turned, by a number of circumstances, to making plans for all of the wild dreams I've had but never really acted on. It began last weekend when Henri invited me to join him on a day in Stockholm.
Stockholm is about forty minutes away by train. I was really excited to travel by train, which is something Henri found rather odd. He's used to taking the metro or the train everywhere, and it wasn't until I showed him a map of Denver's LightRail system (which I do love, but has nothing on European train systems) that he understood. Trains are wonderful. They're fast, smooth, and you don't have to worry about anything but being on time. We arrived in Stockholm at 9am, and proceeded to explore Gamla Stan, which is the island that has the "Old Town" on it. Stockholm is comprised of fourteen different islands, all of which have a slightly different character. Gamla Stan includes the currently used royal palace, the Stockholm Cathedral, and a wondrous maze of tiny, winding, cobbled streets.
This was again something that completely enchanted me that Henri was slightly more used to. After some thought, I decided that perhaps one explanation was that most US cities were built in an era of at least horse-and-buggy transportation, if not car transportation, so all of our streets are wide and straight. While he also enjoyed walking around Gamla Stan, he was rather amused with how awed I was. It was beautiful! The buildings are mostly faded red and yellow, and they're all pressed together around the little streets. The best part about Gamla Stan is that no matter how you turn yourself around, you end up on the edge of the island soon enough, and then it's very easy to figure out where you are from the landmarks across the water or from the towers of the various churches and the cathedral. For a bit we crossed the bridge to Norrmalm, which has the modern downtown.
We also went inside the Stockholm Cathedral, which is very different from the Uppsala Cathedral. The inside is made of brick, unlike the grey stone used in Uppsala, so the whole cathedral has a much warmer and cheerier feel to it. When we were there a group of musicians, mostly string and piano, were warming up for a concert. Someday I would love to hear a concert in a cathedral; the acoustics are really incredible. Even listening to them warm up was quite a treat.
After several hours spent like this, we both decided we were cold and wanted a bit of fika. (Fika, loosely translated, means coffee break; it involves hot drinks, some kind of sweet bread, and time to chat, but it can be at home or at a cafe. It's very casual, and one of my favorite things about Sweden.) On our ramblings, we'd found a triangular courtyard with creeper-vines arching over the streets and a large tree in the middle, and a cafe on one side. We managed (somehow) to make our way back to it and ordered semla (a bun with the top cut off, filled with vanilla custard and whipped cream) and tea, and proceeded to spend the next two and a half hours talking. Our conversations ranged from regional food specialties to history to current politics to our homework. Talking with Henri is a joy.
After our extra-long fika, Henri and I took the ferry to Djurgården, another one of Stockholm's islands. Djurgården is part of Stockholm's Royal City National Park, the largest city park in the world. Our goal was to go to Skansen, which is a living Swedish history museum. I'm guessing it's a bit like colonial Williamsburg, if anyone is familiar with that; a town built to historical standards, populated (at least during the day) with people dressed and acting in accordance with the time period. You'll note I said "I'm guessing," because we never actually made it there. When we got off the ferry, I caught site of a really massive building and I wanted to see what it was.
Turns out it was the Nordika Museet (Nordic Museum) which houses artifacts of all kinds about the history of Swedish culture. Henri and I spent three hours wandering around before we realized it was dark out, and at some point we should probably get back to Uppsala. A ferry, a train, and a bike ride later, I was exhausted but completely content with my adventure. Henri and I have agreed we need to go back to see the Stadshuset, where they give the Nobel prizes (except the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Norway) and to finally make it to Skansen!
On the train ride back, I made a comment about how much I love going places. I've always wanted to travel around Europe. Henri gave me a funny look and asked me why I wasn't doing it. He pointed out that I was much closer to the rest of Europe than I will be for a while, and told me that the bargain airlines have really good deals sometimes. "Just book something and go," he told me. After I thought about it for a while, I decided that Americans see traveling to different countries as a much bigger deal than Europeans, simply because going to another country (that isn't Canada or Mexico) means traveling a very, very long way.
He inspired me to spend a rather unfortunate (for this week's neuro reading, anyway) amount of time on a website called Skyscanner, which searches all of the European airlines for really cheap fares. I can fly to cities all over Europe, like Rome, Prague, Paris, or Geneva for under 100 euros. These are cities I read about in stories that might as well be fantasy because they're normally so far away, but now it's a two to four hour plane ride! While I didn't click the green BOOK button last night, I think I will in the near future, if I can ever decide on where to go. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate them!
My last "dream turned plan" is a little closer to home, and was inspired in a completely different type of situation. This week in neuro we covered the somato-motor system (the sensation of touch and the ability to move and balance, which are actually more closely related than most people think). One of the lecturers, Klaus, explained about joint receptors, which measure how much tension we're putting on ligaments and tendons. When you tear something, an ACL for example, you also tear the neurons that feed the joint receptor, and that's part of what you have to regain during physical therapy if you ever want your balance back. When Klaus was explaining this, he was speaking with the air of someone who knew what it was like to tear a ligament, so when I asked him a different question (about stretch receptors) during the break, I also asked him which ligament he'd blown.
He laughed, and told me an ACL in a football (soccer) match, and then wanted to know if I had done one, which led to a conversation about skiing and other athletic activities around Uppsala. He told me it's really too flat around here for skiing, but one thing they do have is long-distance ice skating. Some years, if it's cold enough, the water in the Stockholm archipelago freezes and you can ice skate for miles and miles. Apparently this year it's cold enough, and the ice is in really good condition. On his advice I'm going to try to organize a group of kids to go ice skating in the archipelago. I'm not sure it will happen this weekend, but hopefully week-after-next. (Next week is the second oral exam, and the first draft of the literature overview is due. Turning dreams to plans is well and good, but I should also probably pass my class!)
The other exciting news of the week: this was the first week of my Basic Swedish class, which I have from six to eight every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The first class was mostly administrative matters, but we did get through counting and the alphabet. Swedish has NINE VOWELS, (a, e, i, o, u, y, å, ö, and ä) some of which sound very much the same to me. This will be an adventure in its own right.
Overall I'm really happy with how I've spent the first quarter of my time here, and I can't wait for the next adventure. To make it even better, I keep getting good news from home; my two best ski buddies qualified for USCSA Regionals and Jeff is holding his own at the Steamboat Telemark World Cup Races.
Until the next adventure,
Hej då!
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