I wish I spent more time in Stockholm and went up North a bit.
What is Bandee?
I spoke with John, and hope he can meet me at the train station, he might not be able to since he has class at the Academy.  I don’t speak any Norwegian, and this could be interesting.  I hope they speak english
I wish I had an iPod touch.  Just being able to take advantage of the free WiFi would be worth the price
I’m trying not to seem too American, and have been told I don’t seem like one, whatever that means…
The top Swedish hockey league is finished.  I wish I could have gone to a game here, but even the 2nd tier league isn’t playing in Stockholm.  That stinks…
Swedes recycle paper cups at McDonalds.  There is a seperate bin to dumb the used ice in too.  Why don’t we do that here?
I met a really nice lady in the Stockholm Train Station who translated my ticket.  I was close on my translation, but she was a big help.  She told me about how her daughter did a similar trip after she was an Au Pair in New Zealand.  I think that’s a pretty awesome job.
Hostel having bad internet connections is not a bad thing after all, it does force me to go outside more!  And who really wants to check in on work anyway!

Tags: Hostel,Internet,Stockholm,Sweden,Train
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I turns out that it was a good thing that I didn’t go with the Polish guys last night. They ended up getting back at about 7am because they had gotten lost on the way home, stuck in the cold for hours. So I guess maybe it was karma, I can make that joke since they are all fine. I got coffee and a pastry at a coffee shop recommended by the lady at reception and checked out of my room. They had a luggage room, so I left my stuff there for the day. My train didn’t leave until almost 11pm, so I still had a full day ahead of me.

Nursing Home in Stocholm

I took a boat tour of Stockholm, and it was totally worth the price. I think it was about 15 dollars for an hour and a half guided tour.  We saw many buildings and historic places that I would have never been able to access, or even have known about had I not taken the tour, so I would recommend it to anyone going to Stockholm.  One of the coolest sights was a statue that was supposed to go to the United Nations, but was not sent because it was a bit of a religious symbol and they were worried it would not be displayed.  It is a cool fountain that goes into the sea:

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Tags: boat,Stockholm,Sweden,Tour
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When I arrived in Stockholm, I had no idea where I was going.  I exchanged some money in the port, and just followed the crowd.  This led ot a metro stop where I hopped on the train to the central train station.   From there I found Gamla Stan (Old Town) and had no idea where my hostel was.  I had booked it online, but wrote down the wrong address (Smart huh?).  I knew it was near the Royal Palace, but had no idea where.  I met a guy who knew where a hostel was, however it was the hostel I tried to book at, but it was full.  I gave them the name of the hostel I was looking for, and they gave me a map and directions.  (It was owned by the same people)

I found it pretty easily, and dropped off my luggage and hopped on the web for a minute.  It didn’t work well, so I gave up on writing any posts and decided to roam the city.  I saw the Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace, and it was pretty cool (and done in English!).  John was in the Royal Guard in Norway, so I guess he had to do the same thing for them.  I could see it getting annoying after a while, but hey, its a job.  I tried not to be the annoying guy taking pictures of the guards from 5 feet away, and tried to be as respectful as possible.  The ceremony was really interesting and you could tell they took it seriously!  The bugler and drummer were very good and they explained the importance of their tunes/beats and how they passed signals using instruments.

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Tags: Stockholm,Sweden
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