Long Post for a Short Swedish Stop

Oh it is good to be back in Copenhagen! Haha, that makes it sound like I didn't have an enjoyable weekend but I most certainly did. As I said in my last post, this WILL be long. :-)

Friday was a good day at work. My reactions finished up and I had one for the weekend set up and running well before lunch. Lunch itself was good, as always. My supervisor had work to do at DTU so I was by myself for the afternoon. No biggie since I was leaving at 3:30 anyway. I caught my first train and the second with no problem whatsoever. Oh, I forgot to mention that I only packed my backpack--kind of looked like an overstuffed turtle. :-) Anyway, I took a slightly longer way to the airport because I knew how to get there if I switched trains at Hellerup (where I get on every morning) and not at Norreport (where I go to get to church). I got to the airport two hours before my flight and had to walk a bit to a different terminal. No biggie. Then I checked in...at a kiosk. That was a little weird, especially because there was no gate given on my boarding pass. I checked with a guy whose shirt read "Information. Ask Me." or something like that and he said it was for added security and that I would find out my gate after security. Best part about security: I didn't have to take my shoes off! It was much more lax than in the States, I felt, but that could be because I a) didn't have a laptop, b) didn't wear a bunch of metal and c) am used to the whole belt-off-liquids-in-a-different-container thing. Got through security and found myself in a huge Tax-free store. And when I went to find out my gate it wasn't assigned yet. Awesome. I wondered around looking at huge bottles of Baileys, Captain and multiple other things (chocolate and purses for example) until my gate was assigned. Then, once I got there, I found out I had to wait to go into the little waiting area. So I bought two candy bars, sat and waited. Finally, into the boarding area and eventually onto the plane. There was no boarding call so we all just guessed that when the sign flashed "boarding" we could go. I had a window seat but was the last one to the row so I had to make people move. I felt badly about that but then slept a majority of the hour long ride. When I woke up I overheard two guys behind me and eventually found out they were students and there for a conference. After riding the Arlanda Express together and discovering we'd be on the same flight on Sunday, I said goodbye to Antoine and Jeroen. And I found Milla! The hotel she'd found was literally up a flight of stairs from the train station so we dropped off my stuff, figured out how my bed worked and went off in search of food. This was harder than I thought it would be because everything was in Swedish crowns. So not only did I have to convert from crowns to Danish krone (because we kind of knew that general exchange) but then krone to dollars. It got too complicated for my tired and hungry self so we just decided to get the buffet at a Mongolian BBQ. It was pretty good; choose what you want and the chef cooks it and puts it on the plate. About 3/4 of the way through mine I had to stop. I was full and something didn't feel right. We paid and were on our way. However, a block later I had a familiar feeling and found a nice quiet side street and lost the entire meal I'd just eaten. I would like to point out that it was exactly two weeks earlier I'd done the same thing on a sidewalk in Copenhagen. I'm really hoping this doesn't become a habit! Once that was done I felt a ton better and we went back to the hotel. Milla felt a little queasy after that but didn't lose anything, thankfully. We just chatted till late and then slept. So Friday was an adventure: airport, new friends, Milla, and dinner.

Saturday: our go-with-the-flow tourist day. Our hotel had a complimentary breakfast so we started there. Delicious. I had hot chocolate made from actual cocoa powder--delightful! And then we were off to Gamla Stan, the Old Town. We stopped at the Royal Palace and watched the changing of the guard. Their uniforms were a beautiful blue color (I am biased, however, as I LOVE blue) and their helmets looked kind of funny with these pointy things on top. The display, however, was very cool. The band also played marches and such, which were very well done. After that we walked around, saw different buildings and views and went shopping. Like I said, very relaxed day. I bought next to nothing, though. Sweden is much cheaper than Denmark so I had hoped to find some tops and such but did not. I did however buy a pair of leggings. Yeah yeah, not that big a deal for most but it's my first step towards European fashion (besides wearing black or dark colors ALL the time). We found a little cafe thing, Sandy's, and had semi-decent pasta for dinner and disgusting sparkling water. In Milla's words: "It tastes like soap." Then we just walked around and eventually found a church and it's cemetery. The plots were mostly family plots, many dating back to the 17 and 1800's. And beautiful flowers, that was a given. We then found a pub and had a delicious Swedish pear cider. Oh man, I am such a fan of cider. This was really delicious and very sweet. Oh, haha, almost forgot: we got carded! I handed over my driver's license, forgetting where I was, and the woman looked at it and got very confused. Thankfully I'd also brought my passport and that settled that I was legal. Funny, legal in the States and you're legal in the rest of the world. Our drinking age is so "old." Anyway, we got a lot of stares from people as we sat outside and enjoyed just chatting. Once done we headed back to the hotel and had kind of planned to go back out once we warmed up but instead we watched Midsomer Murders (great show!) and Ghostbusters 2, both with Danish subtitles because they were on the Danish channel. I practiced speaking some words (basically repeating phrases I'd seen written) and we enjoyed just chilling.

Sunday we did two major tourist things: a canal tour and the observation tower. Breakfast at the hotel, a quick look at e-mail and tours and off we went. We chose the Under the Bridges of Stockholm tour because it wasn't insanely expensive. I WILL go back to Stockholm one day and take a tour of the archipelago. The city itself is made up of some 18 islands and the water is simply beautiful. In fact, the city takes pride in the water being so clean, even with all the people. 2 million people live in Stockholm and it's suburbs. Granted, there aren't that many people in Sweden when you leave the major city but still. Anyway, the tour was good. There was a ginormous vodka barrel at one point (empty) and numerous comments on how Absolut Vodka is a huge export. I thought that was kind of funny. We went through two locks as the city water ways connect the Baltic Sea to the East with some lake that I cannot pronounce to the West. Very cool. There was an adorable little boy in front of us and he kept smiling and giggling with us. :-) There were some Americans behind us and I am sad to say I was definitely judging them. They were very loud upon first sitting down and getting their headphones situated and then continued to talk as the tour started. That's livable but this was the kicker: we are passing beautiful buildings, greenery along the water way, picturesque blue skies and one of the woman says "This reminds me of the Jungle Cruise at Disney World." Oh. My. Goodness. Seriously?? DISNEY WORLD?? We are in Stockholm. This city is older than our country! And you compare this natural and historic beauty with Disney World??? Good night! Ugh, allow me to get off my high horse. Eventually they quieted down and the smiling little boy in front of me made everything better. :-) After the tour we started off towards kaknastortet (which I am almost positive I did NOT spell correctly). Turns out it was an hour away walking. We found that out after walking for an hour. :-) 30 crown and 30 seconds later we were 30 floors up and looking out upon absolutely beautiful views of Stockholm and the surrounding country. Green fields and trees, blue skies, beautiful water, and a wonderful view of the city met us at every turn. We ate a little up there and then briskly walked back to the hotel. We made it back in an hour which was quite noteworthy since we walked from the harbour to the tower in an hour. Milla was able to catch her train and I had more than enough time to get to the Stockholm-Arlanda airport. Once there I again found myself in a tax-free store. This time, though, I was on the look out for an XXL bag of Twist candies. These are Swedish chocolates and candies and Milla and I had eaten some the night before. So now I have Swedish and Finnish (thanks to Milla) chocolates to bring home--if I can keep them that long! I found Antoine and Jeroen and we all boarded. I was again at the window and again had to make people move but these people were much nicer. They were Danes who had also spent just the weekend in Stockholm shopping. At one point the woman was checking out the pilots and told me they were young and in the same breath asked if I was single. We laughed about that a bit and then they slept. I looked out the window and read most of the time. Sweden is very beautiful. When I landed on Friday I couldn't turn away from the window I was so drawn to the nature I was seeing. I was, however, glad to be returning to Copenhagen. This is "home" right now, a place I feel comfortable and where I knew I could rest. In fact, on the way to the airport Friday I found myself almost ready to cry. I'm not entirely sure why but I remember being somewhat upset that I was leaving Copenhagen for the weekend. If I can't handle leaving the city for the weekend, how will I handle going back to the States in August? I guess that question will be answered in due time. I'm not ready to leave. I don't think I ever really will be, though I miss my family and friends. Anyway, the flight was uneventful (except for the beautiful scenery) and we landed. Antoine, Jeroen and I all bought train tickets and then Jeroen and I ran to catch the one we needed. We had a nice chat and then he got off at the Central Station. I wish I knew I was going to see them again because it was fun having a little adventure but there being "familiar" faces at the beginning and end. Anyway, I got to Hellerup and missed my bus by a minute. I put my iPod on and smiled and jammed out for half an hour. The bus came, dropped me off and I walked home. Haha, home--interesting how this is home after just 3 weeks. It's not totally home because it's not mine, per say, but I know you know what I mean. I quickly unpacked a majority of things, picked an outfit for today, called home and went to bed sometime after 11:30.

That brings me to today! 6:30 came way too early but I was up and getting ready and even got the chance to talk to Brijette! I really can't tell you what these short conversations do for me. My day just goes better and my spirit is lifted. God knows I need people and provides them when I least expect it. :-) Got to work and checked the reaction before 9. Most of my work was during the morning: reaction, analysis, cleaning. Lunch was fun, though, as always. Esben, Klas, Arkady and Kresten all asked about my weekend. We also ate outside, which meant using plastic utensils. Funny thing: I broke my fork cutting the duck I was having. Now, I have broken these before and they all know that so I went back in and grabbed two more forks, just in case. Well, near the end of lunch I also managed to break my knife. Yeah, I guess it was more funny if you were there. :-) Klas, Esben and Kresten spent lunch exchanging jabs about Danes and Swedes and a couple other people groups. I love it. They seriously make my day. :-) Back to work after lunch but I didn't have much to do. I have been updating two PowerPoint's and trying to start a paper of sorts but it's hard when we keep making new decisions each day. Eventually I was chatting with Esben and found out he's never been on the canal tour here in Copenhagen but has always wanted to go. That is one thing I really want to do and I had already been considering asking these guys if they would want to go with me. I know they don't do a lot on the weekends (well, relaxing is quite a time-consumer :-)) but still, I'm working on getting up the courage to ask them Wed or Thurs so we'll see. I left work about 4:30 and met Hin on the train. Guess what? She's pregnant! Totally didn't know that and it's very exciting. :-) Baby is due in December. We chatted about what she'd done this weekend and how she will ask me on Friday if I'm still free to visit her favorite pancake place--trust me, I will be free! She keeps raving about these pancakes almost every time I see her. :-) Then it was bus and home. I grabbed my backpack, some money and biked down to the store to get bread and chocolate and meat. Chilled once I got back and eventually made dinner and just chilled again. It's already after 9 and if I'm wise I will go to bed very soon because I am incredibly tired.

So 4 days in one post. A little boring, I know, but hopefully you found some of it interesting. I can't believe I actually spent my weekend in another country. Going to Sweden here is like going to IL from WI, except you need a passport to go. It's quite an interesting experience. But I am glad to be back here and working and enjoying the life of an employee of an international company.

Prayer requests. My health is still not 100% and I'm not entirely sure why. Hopefully rest and getting back on a work schedule will help that (and not eating food that makes me sick). So please pray that I would continue to have more healthy days than not. Courage to ask people to do things with me (like the canal tour) and patience with myself and others. Also pray for the people around me, here and at home. Even while I'm far away there is so much going on in the lives of my family and my friends. As much as I love getting my 5000 words out on here I just as much love hearing about what is going on at home or wherever they may be. Oh, also pray for wisdom with money. I need to make a budget as I have received my first stipend payment as well as information about what is and is not covered. That is a task for tomorrow or Wed after work so please pray for focus, clarity of mind and wisdom.

That's all for now. Look forward to tomorrow and a shorter post. :-P
Have a wonderful day or night!
Bekah