After my 16 hour sleep I walked around looking for breakfast, and went into a cafe called Blueberry in an underground mall. I ordered a "Super C" smoothie (a measure for my health) and breakfast sandwich. I couldn't tell you exactly what was in the smoothie or sandwich. There was cheese, arugula, oats, some kind of seed, a white spread that was neither butter not mayonnaise nor cream cheese, and something pink: sauerkraut? Pickled ginger? Your guess is as good as mine. I just wish I hadn't waited 20 mins to ask if it was ready because apparently they're pre-made.

Next I went out to the free Old Town walking tour. It was pretty amazing to see the very old city and hear about all the history that happened at the grounds on which we stood. We saw a few cool sculptures, the Royal palace, Stockholm's smallest alleyway, some churches (one supposedly the worlds oldest), the site of the Stockholm bloodbath, some traditional restaurants, and heard a lot about Stockholm's history, politics, and lifestyle. I met some Finnish girls who walked back most of the way with me, and directed me how to get back to the hostel.

I stopped at the grocery store to get some sauce and cheese to go along with the hostel's unlimited free pasta supply. I bought the least expensive stuff I found, which happened to be what they call "fungus sauce" (fungus being a slightly off putting term for mushrooms). I also picked the least expensive yogurt off the shelf for breakfast, but it turned out to be some kind of nasty rice pudding, which I only discovered upon tasting it one morning and realizing with horror it's very chunky texture. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back at the hostel in the kitchen I met a 21 year old woman from New Zealand and two Australian boys (21 & 26). We all stayed up late talking. This was my first time really talking to anyone since I arrived, and it made me feel so much less alone. That night I face-timed with my parents, which both comforted me and made me slightly homesick. The girl left on a train early the next morning, so I went on a walk with the boys to Rosendahl, a massive organic garden that looks like it fell straight out of a fairy tale. It felt really nice to have company, and I felt a sense of elation as we enjoyed the most beautiful stroll on a perfectly clear blue day, the first time I saw sunlight since I arrived in Sweden.

I enjoyed the crunchy autumn leaves, a beautiful labyrinth, warm greenhouses, and a cafe where many of the dishes are made exclusively from what is grown in the Rosendahl garden. That's where I got my Swedish meatballs, served with bread, pickled carrots, beans, lentils, and leeks all grown right there (the bread was not grown of course, but it was baked from grain grown at Rosendahl). It was the most delicious and beautiful meal.

After Rosendahl I split up with the boys and headed to Vasa Museum, which is known for the restored 333 year old Viking ship on premise. It was pretty cool and I spent a couple of hours there before heading back and walking around Ostermalm, which is next to the neighborhood in which I stayed. I thought about going out as it was Friday night, but I wore myself out during the day and just wasn't up to it. Instead I went to a cafe to have fika (the Swedish tradition of having coffee with a sweet pastry) with a local. That night back at the hostel I face-timed my sister before falling into a good night's sleep.

On Saturday afternoon I met with Diandra, a lovely friend I met back in the dorms at college. I had no idea that she lived here until she saw my albums on facebook, and messaged that she was nearby. It was another bright blue day in Stockholm as I walked alongside a young marching band that happened to be playing on the street at that moment. It was idyllic to an absurd degree. I was excited to catch up with Diandra, who I was friends with for a year, six years ago. She walked me all around the trendy island of Sodermalm, including photo opps at the best viewpoints, hip secondhand stores, adorable shops where the owner/artisans create their products right before customers eyes, and lunch (I had a very Swedish quesadilla, complete with chickpeas, parsley and pickled onion).

We parted ways and I walked through Sodermalm for a bit, then stopped for fika back at the old town island. The reason people love fika in Sweden, by the way, is because both their coffee and their pastries are more delicious than anything easily accessible in the U.S. At the coffee shop I met a person with whom I had an enlightening conversation. We talked about Swedish lifestyle and politics. When the topic turned to the current refugee situation, I expressed that based on what I read in the American news, I expected to see a lot of refugees in some state of crisis. He gently asked how a refugee looks, and how crisis looks. He went on to say that he's a Somalian refugee, what it means for him to live in Sweden. I left feeling humbled and grateful for the conversation.

Back at the hostel that night I supped with the Australian boys, two Chilean women, a Canadian, and a New Yorker. I enjoyed the conversation and cultural exchange. After dinner I spent some time in the hostel's sauna before another excellent night of sleep.

Sunday was the day before my birthday. I had bought a 4 country youth rail pass with the understanding that it had to be activated before I turned 26. I walked to the train station and it took me quite a while to find the right place to activate my pass. I finally got there, got a ticket to speak to a train agent and waited for my turn. It was about an hour and a half from the time I left my hostel to the time I got to speak to an agent, who abruptly informed me that I needed my passport to activate my rail pass.

I stopped for fika on the way back to the hostel, as it is quickly becoming my favorite cultural tradition. I picked up my passport, hung out with people at the hostel for a bit, finally got back to the train station and activated my pass!!! On the walk back I had street food for lunch, and was thrilled to discover that people eat hot dogs with mashed potatoes on top! Best street food ever; mashed potatoes are a key to my heart.

I spent the rest of the day walking around Sodermalm, the hip part of town that Diandra had taken me to the night before. Back at the hostel I chatted with the new people who came in that day (4 people from California!) and face-timed with my darling Sophie back home. I fell asleep before the clock struck midnight.

I woke up to a whole slew of birthday greetings on facebook, which was especially nice because it wasn't even my birthday in the US yet but I knew my loved ones had me in mind. After a delicious fika, I walked to Skansen, which is on the same island as Rosendahl. It is a gorgeous walk along the water, lined with ships that would be too easy to just step onto... But I guess I'm an adult now, and such novelty is criminal.

They say that Skansen is the worlds first open air museum. It features preserved Scandinavian architecture from the past half dozen centuries, which you can see in my facebook photos. There is a whole section of Scandinavian animals (wolverines, wolves, bears, lynxes), a farm, an aquarium, and a zoo. The zoo has a couple of rooms where there is no barrier between me and the monkeys, and as they ran above my head I reached up and touched a tail! I also groped a peacock, stroked a tarantula, and petted a manta ray. It was pretty extraordinary.

I left Skansen around 430pm, at which point the the sun was already setting. I felt nervous about walking back alone in the dark because this island has a lot of forested area. This was the first time that I felt nervous about safety the whole time I was in Sweden. Sweden feels incredibly safe; I noticed that half of cyclists don't even lock up their bikes when they leave them. But I was warned that the only crime to be wary of (besides pickpocketing in
city centers) happens in forested areas at night. Before I left Skansen, I asked a woman for the safest and fastest way to get off the island, and she directed me to a well-lit route that would still be populated for the next half hour as the sun went down.

Once I crossed over the bridge to the old town island I felt safe again as it was bustling with people. I went back to the hostel to have dinner, change my clothes, and open a very sweet birthday card from some of my loved ones back home. That evening I went out to ice bar, which was way too cool. The walls, floor, bar, tables, and glasses were all carved from ice, much of it with intricate designs of Sweden's landscape. I was given a big warm poncho and gloves upon entry, where I enjoyed a couple of drinks and dancing with the few other people who were out on a Monday night. All in all, it was good fun. I stayed about an hour before walking back to the hostel. Just outside of the hotel that has ice bar, I met someone who pointed to a nice restaurant on the block and asked to take me to lunch there tomorrow, and I agreed.

The next day we met for lunch. I ordered a salad because I was craving greens, and to my surprise it came topped with some kind of shrimp mayonnaise salad of sorts. Then we went to a professional soccer game that his friend was playing in, which was fairly fun. Afterward I went back to the hostel, did my laundry, packed my bags, talked to my dear friend Dalya back home, and worked on this blog update.

Yesterday afternoon I caught the train to Gothenburg, Sweden. It was a 4 hour ride, which I spent mostly sleeping after meeting the people around me- a mother and two daughters on their way to vacation in Luxembourg, and a Mormon boy from Ohio headed to a mission. When I arrived I went to the tourist information kiosk to ask which metro to take to my hostel, but there was no one there to ask, just pamphlets and a machine. I got on a coffee shop's wifi network to look up walking directions, and took off on foot with my ~60lb backpack for an hour walk.

I arrived exhausted at the hostel at 4:10. Apparently anyone who works at the hostel leaves at 4. There was a message posted that read "Don't worry if you arrive past 4, we ALWAYS send you a message with the codes you need to get in" (their capitalization, not mine). Alas, I had received no codes.

There was an emergency phone number to call, but I knew how expensive it would be to make a phone call here. I tried to make a google voice account, but apparently it had to be done on a real computer, so I got in touch with my family and my wonderful mother set up the account for me. Still it turned out I couldn't make international calls from google voice. I bit the bullet and called from my regular phone, but got a message saying all the numbers the hostel had listed were invalid. I asked the few hostel guests who walked past me for help, but no one spoke English, so I squeezed in behind a guest before the door closed. I walked around looking for someone to help me, but not one person I asked spoke English.

At this point I was hungry, and I knew there was a market next door. I rigged the doors with cards between the locks and prayed that no one would arrive and properly shut the door while I grabbed dinner. Luckily I moved fast, and no one touched the cards I put in, so I was able to get back inside. I sat down and ate my salad, deciding I would sleep on the couch in the common room because I had already paid for this hostel and any other was too far of a walk.

One of the people I had tried to ask for help earlier approached and asked if I still needed help. I said yes and he brought me to another guest that spoke English! I told him my situation and he called the help line for me, got me the codes and my room key, and showed me to my door. I almost cried at him because I was so relieved, but managed to hold it in as I hugged out my thanks and entered the room. It's a four bed room, but last night I had just one roommate who left town today on a very early flight. She is from Japan but lives in Scotland, and I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with her late into the night.

Now it's afternoon in Gothenburg, I'm here until November 1st, and I'm ready to see what this city has to offer! Hopefully I can find something fun to do for Halloween :)

Thanks for reading, if anyone got this far in. I know it's a lot to post a week at once... It's a lot to keep up with daily blogging too though! Til next time.