I met my friend Otto’s friend, Petter, in a park in Stockholm upon arrival. Since I don’t have a phone here, I was happy to see Petter’s facebook familiar face in person for the first time. We walked a few minutes through a pretty park to his flat where I would stay for the next 3 nights. I would sleep on a mattress under a grand piano! Petter’s bed and Martin’s bed (the other housemate) were also in the same room, so it was like a dorm. The flat is artistic and well-furnished, though a bit untidy from student-style living. Petter played piano beautifully a few times during my stay and made me really want to pick up that instrument. Haha, maybe after I learn Spanish! Pieces of Otto’s creativity could be found around the flat – from when he used to live here. I would see him my second night in Stockholm, since the first night he was gone on a family trip. A beautiful pair of black and pink butterfly wings of stretched-silk/gauze over coat-hangers sat on the window ledge. Otto had made them sans prototypes, just made them, for a costume party. A big panel leaning against one wall, depicted a tree house scene in black lines Otto drew for a play. The leaves were heart-shaped. Pieces of paper with doodles and comics filled the main table. Paper star cut-outs and free-form poems in Swedish stuck to the bathroom walls.

My first impression of Sweden was of a calm, collected city filled with parks, people picnicking in parks or biking along the many pathways following the water, a highly planned, neat city with extra efficient use of the limited housing space. The city spreads across 14 islands connected by bridges.  I spent a lot of time reading and walking in parks; mainly I just enjoyed the outdoors-free museum of the city itself because everything was just too expensive there. I did not feel like being a tourist. Maybe this was because I fully saturated myself with fun sight-seeing in Barcelona and I knew I would be doing the same in Poland, where prices are reasonable. If I come back, I would like to get out into the archipelago and experience the nature rather than the urban part of Sweden. Sweden seemed like Maine so much, similar to the place I grew up and had already explored, so I was happy to just relax and treat it like a place of normal living. Similar black rock coastlines, sea, ships, quiet/working living atmosphere, cooler climate, slower pace, and pine trees. Typical of myself, I explored all of what I did see on foot, walking through 5 or so of the islands and along the sea pathways, snapping pictures of old churches and buildings.

I also went to Uppsala one day intending to meet a friend from my past from when I volunteered in England 4 years ago, but we never found each other at the designated meeting spot. That’s the first time that has ever happened to me. When ever I tried calling her, the line was busy or went straight to voice mail so I assumed she had either slept in or thought we were supposed to meet a different day. It was too bad not to see her, but I’m glad I went to Uppsala anyway. It’s a very pretty university town with flower gardens, parks, and waterways.

I enjoyed time with Otto and his friends. They are all vegan or vegetarian and they were constantly cooking food and sharing it: delicious, chewy bread with grated carrots and flax seed mixed in; shortbread cookies with ground peanuts in sticky/sweet sauce on top; lentils with parsnips, garlic and tomatoes; and, when Otto came home, he made some kind of broccoli, garlic, tomato sauce to go over pasta or lentils.