A Wonderful Weekend in Stockholm

When I was first communicating with my host mom before I even left Alaska, one of the things that she told me was that I could come with the family to Stockholm for a weekend. That weekend, my host dad would be running in the biggest race in Sweden, the Lidingöloppet. My host mom even invited me to run in the race as well. I love to run, but the longest I’ve raced is five kilometers. I wasn't about to do a 30K (18 miles) so I declined. My actual mom was disappointed in me when she found out that I turned down the offer but there was no way I was going to be able to run that distance. Three months after I had found about about Stockholm, I was in Sweden, packing up my stuff for the seven hour car ride from Svedala . Originally, the entire family was going to go, but my younger sister had a Kempo championship that she couldn’t miss, and my host mom stayed to watch, so only my host dad, Ebba, Amanda and I would be going. The car ride to Stockholm was long to say the least. Living in Southeast Alaska all of my life, I haven’t had to go on too many road trips because my town is literally on an island with about 17 miles of road. We tried to make the ride as interesting as possible with ABBA blaring over the speakers and snacks to last the entire trip, but it was still as interesting as one would expect for a drive that long. We finally found the house where we would be staying at around 9:00 pm and immediately after a small fika of tea and bread, we all went to bed. The next morning I woke up and the first thing I thought was “I’m seventeen!” It was friday the twenty second of September and I was now officially seventeen. After breakfast I was surprised with my host family singing the Swedish happy birthday song and presenting me with a present. After we cleaned up breakfast we all loaded back up into the car to see Stockholm. The first stop was the ABBA museum. We were there for about three hours and had a blast. There were tons of interactive areas in the museum where you could sing along to ABBA songs, dance with them, and overall learn the interesting history about how they came to be one of the most famous international bands ever. After about three hours of non stop ABBA we were all a little sick of hearing “Dancing Queen” on repeat, but glad that we got to see the museum. After the museum we went to find lunch. Because Ebba lived in Stockholm during college, she was able to show us to a good spot for lunch with lots of options. I ordered a calzone that looked good and was very surprised to receive a hulking calzone larger than my head, stuffed with cheese, ham, and tomatoes. I eagerly ate it all as it was my birthday and as I like to say on special occasions, “treat, yo, self.” After lunch we walked to old town. I was determined to find some quality postcards for the cheapest possible price so every tourist trap that we passed, I had to go in. I was eventually able to find some cards that were up to my standards, but the true treasure that I found was outside of a modest shop in a side alley. As we were walking by, a bright yellow sweater caught my eye. I came to Sweden severely under packed and I’ve been looking for clothes that will keep me alive through the cold winter months so this was perfect. The sweater was soft and oversized, basically my only requirements when it comes to buying clothes of this kind and I immediately took it inside and payed for it. Exchange is expensive and you have to be careful on how much money you use, but there were no regrets attached to buying my new favorite article of clothing. Shopping, to me, could be described as an intense workout. You’re standing for hours on end, walking what seems like miles through stores and streets in uncomfortable shoes. That is why it is crucial to take breaks and fikas every now and then to rest your weary feet and get an energy boost from a hot drink. We decided to take our fika at The Espresso House and everyone was glad to just be able to sit down. There is one cake that all of my exchange student friends have been raving about for a while now and I finally decided to try it. Kladdkaka, which basically translates to mud cake is much more than its name makes it out to be. I was overwhelmed by the heavenly chocolate cake that flooded my senses. It was really good. After our much needed break we proceeded with our day and shopped until we dropped, or until we were so hungry we would drop. We found a nice Asian restaurant for dinner and enjoyed sushi before finally driving home and collapsing. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, more unique birthday.I had a wonderful day. The next day was Saturday. The day of the Lidingoloppet. We left the house early and drove to a parking lot, where we would take the bus to the actual island that the race was going to be held on. From there, Mattias had to register and get ready to run. We ate lunch in a giant tent with hundreds of other nervous runners preparing for the grueling run. After lunch we walked to the starting line and watched as wave after wave of runners took off. Then we said goodbye and goodluck to Mattias and walked to where we could see the start more clearly. After the gun went off, Ebba and I had about four hours to follow the course and cheer on runners. After Mattias finished the race, we followed the crowds of people through the mud that was once a giant lawn but was trampled under the feet of the thousands of contestants and onlookers to the busses. When we got home we were able to enjoy a delicious dinner with our hosts and we were once again extremely happy to be able to go to bed after a long, exhausting day. On Sunday, we got up early, packed our things and loaded up the car for the ride home. It was yet again mostly uneventful, but I enjoyed the time that I was able to spend with my host family. Getting home was a relief and after dinner that night I went on a run to make up for the amount of sitting that I had been doing that day. Afterwards, I went straight to bed. I already want to go back to Stockholm and see the many things that I missed on our short trip. It was an amazingly beautiful city, and despite the gloomy weather, I had a great time there.