Today I arrived in Stockholm for my annual MRI conference, and I will try to be good at writing down my experiences this week so that my mom knows I'm doing fine and having fun :)
I know probably 20 words in Swedish now, but it's impressive how much I can guess based on general language deciphering skills and hefty help from context clues. I had a 7:15am flight from Heathrow, which required a 0400 bus, which required a 0315 wake up and a very supportive Dave to get me to the Oxford bus station in one groggy piece. I was surprised to see the bus more crowded than usual, despite the odd hour; 4am is a very happening time at Gloucester Green. A few other people from my Oxford lab were also on the same (brutally) early schedule, but had a slightly different flight booked, so we parted ways after the bus and met back up in Stockholm. One thing for early morning plane-commuting: I napped the entire bus ride and the entire plane trip and probably recouped about 3 hours of my beauty sleep. Not my prettiest day, perhaps, but I wasn't looking or feeling as bad as expected.
My first impression upon landing at Arlanda was that the terminal was exceedingly sexy. It was all vertical glass and muted dark brown wood flooring. The entire place operated with silent and smooth sliding glass doors (none of your rattling grocery store equivalent) and the waiting area chairs were vaguely reminiscent of the Poang (sans IKEA fabric choices). I met up with Rob (another post-grad student from Oxford) and we took the high-speed direct train to the center of Stockholm. Together we navigated the central station, combining my surprisingly successful word-guessing and the overlap of his fluent Dutch with actual Swedish, and successfully purchased 7-day passes for all local public transportation. We eventually swished down to the convention center to register and receive our super hip conference bags and nametags, before returning to hotels for pre-dinner naps (joy!).
We met up again, with Dan (also Ox) and some London friends, to head west for a unique Swedish experience: April 30th is the big Walpurgis festival night, where bonfires are set to fend off witches and demons while Swedish songs are sung by choirs and folksingers. Think Swedish version of a folksy springtime Halloween. The biggest celebration in Stockholm is held at Skansen, a MASSIVE outdoor "museum" that was initially created to give city dwellers a glimpse into traditional country life. We will definitely be returning to see more of the authentic houses and farms, along with the moose and bears and wolverines. There are also many docents dressed in traditional clothing to explain how things work etc. Anyway, for Walpurgis the center stage area is packed with people listening to folk choirs, talking amongst themselves, eating and drinking. At 9pm the bonfire was lit (during a slightly frustrating steady drizzle)-- I was amazed at the quantity and density of the billowing smoke pouring forth onto the crowd, reminiscent of a strange sideways volcano, probably grounding all planes from traveling at tourist eye-level. We were a safe distance away, and enjoyed our Swedish meatballs (just called meatballs here, by the way) and quinoa salads and uber-expensive alcohol from a lung-friendly distance. The evening was really nice and relaxed, letting us soak up a Swedish tradition without very much faff. Good food, good company, music that reminds me of a blend of german biergarten oompah bands, christmas carols, and Woody Guthrie, and a pretty special vision of a billowing bonfire framed by the spires of the Stockholm skyline... a very nice start to my visit.
Tomorrow, I get educated. I may also get the courage to say something in Swedish to another person. Will keep you updated!
