Michael and I walked around Gamla Stan, or Old Town, and had some drinks in a really neat underground-cellar-turned-into-coffee-shop and caught up for the first time in months. I had a berry citrus cactus smoothie there, one of two cactus drinks I've had in Stockholm, and I must profess my curiosity for them. They were both extremely refreshing and engendered a sense of summer, but I have no idea what cactus tastes like or its effect on me.
The other drink was a cactus lime cider that was slightly carbonated and slightly alcoholic, like a bacardi breezer, or whatever those drinks are. Anyway, it was awesome and REALLY green.While we were walking on the old cobbled streets of Old Town, we encountered the best painting I've ever seen. The tacky tourist shops are littered with souvenirs with the Crown Princess and her betrothed posing for cheesy post-wedding photos. You can get a magnet with a thermometer, a mug, a small tray, Swedish crystal plates, even a wedding meal at IKEA in their honor. It's awful/wonderful. Anyway, I had to stop Michael in the middle of our stroll to reflect on this terrible-quality painting someone did of the princess and her fiancé riding a unicorn over the city of Stockholm. FTW! If I have time tomorrow, I'm going back to the shop to inquire as to the artist's information.
Other fun things in Stockholm include going to the Absolut Ice Bar, which seems to have been haphazardly built into the Nordic Sea Hotel, made out of Lapland ice. They serve you one Absolut cocktail in a glass made of ice, which is later used to maintain the cold atmosphere for the bar. Michael and Jennie loved it - well, Michael loved it - but it's not something I'd ever recommend to anyone. It's tiny and cold. We went to see a show at a nice venue located right off of the port called Debaser, featuring a Swedish band and a band from Sacramento. I don't recall the music too much, but I was so happy to be seeing a live show again. Yesterday, it was cold and rainy as we took the long hike to the largest IKEA in Europe (and probably the world) for some traditional Swedish meatballs covered in gravy and served with some lingon berry sauce (similar to cranberries) and potatoes. Oh, Jesus and Heaven in my mouth! I'm not going to lie, that was probably my favorite part of the trip.
When we got home, we made dinner and watched The Princess Diaries for some reason. We were watching the US-England futbol match while we were making dinner, and then the movie came on after the game and we were transfixed by the awful American view of European culture and small, quaint European countries. The movie was on in honor of the royal wedding, of course.
All of my down time has been dedicated to doing research before going to Ireland; I have had to learn the details of 400 years of political strife and civil unrest and consequently write 4 pages of information in a matter of a few days so that I could take a quiz before the program starts tomorrow. In fact, that's why I stayed home tonight while Jennie and Michael went to a Hirvasoya family celebration; I've finally taken the quiz and now I need to make sure that everything is in order before I travel to Ireland tomorrow. It's also my birthday at midnight, and I want to make myself a pie.
Tomorrow consists of mostly last-minute packing and a lot of traveling, so it's not really going to be much of a birthday. I've hit an emotional slump with being abroad and being away from home for so long. I didn't feel this way at all in Aalborg because it felt like I was coming home. We'll see how things change once I'm in Northern Ireland. It's going to be an emotional trip, given the nature of what we're studying. Prepare yourself, Dani.
