"Y'all Know Stockholm?" "I LOVE Stockholm!"

Our first week in Brussels a friend from Atlanta who lived in Brussels for several years wrote me a facebook message with suggestions of places to go, things to see, beers to try, etc. during my stay. The detailed message overwhelmed me, leaving me unable to conjure up an adequate response. So, I said thank you, wrote a few more lines, then "I love beer." I guess I said that because she listed like 50 of the 487 Belgian beers to try. Who knows, "I love beer" is a great salutation, don't you think? Well, Taylor Hall signed on my facebook, read the message, and will not let me forget it. Three and a half months later that phrase continues to haunt me. I hear the phrase "I LOVE beer!" atleast 10x a week, some times even in French (Je aime la biere). Now we substitute beer for other things that we like, say for instance Stockholm, Sweden: "I LOVE Stockholm!"



Enough about beer and on to Stockholm... in short, it is incredible! I don't know if I liked it so much because it is unlike any place I have visited in Europe or if it is just an awesome place. Maybe both? The air is cool and crisp, the city is clean (no grafitti whatsoever), the people are friendly, English speaking, and inviting (a rare trait of people in Europe I must say) and it is on the Baltic. AND there are virtually no tourists! Boy, is it cold though! The sun sets at 3:00 everyday which made the 20 degree temperatures feel much colder. Originally there were five of us planning to go to Stockholm; however, only THa, Alayna, and I ended up going. We wandered around Old Towne where the Royal Palace is --- we toured the Palace and saw the crown jewels, royal apartments, and the changing of the guards. There are small shops and cafes scattered throughout the town and the a Christmas market was set up in the square. We spent most of Saturday afternoon wandering the streets, searching for coffee shops and warm restaurants to escape the cold. We ate dinner at a little restaurant called Jacobs that served excellent swordfish and a dessert with cloudberries (THa LOVES cloudberries).

On Sunday we set out wandering the streets again. Our ventures led to an island with a zoo, ship museum, an aquarium, and an outdoor musuem. We ended up in the aquarium looking at fish and cracks (see pictures). Alayna, THa and I really had the best time gallivanting the streets of Stockholm together this weekend. We did not have an agenda or a long list of things to see or do and I loved it. We wandered, enjoyed each others company and soaked up the beauty of Sweden. In short, " I LOVE Stockholm!" and it is hands down my favorite European city.