Stockholm

Sorry that this post is really late, I have been busy with school. It is now Winter break, so hopefully I can update my blog for once. I will begin with my trip to Stockholm, which is the next noteworthy European experience following my Oktoberfest experience.

Well, it all began in Lund when I bought some train tickets to Stockholm. I sensed a small break in my studies in which I could fit in some traveling. A Swedish friend, Emma, who I met in California because she was studying abroad in Davis last year, where I go to school, has been in contact with me, and we agreed that I should go to Stockholm before it got any colder up there, so this seemed like a great opportunity to do so. I had not been there in over three years, so I was excited. I bought return trip tickets to Stockholm, and thus my journey was set in stone.

This was the first of my European voyages so far where I have been able to take a sleep-train to my destination. The Germany trip was a little less comfortable since I had to attempt to sleep on the train while only occupying a seat. The Stockholm arrangement worked out much better, and I was able to wake up in Stockholm Central Station, ready to take on the city. It was refreshing to walk into a city fresh for me to explore. Although I had been to the city before, I had not paid much attention to where everything was, since I did not have the foresight to know that I would venture to the city again in the future. So I had to rely on my sense of familiar landmarks, an intuition for direction, and a touristy handout map of the city. I explored the square where the central metro station is, then ventured forth to Gamla Stan, the historical part of town.

Gamla Stan is without a doubt my favorite part of Stockholm. Once one crosses the water via a bridge, passing the Royal Theater along the way, one enters into a nostalgic district that invokes feelings of something like 16th century London. The streets are all cobblestone, and it is rare to find a street that is just for cars. There is a maze of pedestrian streets to explore, and after circling around the small island, I attempted to voyage through as many as I could, until I was contacted by Emma who instructed me to meet her in an entirely differently part of the city. My destination was where she goes to school: Hersby Gymnasium. Even though it is called a gymnasium, it translates into a school in Swedish. So I traveled to a metro station, and traveled across one of the main shopping streets in the city along the way there.

Eventually I met up with Emma in an entirely different part of town. I sat in on one of her classes, which was a cool experience, because I was able to see what a typical school day was for a Swede. There was no English to help me understand anything, of course. I doubt that many tourists get an opportunity to sit in on a class in Sweden, so I really appreciated the experience. One interested thing that I noted about this school was that apparently guys who had motorbikes were supposedly cool. Very few people drive in Sweden, most take the bus, the metro, or a bike, so a motorbike is supposedly classy. In Lund it is pretty similar except there is no metro and there is not as much emphasis on motorbikes. After Emma got out of school, we went to downtown Stockholm, where she showed me some of the highlights of the city, including Konserthuset, the building where the Nobel Prize is awarded (I actually recognized this square from 3 years before, I think my family saw a movie at the theater located there), as well as the mall where their late foreign minister, Anna Lindh, was stabbed. Things like that never happen in Sweden, so it was quite a traumatic experience for the Swedes. There were many other places to see in Stockholm, so Emma and I went to a coffee shop and she was kind enough to map out some places that I should see. Emma had to leave after giving me this advice, and I decided to check in to my hotel. I rested for a little bit, then went out to an area that Emma recommended to see what the Stockholm nightlife had to offer.

The next day, I decided to check out some of the touristy sites that Emma had recommended. After a full day of venturing into various parts of the city, I had another night out on the town. The next day, I decided to go to Gamla Stan once again. I bought a mocha and a piece of white chocolate cheesecake at Kaffekoppen and Chokladkoppen. These bulidings are vary famous and historic, and are located at a very famous square in Stockholm where the
Stockholm Bloodbath occured in which about 82 people were beheaded in 1520. Interestingly enough, it is also the same square where the Nobel Prize museum is located. After the refreshing food from the historic builidngs, I went on to the Royal Palace to witness the changing of the guard. After this ceremony, I went to the Stadshuset, or the city hall of Stockholm. It was here that I met another tourist, hailing from Australia, although presiding in London. She was a keen photographer, and made a good companion to check out the other tourist sites. We went to a great church called Storkyrkan located in Gamla Stan next. It has an impressive statue of St. George and the Dragon, a depiction of St. George slaying the dragon, which I believe symbolizes Sweden breaking free of Denmark's rule, but could just be a purely religious monument dedication to St. George for bringing Christianity to Scandinavia. Perhaps it is a mixture of the two. There is also a magnificent replica of the statue located along one of the many cobblestone streets in Gamla Stan. After scouring around Gamla Stan, we managed to find the narrowest street in the city, which is less than a meter wide. Apparently many of the streets in Gamla Stan are designed to be just wide enough to allow a single horse and carriage to pass through. That makes sense, since I doubt that engineers are planning current road designs to be suitable for transportation 500 years from now. We also met and chatted with an American tourist and her Swedish host while checking out this alleyway or street. Eventually we continued our tourist excursions, and I went my own way to have another night out on the town.

The next day, I decided to take a tour of Stadshuset. I was unable to the previous day because the tours offered in English were already complete for the day. It was well worth the wait, and I was very impressed by the building, especially by the room where the Nobel Prize banquet is held (it is amazing how so many people can fit into a relatively small room) and by the golden room, which glitters with Swedish symbolism. As if the tour wasn't impressive enough, we were also blessed with an intelligent and beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed Swedish woman as our tour guide. It seems that this is the norm in Scandinavia, however. After touring the Stadshuset, I rushed to a different district of Stockholm to meet with a girl a know from Lund who is a native of a suburb of Stockholm. We met up and had lunch at Kaffekoppen. After lunch, we went out separate ways and I explored more of the tourist sites that Emma had recommended. One of the areas that I decided to visit was an island (Stockholm is basically composed of several islands, there is water everywhere, and it is very beautiful) where famous museums such as the Vasa Museum (featuring a ship that sunk as it left harbor, and which I saw 3 years prior), an open-air museum featuring historic buildings, and more. Most of the museums were closed, as it was getting late, so I decided to head to a relatively near-by radio tower where a great view of the city was supposedly visible. Along the walk to the tower, I passed the United States Embassy, which was a heart-warming experience, since I had not seen American soil for quite a long time. Eventually I reached the tower, after taking a bus, and I was able to see a great view of Stockholm. It was amazing, and there is even a restaurant at the top so one can wine and dine and have a great view of the city. After a breathtaking view, I traveled back to the center of Stockholm to meet up with the Australian tourist I had met previously at Stadshuset. We had dinner at TGIF, which is one of Emma's favorite spots to meet up with her friends before going out. After a good steak dinner, we headed to the Absolut Icebar Stockholm, a bar that is kept at something like -5 degrees Celsius, and which is constructed completely out of ice. It is based on the Icehotel in the northern part of Sweden, or Lapland. The people who construct the Icebar (onc every 6 moths or so) are the same who bulid the famous Swedish Icehotel every year. There are several Absolut Icebars scattered throughout the planet, and they are a very fun place to have an ice-cold drink. In order to enter, you have to wear a big parka which looks like something from a sci-fi movie. The glasses are even hollowed out blocks of ice, and it is just a very unique experience in every imaginable way. After experiencing the Icebar, my Stockholm trip was essentially complete. After the Icebar, I gathered my luggage, and got on the train which would take me back to Lund. I had an awesome time in Stockholm, and it is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world. If I was given the opportunity to go to Stockholm again, I would drop whatever I was doing and head back. At any rate, I went to bed on the sleep-train, and woke up when it was approaching Lund. Once I got back to Lund, I had to continue my regular non-tourist lifestyle, but at least I was still in Sweden, and that is something to be thankful for =).

Stockholm Central Station

A typical street in Gamla Stan

Me in front of the St. George and the Dragon statue in Gamla Stan

One of the major shopping streets in Stockholm

A church in central Stockholm

Emma showing me around Stockholm

One of the main squares in Stockholm

White chocolate cheesecake and mocha from Chokladkoppen and Kaffekoppen

Me in front of Kaffekoppen and Chokladkoppen

Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace in Stockholm

Me in front of Stadshuset

Me on the narrowest street in Stockholm in Gamla Stan (Old Town)

The Golden Room inside the Stadshuset

The Blue Room inside Stadshuset, so named because the architect planned to paint the room blue, but changed his mind once he saw the nice looking red brickwork. The Nobel Prize banquet is held here every year.

Stockholm at dusk, as seen from the radio tower

Absolut Icebar Stockholm

Absolut Icebar Stockholm

Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace at Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden

A view of Stockholm from the radio tower at dusk

Oktoberfest 2007

Well, I have officially survived Oktoberfest 2007 in Munich, Germany. It was a lot of fun, and the city of Munich is absolutely beautiful. I left on a train from Lund to Copenhagen, Denmark. I then took a train which crossed the water between Denmark and Germany on a fairy and ended up in Hamburg, Germany. I had two hours there to explore the city before I caught my connecting train to Munich. I arrived in Munich on Friday morning, and took a train to my campground, a place called Thalkirchen. I set up my tent in the rain, which was a little miserable, but once I finished I had a satisfying sense of relief because I knew that at least I now had a place to stay in Munich. I then ventured out into the unknown city of Munich. I arrived back in the central train station and walked towards Oktoberfest, which is held in a huge square in Munich. There are two parallel streets in the square; one with all the beer tents and one with all of the carnival rides. When I arrived at the square, the place looked pretty desolate because of the rainy weather. I decided to go into a beer tent that one of my German friends recommended; Hacker tent.

I got into Hacker pretty easily because I was traveling alone at this point. I was able to get a table quickly because I was alone, and I was fortunate to sit next to some Californians as well as some Germans. Hacker tent is very beautiful, with a painted blue sky and painted mural of an old styled Bavaria. It was pretty crazy how many people were crammed into each beer tent. I have never seen so many people drinking in one place before. And the beer is served by the liter in large German beer steins. One has to pace himself at Oktoberfest because beer is served in such large volumes, and it is important to stay in the tent all day, because that is where all of the action is. There were also very large pretzels served in the tents, about the size of your head. People were eating sausages, chicken, and other types of Bavarian food. The food was really good but the beer was amazing. There were many people dressed in lederhosen and traditional Bavarian clothing. I spent the entire day in Hacker, along with all of my new friends. It is amazing how fast time goes when you are having fun. I made my way back to the campground to prepare for another fun day of Oktoberfest.

When I woke up the next day and emerged form my tent, I looked just across the street and saw some of my California friends who are in my Swedish class. I was very fortunate to have found them, and it was a random occasion to find them even though I knew that the would be at the same camping place as me. The camping ground looked more like a refugee camp than a camping ground because there were so many people there for Oktoberfest. I left for Oktoberfest with my friends and we tried to get into the Hofbräu tent but we were to late and it was already full. There were many more people outside this time because it was Saturday and the weather was beautiful. The beer tents fill up quick and one should really get to the tent by 8 am if one is trying to get a table with a group of friends. My friends and I decided to explore the city of Munich instead and see the actual Hofbräuhaus, which is a very famous building in Munich. We had some good Bavarian food and beer at a nearby restaurant, and soaked in the nostalgic atmosphere of this historic city. By the time we finished our meal, the streets were buzzing with people, and it seemed that people from all over the world were in Munich. I do not see how Munich could function with so many people the whole year, but they someone manage to handle it for Oktoberfest. We went to some other beer houses and then went to the top of a church tower where we had a wonderful panoramic view of Munich. The city was enormous, and much flatter than I had expected. The mountains were much farther away than I thought they would be. After the church, we tried to get into Hofbräuhaus, but it was full. We went back to the Oktoberfest festival and managed to get a table on the outside of the Paulaner tent. We had more good Bavarian food and beer there, and spent the rest of the day there. I met many more Germans as well as other international people. It was Italian weekend at Oktoberfest, and it was not hard to tell, because the Italians are a very rowdy crowd. Security guards had to frequently attempt to calm down the crowd. It was a fun night to say the least. After the Paulaner tent, I decided to go to the nightclub area in Munich called Kunstpark Ost. It is where everyone my age seems to go once the beer tents close down. It is a very exciting area with many clubs to chose from. They were packed because of the occasion, so I still had to wait in line to get into many of the places. I had a good time there, then took a taxi back to my campground.

On the third day of Oktoberfest, I packed up my gear, left the campground, and I decided to explore the city of Munich before I went to the festival. I saw most of the important buildings, and Munich is really pretty. I could definitely live there. There is a nice blend of historic architecture, and the city is so big that I do not think I would ever get bored. It was easy to spend most of the day walking around and discovering this great city. There is nothing that even comes close to comparison in America to Munich. One interesting thing I noted is that all of the taxis are Mercedes, and all of the police cars are BMWs. That is just one example that illustrates the luxury of this city, which is one of the wealthiest in Germany. Words do not really do the beauty of the city justice and pictures hardly capture the real experience of witnessing it for yourself. After my eyes were satisfied by all of the sites, I decided to go to a restaurant and have a square Bavarian meal with some good Bavarian beer. I went to Donisl, which is affiliated with Hacker, the beer tent I where I spent my first day of Oktoberfest. I had some Bavarian sausages there along with a wonderful Bavarian Hefeweizen, which is a German wheat beer. I am truly a fan of Bavarian Hefeweizen now, and I feel spoiled. I do not think that any beer even compares in the United States. It has a fruity aroma and a sweet taste. After thoroughly enjoying my meal, I headed back to the festival.

On my way back to Oktoberfest, I ran into a German and a couple of Swedes. The were heading in the same way I was going, so we traveled together. We walk around the festival and attempted to ride one of the carnival rides, but the lines were too long because it was another beautiful day at Oktoberfest. We scoured the tents for some open space and finally found a place to sit outside of the Löwenbräu tent. There were many people here, naturally, and it was a great time. I talked to the two Swedish girl about my stay in Lund, and they were happy to hear about Califorina. The German guy was fun to talk to as well, and his family met up with us at the tent for even more company. As the day went on, I was forced to finally leave Oktoberfest to catch my train back home. I said goodbye to my new friends and ventured out to the train station, satisfied with my Oktoberfest experience.

I took the same route to get back home, with my train stopping in Hamburg, then heading to Copenhagen by crossing the water on a ferry, and finally back home to Lund. It was nice to be back and finally get a good nights rest on my bed. It was a lot of fun to go to Oktoberfest. I have survived it once, and I am sure that I could survive it again if I am ever fortunate enough to return. Munich is a great city, and I hope that I can visit it again. Even if I do not, I now have memories of Oktoberfest that I will cherish forever.

My home for Oktoberfest 2007

Munich Hauptbahnhof (main station)

Hacker beet tent

inside Hacker

a German and me in Hacker

Hofbräuhaus

Californians at Ayingers

Bavarian food and beer at Ayingers

Munich

Me at the Paulaner beer tent

Kunstpark Ost

Munich

typical police car in Bavaria... BMW

typical taxi in Bavaria... Mercedes

Munich

Munich

Munich

Munich

Munich

Munich

Munich

Donisl

Bavarian sausage and beer in Donisl

Me enjoying a real Bavarian Hefeweizen inside Donisl

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

inside Löwenbräu

A German, 2 Swedes, and Me

Crossing the water from Germany to Denmark

Ich bin ein Münchener

Wow, I have not updated my blog in a while but I have been rather busy! There is much to do and see in Lund, and I am well adapted to Swedish life now. I am taking classes that keep me pretty busy, plus there are logistical issues that I have been resolving as time goes on, such as setting up a bank account, fixing my bike, and paying bills. People here in Sweden have to deal with the same hassles that we have to deal with in the United States. On top of that, I have been trying to get my classes in order for next semster and I am trying to start the process of extending for the year because I love it here in Sweden. I have already learned a lot of Swedish, and at this rate, I should be able to have a normal conversation in Swedish at the end of the year.

As far as my spending rate, it has been pretty wild this past month because of bills, items for school, a couple items of clothing to fight the cold weather, and miscellaneous items that I have to buy or things I have to pay for. I also had to pay for train tickets to Germany and I think that Oktoberfest will be somewhat expensive, although I am camping there so I should save some money that way. I will have a more normal spending rate in October since I should have finished with all of my initial expenses by then. I will have a Swedish bank account (hopefully with money in it), I am now cooking for myself, I am walking or taking my bike to class, and I am learning how to be more frugal as time goes on, so I think October will be a much cheaper month, and from then on as well.

One of my friends said she uses a program called Quicken to manage her budget back home at UC Berkely, so perhaps I could start using that here. She is also staying for the year and is also going to Oktoberfest, so maybe I can get some tips from her about how she is planning on saving money.

I am planning on doing some travelling while here in Europe, so I will want to save money for those trips. One of my friends is from Helsinki, Finland, and he is planning on taking a fairy there some time and invited me to come. I'm sure I could stay at his house to save some money. I also have friends in Helsingborg, Stockholm, and miscellaneous countries around Europe such as Spain and the Netherlands, so I think travelling around Europe will not be too expensive. I can also go in a group and split any necesssary group expenses like hotel rooms if we need one. I found out that flights in Europe can be very cheap if you do some research online... there are many airlines similar to Jetblu that offer low quality but cheap flights. That is how many of my friends have travelled. I may go to some cheaper countries like in Eastern Europe. Although it is not the cheapest, I think I will visit Prague some time, and I have a friend from there so perhaps I can stay with him if he goes back home some time. Oktoberfest should be one of the most expensive trips I take, but I think it will be worth it.

In other news, I have chosen some prospective classes for next semester and they are basically all engineering courses, so I do not think I will get too far behind for my degree. I may take a class on Nanoelectronics, which I am pretty sure is not offered at Davis. There is also a class where I could be involved with research groups at MAX-lab... I think it is one of the largest particle accelerators in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. I am trying to choose classes that I would be taking right now back at Davis, but many of them may only be taught in Swedish so I am trying to pick a lot of different options for courses so I will really cover my bases.

I am hagning out with a lot of Swedish people now and have many Swedish friends. I spend more time with Swedish people that American people theses days, which is good for my cultural immersion. I know my Swedish corridor mates really well now, and I am even friends with some of their friends, so I am really starting to feel like a Swede. It is good to be an exchange student though, aparrently Swedish girls like guys from California, and many of them dream of going to California since a lot of the movies and music they have is from there. I thought it would be wise to remain single while I am in Sweden, at least initially, since I will posssibly be here for a year. It would not make that much sense to start a relationship so early, but we will see what happens. By the way, in case there are some of you who do not know, the women in Sweden are incredibly beautiful.

Any way, I am loving life here in Sweden, and look forward to staying for the year. I am committed to taking financial responsibility for myself so I can have this experience, and I will try my best to conserve money. I am learning more and more strategies over time. I can't really talk about all that I have done since my last blog entry because I am leaving for Germany in about an hour. In less that 24 hours I should be celebrating at Oktoberfest with people from all over the world. It will be a cool cultural experience, and I studied German for 4 years in highschool, so I am very excited to finally get to visit the country. I will try to take lots of pictures and post some of them so that you can see what it was like, and I will also post some more recent pictures taken here in Sweden.

Hej då! (goodbye)

Downtown Lund

Lund University Library

My room in Delphi H
Swedish crayfish dinner in my corridor
Me and some Swedish friends