On Friday I had to get my act together. I had breakfast, then booked my hostel in Helsinki, and then booked my cruise to Helsinki. Ooo la la! I'm on the Viking Line. Apparently they compete with the Tallink line. Tallink is supposed to be slightly classier but you definitely pay for it. I was hella torn about what to do. First of all, flying was way cheap, like under $70. A shared cabin on the Viking Line was 67 euros ($89) and with the "Viking Buffet" (beer and wine included, hey hey) it was 100 euros ($133) total. My only concern there was that the cabin is small and there are two upper beds that I desperately didn't want because of the lack of headroom. I was scared that I'd get there and be stuck with one of the top beds and three loud other guys. Also, no window in that cabin. That's kinda creepy, but I'm sure it's well ventilated. The next option was a two person cabin to myself at 150 euros ($199) with the buffet. I really wanted to take this cruise and I haven't met as many people as I thought I would, so I said heck it, I'm going for the cheapo shared cabin! So I'm excited for that on Tuesday afternoon.
Then while I was working on that at the hotel, the fire alarm went off. I went outside to keep planning the trip and met a Japanese girl whose name I can't spell right now. I made her write it in my notebook, so I'll fill it in later. Anyway, she's nice but has a super thick accent so I don't quite know her whole story. She has Swedish friends and wants to work here but doesn't have a job yet. She does computer programming and said she didn't go to university. Then later I asked her, "So you didn't go to university?" thinking that everyone but Americans call college university. And she put her hand over her mouth and kinda bowed her head in classic Japanese style and said "Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You say University, I thought you mean Tokyo University! I went college, not Tokyo University." It was funny because apparently "university" in Japan means one specific college. She told me how the yen is weak and now is a good time to visit Japan. That sounds fun. So I've been having breakfast with her despite our pretty sizeable language barrier. She told me how her friend is half Japanese, half Brazilian and his girlfriend's mom insisted they speak English (as she put her hands together and bowed her head) in his presence. But he was raised in Japan and only speaks Japanese! Then she told me about a half Japanese half, black comedian that was raised in Japan. He said he wanted to take his girlfriend to get some authentic sushi. So they went to a real local place and the chef presented him proudly with California Roll! Hahah, it's funny that she can tell me funny stories despite me really struggling to understand her.
Anyway, as I was waiting outside for the fire alarm to stop, the friendliest Swedish hotel/hostel worker came out for a smoke break and actually asked where I was from and stuff. She said she works at the hotel and a McDonald's even further away from the city (west I think) and likes the change in pace. She said she works 40 hours a week at McDonald's and it's fairly high stress, so it's nice to work at the hotel in a more relaxed environment and meet travelers. She told me I should go to Drottinham Palace with the big royal gardens. So I went. Apparently this is the place where royalty lives, not actually in the Royal Palace on Gamla Stan. It was beautiful. Lots of areas roped off just to keep them free of foot traffic. Here is a panorama from the front.
This is from the garden looking back at the palace.
And this is a look back in opposite direction. It is a huge garden!
It was a wonderful outdoor experience. Then I took the stuffy tour of the inside, by that I mean the tour guide and the rooms. It really was something, though. Tapestries on almost every wall. Some Swedish royalty (can't remember details) had a great relationship with Catherine the Great (?) from Russia and so there were many gifts from Russia like a super gaudy fireplace cover that was designed in a Chinese style. Many, many portraits of these kings and queens and super creepy looking little princes lined the walls. It was fun to see the modern royalty marriages, too. There was a super beautiful kinda slight blonde girl on the tour that spoke English and had blue pants on. That's it.
Next came the Jolly Pub Crawl. In honor of my LA friends, I did not shave and I wore no undershirt. I totally dropped the ball when it came to cologne, though. I left mine in Ventura and had yet to score any free samples (more on that later). I found the pick up point in Hotorget square. Two guys were just holding up a little 8.5 by 11 sign with the design from their website. Per was a good guy, easier to hold a longer conversation with. He had a slightly curved down nose and he was balder than me but his hair was much longer. Victor was a bit better looking and had a trendy 5 days beard growth going. Per was pretty mellow for a guy organizing a pub crawl. I got the sense Victor was doing it more to go out than really build a side business. They had been doing it only since June.
I was the first there, and it was nice to talk for longer than an answer to my question. Then Nick came. He reminded me of Greg Knoll, but I get reminded of him more often that I expect. I think it was his short answers and flat personality until he joked or laughed and then you knew he wasn't so stoic. He's 24 and from Vancouver Canada and was hating on east coast Canada. He kept smoking and talking about how he was drinking some weak 3% beer from the COOP (supermarket). He had a nice t shirt on and his hair was nicely spiked and he had on some jeans and Vans maybe. I guess that doesn't really matter except when I jokingly insulted his dress up and had to tell him it was just a goof. We were at the second bar and he said something like, "Yeah, I'm not trying to get all dressed up when I go out" and I said "Oh yeah, obviously!" and gestured at his attire. He immediately shot back with something like "Well, at least I'm not like you with your..." and trailed off because he was kinda drunk (possibly high too, not sure) but motioned to my Converse. Then Adrian (yet to be introduced) said "Ok ok, let's keep it beer level, guys!" I knew I messed up because I had just met him and probably wasn't in a position to poke fun at him. Of course, he did look good, he just didn't have a collared shirt on. Nothing more came of it, so all was forgiven and forgotten.
Ok, ok, back to the other guys. Adrian and Andre were identical twin 30 year old brothers from London, and the only way I could tell them apart was Adrian had short buzzed hair and Andre (Dre as Adrian calls him) had a bit of a shaggy do. No more than 1.5 inches, though. They are great guys. They are genuinely interested in what you have to say despite the fact that they talk a mile a minute. They are kind and always give you the benefit of the doubt. Adrian does scientific communication, so he was talking about how he worked with the scientists at the new super collider in France. He said it was interesting how some people, now matter how specialized, can describe their research to you clearly. Others, obviously not! He said the worst offenders were 16 year old Intel contest winners. Basically these savant kids. But he said they went so fast and he couldn't keep up with their speed. Dre works as a graphic designer I believe. Making models of things so you don't know it's a model on screen. I didn't talk as much "business" with him.
The two leaders got 4 collectively good looking German girls to temporarily join us on the pub crawl. I say collectively because I didn't get a solid read on them. One was tall, one was short, but I saw nice clothes, white skin, make up, and blonde hair (#racism #sexism). Nick talked to them a bit, and apparently one blew smoke right in his face during an introduction. I was talking to Adrian and didn't even talk to them before they decided to head out. The leaders said they knew they wouldn't stay because they had their own group. He said it's better suited to new friends from hostels, or single travelers. I was bummed we lost them (and more so in hindsight) but Dre and Adrian said, "nah mate, tis betta they go, they keep too much to themselves". Nick agreed and told us that when the one blew smoke in his face he thought, "Well you can fuck off" and we all laughed.
Oh, the meet up time was 1930, so early! And I hadn't eaten yet. So that was my first concern. But when I met all the guys, I knew I made a good choice. The first bar we went to was a pretty mellow place. Kinda like a pub but a bit better lit. I ordered fish and chips and everyone got an Abro (with a circle above the A) after our free shot. The shot was tasty, a licorice shot. I thought it would be too strong based on the strong anise smell, but it was tasty. Not very strong alcohol wise, either. We said "skal!" (with a circle over the a) for cheers. They were playing Bee Movie with Swedish subtitles in the bar. Apparently some guy looking a bit drunk tried to buy three beers and then just got tossed by the young bouncer. I've heard Sweden has no tolerance for public drunkenness. Per told me about how renting an apartment is a huge ordeal in Stockholm. He said there is a ten to fifteen year queue just to be in the rental system. Once you're in, you're in, so there is a widely known black market for rental agreements. He said it works so no one really does anything to change it. Crazy though. On to the next bar.
At the next bar, we had our choice of a licorice shot, a minty shot, or a strawberry shot. Everyone agreed strawberry was too girly. The brothers and I liked the idea of a minty shot (for me especially after just having eaten dinner) and Nick got the licorice shot again. The minty ones were blue and Nick's was black. Skal! Boom, down the hatch. Aaaand, we just tasted anise again. It was funny, we all laughed that it tasted nothing like mint, only black liquorice. We drank Falcon beer (a Swedish beer) and didn't stay too long despite the good crowd of mostly guys. I saw a hella Swedish guy with a white training windbreaker on that had the US flag and said United States, and it's always so funny to see that. He had a typical Swedish guy haircut, shaved on the sides, long on the top and combed to one side. Maybe I'll get one that says Sweden and wear in the states. Insulted Nick's clothes, made up, moved on.
The next bar was bad news. The shot was great, like a lime margarita shot. But the upstairs was full of fans of this reggaeton artist who was there and playing a bit later. He was all decked out with a jeans vest and chains and rings and a trendy flat brimmed hat. Before I knew it, Per was talking to this cute blonde girl and I was like, what the heck? Is it really that easy to talk to girls here? He got her number and gave her a hug goodbye. All four of us pub crawl patrons went downstairs to use the restroom but it was roped off and we had to ask just to use the restroom. It seemed like they wanted to keep it separate. The stupid thing was that there were SO few people down there. It was almost empty. It looked so lame. We all had a good laugh at that and Nick went out for a smoke and Andre and Adrian joined him just because they hated the bar. Adrian convinced Per (the time keeper and general organizer) to leave in 10 minutes, not 30.
The forth bar was my favorite. It had a big aquarium in the window facing the street. It had a dimmed red interior style. They had free, incredibly salty popcorn to make you drink more. It was fairly dim and they were showing a Cheech and Chong movie behind our table. Nick was talking about how awesome those movies are and then about mushrooms in Amsterdam and how he doesn't do acid and shrooms as much anymore. They played good music, some older stuff, some rap. The bar was shaped kind of like an L and we sat at the horizontal part close to the fish tank. The brothers went to go dance and after a bit I followed to the vertical part of the L. Of course, they were essentially alone on the dance floor. Some people had spilled over from waiting at the bar, but no one was dancing. Lame. It was solid music too. Went back and found Victor talking to the three girls next to us. Wow, here again it seemed so easy to talk to girls! He was really interested in the blonde slight one, Hannah. Her friends were Josephine and... I can't remember. The friends were heavy set but nice. They went with us to the last club, and I talked to the one I can't remember her name on the way there. She was smart and fun to talk to. I like talking for more than an answer to my question with locals. Nick was talking to the other and acting a little weirder, maybe he just had his game face on. Maybe trying to be a bit more witty than me, I'm not sure. I just supported him, I wasn't too interested in hitting on these girls, just mostly talking.
The last club was bad news. So empty. The roof was neat, a bar up there with pyramids that were windows looking down to the dance floor below. Victor went down there, danced, and saw us. We laughed and he motioned for us to join him. When in Rome! But man, it was lame. We were literally the only ones on the floor for the majority of the time. The dance floor was nice, though. It had a white marble motif with a big red lit circle on the dance floor. Then about 4 guys and 1 girl joined. One tall guy offered us all flavored nuts. They were tasty and that was very kind of him! They were in a water glass, so I'm wondering if he got them from the bar.
Before the dance floor, we all went to the toilet. Adrian was waiting outside of one and I said, what's going on here. He said Nick was in there and the handle kept moving and the door kept bumping in its frame, but it wouldn't open. Adrian said, "Nick, can you get out?" and Nick muffled "It's stuck." We were kinda laughing and then I got scared because that could happen to me as I was going into the adjacent toilet. (Aside: All toilets in Sweden are small rooms with a toilet and a sink that lock with a regular door. It makes for a disinterest in gender separate bathrooms. There are sometimes signs for men and women, but Adrian and I laughed as a man came out under the women's sign and a woman came out under the man's sign. At the Stockholm Fringe Festival building, I opened the bathroom door to see two girls using the sink and thought for sure I had the wrong door. Nope, they waved me in. Urinals are usually reserved for big venues. In the aquarium bar, there was a room with only urinals. The toilet room was separate. That was odd and only sunk in after I left. It's nice because you always have privacy, though.) So I went to the bathroom and came out to find Per trying to turn the lock from the outside with a key. It wasn't going to work, the space he was trying to get the key in was too small. It was clearly made for a different tool. I don't know exactly what happened, but with more encouragement from Adrian, Nick finally came out. We all had a good laugh and later just assumed he was pulling when he should have been pushing or something simple like that. He did seem fairly drunk.
Victor was dancing with Hannah a little bit, but these Swedes seem to be shy on the dance floor. The brothers danced for a bit with the heavier girls, but the girls didn't last long. When Adrian tried to dance with the forgotten name, she held up her hands, each holding a drink, signaling, "sorry, my hands are full!" Adrian took her pinky fingers and started dancing that way, hahah.
The girls eventually left. I heard one was celebrating a birthday. Victor hugged Hannah and kissed her on the top of the head. I'm pretty sure he got her number, and I was like, damn. Then it was just us guys on the dance floor, lame. We left for another bar (not scheduled on the crawl), but it was SUPER hot and packed with older people. The brothers decided to call it a night, and Nick and I happily followed. Per and Victor said sorry it was dead, but Adrian said a few times we were ending on a high note. His repetition and my impression of the last club told me he was disappointed, and could see that.
The four of us talked about the night and the brothers kept saying the guys didn't know the right places and they weren't extroverted enough and Victor's English needed a bit of work. They didn't seem to like Victor, I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because he didn't really do anything while Per lead the gang. We went to 7 Eleven for hot dogs. We stood in line and discussed our options when the guy in front of me asked if we were talking about hot dogs. After I said "yes, what do you recommend?", he said "Burger King, across the street. Fresh burgers! You don't know how long those have been out." We all laughed, and he said he was only there for the cigarettes. It felt nice having this stranger look out for us. We still all got hot dogs, but were surprised by his candor and help. We agreed it just be a Swedish thing. The brothers said after Swedes turn 18, they do not look to their families for any help. They proposed that maybe people just look out for each other more since families aren't as close. I have no idea if that's true, but it was interesting. I should have got some pictures of this gang, but Per took a bunch. Maybe I can pull some from their Facebook page.
I got to my ending subway stop at about 320 am. The hotel info sign read 8 degrees Celsius. It was freaking freezing walking home those ten minutes! I was really surprised by the big temperature swings here in the Swedish summer.
Then while I was working on that at the hotel, the fire alarm went off. I went outside to keep planning the trip and met a Japanese girl whose name I can't spell right now. I made her write it in my notebook, so I'll fill it in later. Anyway, she's nice but has a super thick accent so I don't quite know her whole story. She has Swedish friends and wants to work here but doesn't have a job yet. She does computer programming and said she didn't go to university. Then later I asked her, "So you didn't go to university?" thinking that everyone but Americans call college university. And she put her hand over her mouth and kinda bowed her head in classic Japanese style and said "Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You say University, I thought you mean Tokyo University! I went college, not Tokyo University." It was funny because apparently "university" in Japan means one specific college. She told me how the yen is weak and now is a good time to visit Japan. That sounds fun. So I've been having breakfast with her despite our pretty sizeable language barrier. She told me how her friend is half Japanese, half Brazilian and his girlfriend's mom insisted they speak English (as she put her hands together and bowed her head) in his presence. But he was raised in Japan and only speaks Japanese! Then she told me about a half Japanese half, black comedian that was raised in Japan. He said he wanted to take his girlfriend to get some authentic sushi. So they went to a real local place and the chef presented him proudly with California Roll! Hahah, it's funny that she can tell me funny stories despite me really struggling to understand her.
Anyway, as I was waiting outside for the fire alarm to stop, the friendliest Swedish hotel/hostel worker came out for a smoke break and actually asked where I was from and stuff. She said she works at the hotel and a McDonald's even further away from the city (west I think) and likes the change in pace. She said she works 40 hours a week at McDonald's and it's fairly high stress, so it's nice to work at the hotel in a more relaxed environment and meet travelers. She told me I should go to Drottinham Palace with the big royal gardens. So I went. Apparently this is the place where royalty lives, not actually in the Royal Palace on Gamla Stan. It was beautiful. Lots of areas roped off just to keep them free of foot traffic. Here is a panorama from the front.
This is from the garden looking back at the palace.
And this is a look back in opposite direction. It is a huge garden!
It was a wonderful outdoor experience. Then I took the stuffy tour of the inside, by that I mean the tour guide and the rooms. It really was something, though. Tapestries on almost every wall. Some Swedish royalty (can't remember details) had a great relationship with Catherine the Great (?) from Russia and so there were many gifts from Russia like a super gaudy fireplace cover that was designed in a Chinese style. Many, many portraits of these kings and queens and super creepy looking little princes lined the walls. It was fun to see the modern royalty marriages, too. There was a super beautiful kinda slight blonde girl on the tour that spoke English and had blue pants on. That's it.
Next came the Jolly Pub Crawl. In honor of my LA friends, I did not shave and I wore no undershirt. I totally dropped the ball when it came to cologne, though. I left mine in Ventura and had yet to score any free samples (more on that later). I found the pick up point in Hotorget square. Two guys were just holding up a little 8.5 by 11 sign with the design from their website. Per was a good guy, easier to hold a longer conversation with. He had a slightly curved down nose and he was balder than me but his hair was much longer. Victor was a bit better looking and had a trendy 5 days beard growth going. Per was pretty mellow for a guy organizing a pub crawl. I got the sense Victor was doing it more to go out than really build a side business. They had been doing it only since June.
I was the first there, and it was nice to talk for longer than an answer to my question. Then Nick came. He reminded me of Greg Knoll, but I get reminded of him more often that I expect. I think it was his short answers and flat personality until he joked or laughed and then you knew he wasn't so stoic. He's 24 and from Vancouver Canada and was hating on east coast Canada. He kept smoking and talking about how he was drinking some weak 3% beer from the COOP (supermarket). He had a nice t shirt on and his hair was nicely spiked and he had on some jeans and Vans maybe. I guess that doesn't really matter except when I jokingly insulted his dress up and had to tell him it was just a goof. We were at the second bar and he said something like, "Yeah, I'm not trying to get all dressed up when I go out" and I said "Oh yeah, obviously!" and gestured at his attire. He immediately shot back with something like "Well, at least I'm not like you with your..." and trailed off because he was kinda drunk (possibly high too, not sure) but motioned to my Converse. Then Adrian (yet to be introduced) said "Ok ok, let's keep it beer level, guys!" I knew I messed up because I had just met him and probably wasn't in a position to poke fun at him. Of course, he did look good, he just didn't have a collared shirt on. Nothing more came of it, so all was forgiven and forgotten.
Ok, ok, back to the other guys. Adrian and Andre were identical twin 30 year old brothers from London, and the only way I could tell them apart was Adrian had short buzzed hair and Andre (Dre as Adrian calls him) had a bit of a shaggy do. No more than 1.5 inches, though. They are great guys. They are genuinely interested in what you have to say despite the fact that they talk a mile a minute. They are kind and always give you the benefit of the doubt. Adrian does scientific communication, so he was talking about how he worked with the scientists at the new super collider in France. He said it was interesting how some people, now matter how specialized, can describe their research to you clearly. Others, obviously not! He said the worst offenders were 16 year old Intel contest winners. Basically these savant kids. But he said they went so fast and he couldn't keep up with their speed. Dre works as a graphic designer I believe. Making models of things so you don't know it's a model on screen. I didn't talk as much "business" with him.
The two leaders got 4 collectively good looking German girls to temporarily join us on the pub crawl. I say collectively because I didn't get a solid read on them. One was tall, one was short, but I saw nice clothes, white skin, make up, and blonde hair (#racism #sexism). Nick talked to them a bit, and apparently one blew smoke right in his face during an introduction. I was talking to Adrian and didn't even talk to them before they decided to head out. The leaders said they knew they wouldn't stay because they had their own group. He said it's better suited to new friends from hostels, or single travelers. I was bummed we lost them (and more so in hindsight) but Dre and Adrian said, "nah mate, tis betta they go, they keep too much to themselves". Nick agreed and told us that when the one blew smoke in his face he thought, "Well you can fuck off" and we all laughed.
Oh, the meet up time was 1930, so early! And I hadn't eaten yet. So that was my first concern. But when I met all the guys, I knew I made a good choice. The first bar we went to was a pretty mellow place. Kinda like a pub but a bit better lit. I ordered fish and chips and everyone got an Abro (with a circle above the A) after our free shot. The shot was tasty, a licorice shot. I thought it would be too strong based on the strong anise smell, but it was tasty. Not very strong alcohol wise, either. We said "skal!" (with a circle over the a) for cheers. They were playing Bee Movie with Swedish subtitles in the bar. Apparently some guy looking a bit drunk tried to buy three beers and then just got tossed by the young bouncer. I've heard Sweden has no tolerance for public drunkenness. Per told me about how renting an apartment is a huge ordeal in Stockholm. He said there is a ten to fifteen year queue just to be in the rental system. Once you're in, you're in, so there is a widely known black market for rental agreements. He said it works so no one really does anything to change it. Crazy though. On to the next bar.
At the next bar, we had our choice of a licorice shot, a minty shot, or a strawberry shot. Everyone agreed strawberry was too girly. The brothers and I liked the idea of a minty shot (for me especially after just having eaten dinner) and Nick got the licorice shot again. The minty ones were blue and Nick's was black. Skal! Boom, down the hatch. Aaaand, we just tasted anise again. It was funny, we all laughed that it tasted nothing like mint, only black liquorice. We drank Falcon beer (a Swedish beer) and didn't stay too long despite the good crowd of mostly guys. I saw a hella Swedish guy with a white training windbreaker on that had the US flag and said United States, and it's always so funny to see that. He had a typical Swedish guy haircut, shaved on the sides, long on the top and combed to one side. Maybe I'll get one that says Sweden and wear in the states. Insulted Nick's clothes, made up, moved on.
The next bar was bad news. The shot was great, like a lime margarita shot. But the upstairs was full of fans of this reggaeton artist who was there and playing a bit later. He was all decked out with a jeans vest and chains and rings and a trendy flat brimmed hat. Before I knew it, Per was talking to this cute blonde girl and I was like, what the heck? Is it really that easy to talk to girls here? He got her number and gave her a hug goodbye. All four of us pub crawl patrons went downstairs to use the restroom but it was roped off and we had to ask just to use the restroom. It seemed like they wanted to keep it separate. The stupid thing was that there were SO few people down there. It was almost empty. It looked so lame. We all had a good laugh at that and Nick went out for a smoke and Andre and Adrian joined him just because they hated the bar. Adrian convinced Per (the time keeper and general organizer) to leave in 10 minutes, not 30.
The forth bar was my favorite. It had a big aquarium in the window facing the street. It had a dimmed red interior style. They had free, incredibly salty popcorn to make you drink more. It was fairly dim and they were showing a Cheech and Chong movie behind our table. Nick was talking about how awesome those movies are and then about mushrooms in Amsterdam and how he doesn't do acid and shrooms as much anymore. They played good music, some older stuff, some rap. The bar was shaped kind of like an L and we sat at the horizontal part close to the fish tank. The brothers went to go dance and after a bit I followed to the vertical part of the L. Of course, they were essentially alone on the dance floor. Some people had spilled over from waiting at the bar, but no one was dancing. Lame. It was solid music too. Went back and found Victor talking to the three girls next to us. Wow, here again it seemed so easy to talk to girls! He was really interested in the blonde slight one, Hannah. Her friends were Josephine and... I can't remember. The friends were heavy set but nice. They went with us to the last club, and I talked to the one I can't remember her name on the way there. She was smart and fun to talk to. I like talking for more than an answer to my question with locals. Nick was talking to the other and acting a little weirder, maybe he just had his game face on. Maybe trying to be a bit more witty than me, I'm not sure. I just supported him, I wasn't too interested in hitting on these girls, just mostly talking.
The last club was bad news. So empty. The roof was neat, a bar up there with pyramids that were windows looking down to the dance floor below. Victor went down there, danced, and saw us. We laughed and he motioned for us to join him. When in Rome! But man, it was lame. We were literally the only ones on the floor for the majority of the time. The dance floor was nice, though. It had a white marble motif with a big red lit circle on the dance floor. Then about 4 guys and 1 girl joined. One tall guy offered us all flavored nuts. They were tasty and that was very kind of him! They were in a water glass, so I'm wondering if he got them from the bar.
Before the dance floor, we all went to the toilet. Adrian was waiting outside of one and I said, what's going on here. He said Nick was in there and the handle kept moving and the door kept bumping in its frame, but it wouldn't open. Adrian said, "Nick, can you get out?" and Nick muffled "It's stuck." We were kinda laughing and then I got scared because that could happen to me as I was going into the adjacent toilet. (Aside: All toilets in Sweden are small rooms with a toilet and a sink that lock with a regular door. It makes for a disinterest in gender separate bathrooms. There are sometimes signs for men and women, but Adrian and I laughed as a man came out under the women's sign and a woman came out under the man's sign. At the Stockholm Fringe Festival building, I opened the bathroom door to see two girls using the sink and thought for sure I had the wrong door. Nope, they waved me in. Urinals are usually reserved for big venues. In the aquarium bar, there was a room with only urinals. The toilet room was separate. That was odd and only sunk in after I left. It's nice because you always have privacy, though.) So I went to the bathroom and came out to find Per trying to turn the lock from the outside with a key. It wasn't going to work, the space he was trying to get the key in was too small. It was clearly made for a different tool. I don't know exactly what happened, but with more encouragement from Adrian, Nick finally came out. We all had a good laugh and later just assumed he was pulling when he should have been pushing or something simple like that. He did seem fairly drunk.
Victor was dancing with Hannah a little bit, but these Swedes seem to be shy on the dance floor. The brothers danced for a bit with the heavier girls, but the girls didn't last long. When Adrian tried to dance with the forgotten name, she held up her hands, each holding a drink, signaling, "sorry, my hands are full!" Adrian took her pinky fingers and started dancing that way, hahah.
The girls eventually left. I heard one was celebrating a birthday. Victor hugged Hannah and kissed her on the top of the head. I'm pretty sure he got her number, and I was like, damn. Then it was just us guys on the dance floor, lame. We left for another bar (not scheduled on the crawl), but it was SUPER hot and packed with older people. The brothers decided to call it a night, and Nick and I happily followed. Per and Victor said sorry it was dead, but Adrian said a few times we were ending on a high note. His repetition and my impression of the last club told me he was disappointed, and could see that.
The four of us talked about the night and the brothers kept saying the guys didn't know the right places and they weren't extroverted enough and Victor's English needed a bit of work. They didn't seem to like Victor, I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because he didn't really do anything while Per lead the gang. We went to 7 Eleven for hot dogs. We stood in line and discussed our options when the guy in front of me asked if we were talking about hot dogs. After I said "yes, what do you recommend?", he said "Burger King, across the street. Fresh burgers! You don't know how long those have been out." We all laughed, and he said he was only there for the cigarettes. It felt nice having this stranger look out for us. We still all got hot dogs, but were surprised by his candor and help. We agreed it just be a Swedish thing. The brothers said after Swedes turn 18, they do not look to their families for any help. They proposed that maybe people just look out for each other more since families aren't as close. I have no idea if that's true, but it was interesting. I should have got some pictures of this gang, but Per took a bunch. Maybe I can pull some from their Facebook page.
I got to my ending subway stop at about 320 am. The hotel info sign read 8 degrees Celsius. It was freaking freezing walking home those ten minutes! I was really surprised by the big temperature swings here in the Swedish summer.
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