Hanging out in the Stockholm sun.
Even though I am very happy to be leaving this rental apartment and moving into a place of my own, I will seriously miss this view from the balcony. On days like this, Stockholm can truly feel like one of the most beautiful places in the world.
In this re-imagination of “Friends” for the Nick at Nite Upfront presentation, Ross, Rachel, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Phoebe are media/advertising buyers.
Look closely… and it’s yours truly, as Ross.
25 Random Things About Stockholm
In the spirit of all of these lists making there way across the internet, and in no particular order, I present to you 25 Random Things about the town in which I currently live. Please feel free to comment or create your own list about your town.
1. You can pay for EVERYTHING here on your credit/debit card. There is no minimum sale and they never look at you funny. You can buy a pack of gum on your card and they don’t even blink.
2. The only time I ever use cash here is when I check my coat at a club. (See number 1.)
3. It is frowned upon to talk to strangers here. Even saying hello to my neighbors is odd. They just stare past me or give me a strange look. I smiled at a lady in the grocery store once and she practically turned and ran with a look of fear in her eyes.
4. No one says “excuse me” here, because that would be “talking to a stranger.” (See number 3.) Instead, they either stand silently and wait for you to move, or they just push past you, completely ignoring that unspoken “You don’t touch me, I don’t touch you” thing that New Yorkers have.
5. You have to pay for your plastic bags in the grocery store. Or… you can bring your own. I think that’s kind of cool, actually.
6. Recycling is HUGE here. (See number 5.) It’s convenient and easy to do. It just becomes second nature.
7. Milk comes in little rectangular tetra packs. There’s no cap. You just tear a corner off the cardboard box. It takes a little getting used to.
8. Yogurt also comes in those tetra packs. Be careful when you reach into the refrigerator to put milk in your coffee. Yeah… a yogurt latte is really no good.
9. Speaking of coffee, Swedes LOVE their “fika.” A fika is a coffee break. I think it must be a national rule that it happens around 3 in the afternoon, because they really, really love their coffee breaks!
10. We get paid once a month on the 25th. Yes, everybody in the entire country gets paid on the same day. So basically, “payday weekend” is INSANE in Stockholm. You can’t get a table anywhere. BUT… wait 3 weeks, and you can go and do whatever you want, because everyone is broke. I think it’s so strange that they aren’t very good at spending their money wisely.
11. The best time to go to a club is around 2:30 in the morning, very much like NY. BUT… getting in the door on a payday weekend is almost impossible. (See number 10.)
12. Even though Swedes don’t talk to strangers, they DO love speaking English. In fact, when trying to get into a club at 2:30 am, it’s BEST to speak American English, because they will almost always let you right in.
13. Mixed drinks are measured pours, not free pours, so the amount of alcohol in them is practically non-existent to my palate. They are also too expensive. I find myself drinking a lot of beer or wine, instead.
14. We talk about the weather WAY too much. “Are you surviving winter? What do you think about the dark? Just wait till the sun comes back and you won’t recognize this town!” I’m waiting. Believe me, I am waiting…
15. Speaking of… in winter, we get about 3 or 4 hours of sunlight a day. Conversely, in summer we will have about 3-4 hours of darkness a night. Crazy, right?
16. Swedes LOVE agendas. A meeting without an agenda is basically a cry for anarchy, and is most frowned-upon. Oh, and heaven forbid you stray from the agenda. Are you mad?!
17. They also love meetings… about meetings. Let’s have a meeting to discuss how we should have our meeting. Did you bring the agenda? Sigh…
18. For the gorgeous, health-conscious, gym-friendly people that they are, they sure LOVE their candy shops. It’s like Willy Wonka-ville, on every corner. Huge plastic buckets of colorful sweets, all paid for by the kilogram.
19. I cook dinner almost every night. It’s just so easy to stop by the store and pick up something healthy to eat. I eat fish a few times a week, and rarely (if ever?) eat anything from a plastic bag or box. Not that I don’t want to. It’s just… they don’t have all that crap food here.
20. Swedes rarely go out during the week. They save all the fun for Fridays and Saturdays… on payday weekends, of course. So, if you want to go out with your friends, you really have to plan in advance. (Just check your agendas.)
21. Swedes refer to the week you are in, rather than the day or month. This takes FOREVER to make sense. For example, this is now week 12. Most people take vacations in weeks 25-27. See? Fun, right?
22. Also, dates here are in reverse… and twisted. March 15, 2009 is written as 2009.03.15, or sometimes just 20090315, or even 090315. This REALLY takes some brain power to figure out.
23. Swedes don’t date. At all. They have sex, or get married… but there is no in between. No movie dates, dinner dates, drink dates or walks in the park. You meet, have a coffee (“fika”), and decide if you are going to have sex, or get married. Oh, and this has to happen on a payday weekend, otherwise you have no money. So marriage is probably out of the question.
24. You always take your shoes off when entering someone’s house or apartment. Sometimes, you even have to do this in business offices. It’s like, you have to worry about your socks when you get dressed.
25. And finally, in order to TRULY avoid talking to any strangers, you are required to “take a number” almost everywhere, including the doctor’s office!
