Impressions of Scandinavia

22 June

So far, Scandinavia (or Denmark and Sweden, at least!) has looked a lot (and a little disappointingly) like the United States. There are big cars, wide streets, 7-11s and suburbs. Of course, the cities are older. And surprisingly, smoking is tolerated everywhere (including on the subway cars!) in Denmark.

We made it to Stockholm for the solstice, and have not been disappointed by the length of the days. In fact, it's a little bit annoying to wake up at 3:30 am because it's already light. What we are missing for this solstice party, however, is the sun! It has been mostly overcast with rain off and on. Typical Seattle weather.

The landscape here is a lot like northern Minnesota. It's relatively flat and forested, with granite bedrock outcrops and a lot of lakes and islands. We took a boat out to Finnhamn island, in the Stockholm archipelago, which was a nice break from city sightseeing. We're a bit "citied out" after Berlin, Kopenhagen and Stockholm!

One of the things I'm enjoying about Sweden is the fact that they seem to have no qualms about importing food. The grocery store near the campground (whose primary function is that of a hockey arena in the winter) was well stocked with French cheese, Italian pastas, Indian rice, Vietnamese sauces, and something I've been craving for a while... MEXICAN FOOD! Yes, real tortillas, salsa (ok, in a jar, but still not bad) and refried beans! And at (sort of) reasonable prices, meaning only about double what you'd pay in the US. I guess importing food is kind of a must when local traditions leave a little something to be desired. You can only eat so much Wasa with pickled herring...

-SK
a Stockholm, Sweden