Stockholm field report

I've come to realize that this blog is becoming as much a journal as whatever it was I originally intended it to be. This one's about what I got up to over the weekend.

Train ride down was uneventful, though very comfortable. Am currently reading Hemmingway's 'For whom the bell tolls' which is quite good; got a chance to get through a chunk of that on the way up and down.

Made it into the hostel before they closed at 23:00. Note to self: some addresses are in Stockholm are shared by more than one door. Further note: some signage is diminutive or barely noticable at all. Further note: when entering a passcode into a door, entering it for the third time then pulling harder on the door will not yield different results.

Sleep was fantastic. You'd be surprised how much of a difference sleeping in a completely dark room will make. This is especially true if the sun is only down for 4 or 5 hours a night.

Got up to a bunch of stuff. Highlights include:
-random buildings that I don't even know what they are, but looked fantastic so I took lots of pictures
-the Royal Palace; guided tour was quite nice, with the tour guide taking a bunch of shots at the Danes
-the Aquarium, where they have a program where they release salmon every year, who a few years later will actually find their way back the the aquarium to spawn
-Grona Lund, an amusement park; made me realize how much Canada's Wonderland kicks ass
-trying viking beer; apparently the vikings drank tiny portions out of dainty glasses (this is much funnier with the visual, which, unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to upload yet)
-Nobel prize museum; neat, but kinda weird
-Nordic history museum; in no country have I ever visited have I ever found a history where the traditional peoples have not been oppressed by those who came afterwards
-hop-on-hop-off boat tour; a neat way to see the city
-Vasa(something) museum; biggest wooden Swedish warship that was ever constructed has been raised out of the harbour and placed inside a massive museum for all to see. Even more fantastic is that the ship sunk on it's maiden voyage, and was meant to be a symbol of Sweden's military might. Found this particularly cool since I like old boats and such.
-a bunch of military maneuvers by a bunch of military dudes. I guess around the palace is where they get to act all tough and stuff. My favourite part? When they all marched onto a chartered bus, and it took them away.
-trying to find the right souveniers is proving a bit tricky
-city hall was pretty fantastico
-absolut icebar; a bar made completely of ice: absoluetly over-rated
-old town has some pretty neat and narrow vendor-lined shops
-teenaged punks exist everywhere (they managed to scare off a street performer, who looked like he had a neat show lined up)
-I love falafel

Tried to pack in as much as I possibly could into the 44 hours I had while I was there, and definitely got some good use out of the shoes I bought for this trip. Would really be nice to be able to share some pictures, but whadreyagonnado?