I apologize for neglecting my posts, it's been a busy first 3 weeks. I've made a few new observances on the difference between the American and Swedish daily life :
The grocery carts here are taking some getting used to. While I knew that I was going to have to have 5 kronor in order to use a grocery cart (you get the money back when you chain the cart back up at the end of your shopping trip), I was unprepared for how strange the actual carts were. In the US your normal grocery cart goes backwards, forwards and turns...the rear wheels don't turn to the left or the right. Here in Sweden the grocery carts can go sideways, diagonalways, in just about any direction you could possibly want. While this sounds fine, and is easily brushed off....imagine trying to push a cart with 100 pounds of groceries and a 60 pound child standing on the front diagonally across a downwards slope leading to the parking lot...it's a bit difficult to steer in the right direction when the cart insists on going straight down the incline directly into traffic. Maybe I haven't mastered the art of the grocery cart in Sweden, or maybe I'm just weak...but my shopping trips are always an adventure (now that I've figured out where the grocery stores are, and how to navigate the many roundabouts).
Another oddity that I noticed just recently (we had our first movie night), was just about everything to do with the theater. When we first went in we made the normal run to the bathroom (to keep from having to miss part of the movie)...but the door was locked!!! Of course Joel was completely unfazed by this, and had he not been there I don't know that I would have figured out the secret. There is a code on your movie ticket that you have to enter into a number pad that unlocks the bathroom...lucky for me I had thrown the movie ticket into the front pocket of my purse and it was easily retrievable, but still, a secret code to use the bathroom??? Come on, really? Are there so many people in Stockholm wanting to walk in to the movie theater just to use their bathrooms, that they need to put a lock on the doors? And to be honest, the bathrooms weren't that nice, or clean for that matter.
As an American I have, quite frequently, participated in the time honored tradition of arriving at the movie theater at a ridiculously early time in order to ensure that I could secure a good seat in the actual theater...oh, but that isn't the way here in Sweden. When you buy your ticket, you choose your seat. Assigned theater seating. No more"saving" the seat next to you in order to ensure the desired space between groups attending. So, even though there were 3 or 4 empty seats next to the isle...I still had to sit next to some complete stranger who, unforutnatley, had yet to discover the joys of deodorant.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Signs, Round-Abouts and Buses
I am happy to report that we've finally made it to our new home in Sweden, and I apologize for not updating my blog until day 3.
After a very long flight, a quick jaunt through security and customs in Iceland, and strangely enough back on the same plane for a second flight we finally touched down in Stockholm. Cierra was amazing through the whole thing...not one moment of her "we're flying, we're flying" song! ( I'll upload some pictures from our journey just as soon as I get them off of my phone.) We arrived to an overcast and slightly chilly day (8 degrees Celsius), but beautiful nonetheless.
Once off the plane we followed the overhead signs entitled "Arrivals" in hopes that it would lead us in the right direction to get out of the complicated airport. The last time I flew into Stockholm I was able to meet Joel after going through customs and he accompanied me to baggage claim...sadly, I assumed the same would be true this time (after all, how else could a person transport 4 large suitcases, 2 medium carry-ons, a computer bag, a backpack, 2 pillows, a purse and a 5 year old?). I was a bit dismayed to reach the baggage claim area without having gone past the area where the public was allowed to wait for passengers. Silently freaking out I located our baggage carousel and tried to imagine how I was going to manage the daunting task ahead of me, when I noticed that all of the savvy passengers from my flight had somehow procured baggage carts; a glimmer of hope. Being the shy person I am, I avoided asking someone where they got their cart from, and instead set off to retrace our steps. Without too much difficulty I found the carts nicely stored at the other end of the baggage hall...but, to my horror, every cart I tried seemed (to me) to be broken...just my luck. On the verge of giving up I noticed a passenger stroll up to a cart I had previously tried and easily breeze away with it. NO FAIR! What was I doing wrong?.....recovering from my blond moment I looked down at the handle and noticed directions in fine print....duh!!!! One must push down on the main handle bar to release the wheels, and keep holding it down while walking. We hurried back to our baggage carousel and claimed our spot in the VERY orderly line of people, all exactly 2 feet away from the carousel, waiting for their bags. Everyone was very courteous, allowing each person to walk forward and claim their bags as it passed by. However, I started receiving curious looks as I set off on a marathon of hurrying forward, grabbing a bag, hastily putting it on the cart and then darting back to the belt again to claim the next bag. Needless to say I was the only passenger attempting to cart around 9 bags and a small child. FINALLY we set off in search of the exit and Joel. Without too many navigation errors we managed to reach our destination! After a wonderful few moments we walked as a family to the car and loaded everything into Joel's Volvo, and then, full of happiness, our little family of 3 set off for home. These are my first observances of Sweden:
After following the strange exit signs entitled "Enfart" (yes I was giggling the whole time), we approached the E4 highway. Joel pointed out the strange speed limit signs that simply said "110" (OMG moment, until I realized we were talking about kph, not mph). Then, with visions of horrible multi-car crashes we tackled our first Round-About (I knew I hated them for a reason, and dread the moment when I have to start driving through them with confidence), in a complicated dance we maneuvered our way through and onto the desired road. I was soon amazed by the many cars, that by American standards, are considered luxury European models...but are normal every day cars here in Sweden. However, the ones I still cannot get over are the Mercedes-Benz public transportation buses.....doesn't that seem strange to anyone else????? Apparently it's only me :)
After a very long flight, a quick jaunt through security and customs in Iceland, and strangely enough back on the same plane for a second flight we finally touched down in Stockholm. Cierra was amazing through the whole thing...not one moment of her "we're flying, we're flying" song! ( I'll upload some pictures from our journey just as soon as I get them off of my phone.) We arrived to an overcast and slightly chilly day (8 degrees Celsius), but beautiful nonetheless.
Once off the plane we followed the overhead signs entitled "Arrivals" in hopes that it would lead us in the right direction to get out of the complicated airport. The last time I flew into Stockholm I was able to meet Joel after going through customs and he accompanied me to baggage claim...sadly, I assumed the same would be true this time (after all, how else could a person transport 4 large suitcases, 2 medium carry-ons, a computer bag, a backpack, 2 pillows, a purse and a 5 year old?). I was a bit dismayed to reach the baggage claim area without having gone past the area where the public was allowed to wait for passengers. Silently freaking out I located our baggage carousel and tried to imagine how I was going to manage the daunting task ahead of me, when I noticed that all of the savvy passengers from my flight had somehow procured baggage carts; a glimmer of hope. Being the shy person I am, I avoided asking someone where they got their cart from, and instead set off to retrace our steps. Without too much difficulty I found the carts nicely stored at the other end of the baggage hall...but, to my horror, every cart I tried seemed (to me) to be broken...just my luck. On the verge of giving up I noticed a passenger stroll up to a cart I had previously tried and easily breeze away with it. NO FAIR! What was I doing wrong?.....recovering from my blond moment I looked down at the handle and noticed directions in fine print....duh!!!! One must push down on the main handle bar to release the wheels, and keep holding it down while walking. We hurried back to our baggage carousel and claimed our spot in the VERY orderly line of people, all exactly 2 feet away from the carousel, waiting for their bags. Everyone was very courteous, allowing each person to walk forward and claim their bags as it passed by. However, I started receiving curious looks as I set off on a marathon of hurrying forward, grabbing a bag, hastily putting it on the cart and then darting back to the belt again to claim the next bag. Needless to say I was the only passenger attempting to cart around 9 bags and a small child. FINALLY we set off in search of the exit and Joel. Without too many navigation errors we managed to reach our destination! After a wonderful few moments we walked as a family to the car and loaded everything into Joel's Volvo, and then, full of happiness, our little family of 3 set off for home. These are my first observances of Sweden:
After following the strange exit signs entitled "Enfart" (yes I was giggling the whole time), we approached the E4 highway. Joel pointed out the strange speed limit signs that simply said "110" (OMG moment, until I realized we were talking about kph, not mph). Then, with visions of horrible multi-car crashes we tackled our first Round-About (I knew I hated them for a reason, and dread the moment when I have to start driving through them with confidence), in a complicated dance we maneuvered our way through and onto the desired road. I was soon amazed by the many cars, that by American standards, are considered luxury European models...but are normal every day cars here in Sweden. However, the ones I still cannot get over are the Mercedes-Benz public transportation buses.....doesn't that seem strange to anyone else????? Apparently it's only me :)
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