My morning started out painful. But that's what happens when you're up til 4:30 then wake up at 8:30. I made the brilliant decision to shower the night before when it was bed time and so the extra hour and a half was all mine. That's the sweetest feeling when you can turn over knowing some of the decisions you made yesterday helped you enjoy today.
By 10 I was up, packed, and dressed. I made it a whole 10 feet to the couch and then sat there for the next hour writing my blog entry. I considered starting it last night while I was listening to a Brazillian tell me that he thought Brazil had better pizza then NYC (um...no) but taking out your phone in the middle of a conversation is like shooting that conversation in the face. It just kills things instantly. I opted to live in the moment and hope that I could still recall the events of the day in the morning. I considered sitting at one of the computers and typing it before bed but there was the crazy Australian (mad Max) from the night before with his Irish girlfriend sleeping in the common room.
I watched, as I wrote, all the friends from the night before drift in and out of the common area. DC was doing the bus tour, the Australian girls were going ice skating, Brazillian boy had an appointment to get his visa, and Chester was going for a wander. They each asked me what my plans were and I told them to just go for a walk to the station and head to the airport. I had already conquered Stockholm, why put off the inevitable.
Eventually I got the energy to put my socks on and walk out the door. I stopped at 7-11 to pick up some last minute candies and holiday flavor chips (best chips ever) and realized a breakfast would be a smart thing.
In Stockholm there is only one Starbucks and I can see why when there's a Wayne's Coffee on every corner. I stopped in and got a sandwich and a chai, it came with a free salad. The cafe is lovely, power at each seat, blankets and pillows if you want to sit outside.
I learned one word in Swedish while I was here - Hey. They spell it "Hej" but pronounce it the same way we do back home on the east coast. So if you respond Hey when they say Hej there is a 99% chance that the rest of that conversation will be in Swedish. I learned to start replying Hello instead.
Now that I'm at the airport waiting in the security line here's some pro-tips for Switzerland:
• Say Hello, not Hey, if you want people to speak in English
• Stock up on beer and liquor and wine on Saturday if you're looking to drink something other than watered down beer on Sunday
• Get a SIM card. It's like $10 for a couple days of google maps in your pocket. If you've had your iPhone for a while unlock it at home before traveling.
• Try to get off the main streets and find something new
• Ask other tourists what they enjoyed doing or seeing the most and check that out
• Go for the airport shuttle bus, it's 1/3rd the price of the train and they both go to the same place
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