It's been way too long since I've updated here - I think I've been having too much fun in Israel to really keep up with things, and I might have od'd on posting there with a barrage of content back when I was in Finland. Anyways, in an effort to stay current. I'm forcing myself to finish this Sweden entry before my shared Taxi leaves Jerusalem in 40 minutes. ON TO THE SWEDEN POST: Sweden was an excellent seven days. I actually can't believe that it was only seven days given how much it felt I connected with my New Swedish Friends and I re-connect with my Old Swedish Friends from Nicaragua. Furthermore, I probably ate enough Herring for two weeks not one. But all-in-all, I think it's just a sign of a great experience that the time flew; but it feels in retrospect that I accomplished and experienced so much in that short burst of time.

I spent the first couple of days recovering in Stockholm from some terrible sleeps in Paris (remember the creeper in my dorm!?) and Dusseldorf. But I did manage to do a fair amount of walking through the city (and eating legit Swedish Meatballs @ Pelikan). In particular, I think the Djurgarden Island and park surrounding Skansen were a really amazing way to spend most of a day. After Stockholm, I proceeded south to Gothenburg to meet Anders and Mallin. Two amazing Swedes who took me in for five days and shared many excellent meals with me and showed me a little bit of Sweden that I couldn't have ever seen on my own. Pretty excellent to have locals host you, but much like Oostende, the level of effort that Anders and Mallin put in really increased my overall level of enjoyment of the time I was there - they showed me cool stuff and made me feel at home. Pretty amazing.

Adding to the fun in Gothenburg was that I got to re-connect with Emma and David, a brother and sister that Alexis and I met in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua a couple of years ago. We shared a great night of long conversation and many beers in Nica. I look back on that evening with a ton of fondness (the next morning, less so). Hanging out with them again reminded me of exactly why we had such a splendid time back in Central America. I hope we get to do it again in the not to distant future - and hopefully Alexis can make an appearance. The three of us along with Mallin and Anders spent an evening grilling out in the park in Gothenburg and then hanging out at the apartment till the wee hours. Excellent stuff.

After Gothenburg, we went to a lake house near Karlstad, where we basically did nothing but sauna, grill, nap, jog, grill, snack, sauna for three days. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS. The lake is beautiful (check out the new header image for the blog- its sunset from the first night over the lake) and the company was fantastic. My first real sauna experience was incredible. I couldn't get enough. (Although when it was up to about 105 degrees Celsius, there were moments, that I could have had enough) Beyond that, the night sky above the lake was tremendous, like not many places I've seen given the little to no light pollution in the area. And of course, seeing the stars from that far north was a new experience for me. Swimming in the semi-freezing lake (for this tropical dude) after sauna is something I'll never forget and truly enjoyed. Amazing times.

After the lake house I hit up Stockholm again for it's photography gallery and a slight bit of exploring.

All-in-all, the Sweden leg was tremendous, rejuvenating, fun and special to me. Loved it. Reminded me how great people and new experiences are what its all about for me. Oh, and the weather was like perfection, apparently this is not common in September in Sweden (something Anders didn't mention in our communication before I decided to head there) but, I can't say how lucky I felt to have so many days of gorgeous weather. Good Stuff.

Here's the photo story of my time in Sweden:

The view from the Lake House near Karlstad

Me in Djurgarden

Beautiful Day in Stockholm during my walk through Djurgarden (apparently this is not common September weather in Sweden)

Guards at the Royal Palace in Stockholm (I was hoping he had to remain completely still like the ones in Buckingham Palace - but alas, he moved a whole bunch - That said I liked his outfit and booth!)

A great looking alley in the old city of Stockholm (Gamla Stan)

Saw this poster around town - not sure what it is about, but that guy does in fact look like he might be satan.

Protest during the Obama Visit (perfect timing on my behalf being there at the same time)

My first taste of pickled herring (LOVE)

Anders and the sign he used to find me at the train station, what you can't see is how he told me I'd know who he was - a t-shirt that said "Fuck it dude, let's go bowling," the first of many Big Lebowski moments throughout my time with Anders (including of course white russians)