Exploration -- Gamla Stan

Last weekend we hit up Gamla Stan (Old Town) and we were impressed by the beauty of the 16th century architecture, quaint storefronts, cozy cafes and cobblestone roads.  They block of entire sections of the town so that only pedestrians can enter the roads.  It creates a safe, Disney-like atmosphere.  A few times Jon turned to me and said, "Doesn't it feel like we're at Epcot?"   Thumbs up to Disney for getting it right. Whenever you are in the real place and still yearn for the Disney version, they are doing something amazingly right.

There are narrow alleys all throughout Gamla Stan.  We turned down one that looked like it could be a stand in for Hogwarts.  There was a tunnel like cut through between two streets that gets smaller as you approach the street.  You have to duck down to enter onto the street and step into pure tourist chaos.

Gamla Stan is where you can find all of your "I <3 Sweden" tshirts, reindeer skin rugs, and viking helmets.  Jon was in heaven!  It's also where you can find an American Western store -- complete with a Texas AND Swedish flag.  Fun!

Gamla Stan is about a 20-30 minute walk from our house and you cross over a lot of water.  The walk is absolutely beautiful!

We were just about freezing after spending 2+ hours walking around outside so we decided to warm up with some coffee and semla.  Semla is perhaps the most delicious pastry we've had thus far in Stockholm and this one did not disappoint.  It's a hollowed out bun filled with a fluffy light almond cream with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Delicious! I could eat this and drink coffee every afternoon!  For whatever reason, powdered sugar is guaranteed to uplift your spirits.

First week of work!

After spending the last 2+ months preparing for our move to Sweden, I realized last Sunday that I was ACTUALLY here to work! I had completely overlooked that fact, probably because I was so used to starting new “jobs” every few months as a consultant, but overall things have gone great.

My first work interaction was actually last Thursday. I was scheduled to show up at the office to fill out some paperwork and get my laptop / phone. Filling out the paperwork with the HR lady showed me the both sides of my new socialist policies. On one side, I will be contributing a portion of my income each week to what they helpfully explain is called the “Robin Hood Tax”, which truly “steals from the rich (loose definition obviously) and gives to the poor”. On the other side, Calvin is starting to bring something to the table! The Swedish government is giving us $125 per month just for having a kid under 18yrs old! So now we have him learning / managing his budget, and he knows that he can’t go over his diaper allowance for a month, so he has to ration out his “business”.

Adding value Dad! High Five!

Other fun facts from the paperwork were that the Ericsson name pretty much gives me free range in Sweden. I get discounts on taxis, rental cars, restaurants and Swedish language classes, but the best part is that a non-ericsson person would require 4 months to get a visa, their ID card in 2 weeks and another 2 weeks for their “social security number” equivalent. Instead, we received our visa in 4 days, our ID cards in 3 days and will have our personnummers by early next week. I honestly don’t even think we provided them with the right paperwork, but as long as my Ericsson job offer was there, they didn’t check the fine print too much. Lis and I were trying to figure out a US company that could have that kind of pull, and only thought of maybe Goldman Sachs, Apple or Google.

Now to my first day, last Monday. To begin with, E// (ericsson) set us up with a great location. We are 2 blocks from the blue-line on the subway, and I can take that directly to the E// offices. So it is approximately 30 minutes door to door. We have gotten very used to the Stockholm scenery, and it’s actually pretty fun when the subway leaves the Stockholm tunnels and it looks like you just entered a winter wonderland. Just snow covered birch trees and fields. Every morning I’ve seen dogs running or folks cross country skiing. It’s a much more picturesque view of winter, which is fun.

(not the best picture from a moving train, but trust me)

Once arriving at work, I was prepared for a full European work experience – showing up early, having 8-10 coffee breaks, then gone by 4:30pm. Unfortunately, that has not been the case…but it’s still been a really great experience. E// has 20+ buildings in the small tech town, and the building I am in was built just a few years ago. It has a very modern, Swedish style with exposed elevators, and no wasted flourishes.

(elevator bank)

(front lobby)

Interesting notes from the first week:

1) I HATE THE SWEDISH KEYBOARD. They needed to make space for Sweden’s extraneous letters, and so everything is messed up. It’s like I am typing for the first time. Punctuation marks aren’t in the right places, the enter and shift key are not “double width”, and the numbers keys have two “alternate” icons. Yes, it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to do the @ key. After not thinking about typing for years, it kills me every time I need to spend 20 seconds when I need to use a backslash or a question mark.

(you have no idea how long this blog took me to type)

2) I HATE THE EUROPEAN NUMBER FORMATS. Using excel, the comma used to separate thousands is now a period. And the period used to separate dollars and cents is now a comma. So far at least, every time I enter a number in excel, I get an error message when I try to add them up. Fun times for a analysis-heavy job.

DONE WITH THE HATE

3) I like that from when I walk into my building until I get to my cube, I pass at least 3 very high quality coffee machines. Coffee is huge in Sweden, and they just pass out free coffee like it’s good for you. For some reason they do not put cream in their coffee though, and it was fun when I selected the option with cream and sugar in front of my co-workers. They all tried to fix my mistake, until one asked me “did you MEAN to order that?”

4) I LOVE that every Friday afternoon they bring up a huge tray of pastries and each department on my floor takes their turn having a fika – just eating food and hitting up the coffee machine

(any kind of coffee you want, as long as you don't like cream)

(no idea what these were, but they were tasty)

5) For all the coffee machines, they do not have any water fountains in the building. Evidently I am the only one that cannot subsist solely on dark roast. I need to fill up my water cup (patriots themed of course) in the bathroom sink. Pretty gross actually…

6) The bathroom situation is kind of different. Instead of an American-style, men’s or ladies’ room, there are 6-7 individual bathrooms with gender icons on the door. Each has a sink and toilet, and is completely private.

(so private)

(bigger than my apartment bathroom??? very possible)

7) I like that my desk moves from sitting to standing height with a touch of a button. Standing isn’t an option I would choose permanently, but I like being able to switch it up between the two.

(out of order picture of the lobby on our floor - with someone hitting up the coffee machine)

(my desk is the one with the computer on)

(down low when I want to chill)

(up high when I'm feeling energetic)

8) I like that E// cafeteria offers some pretty healthy options. I LOVE that you can load up your tray with as much as you want of that healthy option and it is all the same cost. Do you want 1 piece of fish? 65kr. Do you want 4 pieces of fish, 3 potatoes, half a loaf of freshly sliced bread and a salad? 65kr. Do you want water to drink? No add’l charge. Oh you want beers from the keg they have set up? Go have at it, 65 kr still. I haven’t partaken of those beers yet, but I’m intrigued to say the least. It’s like the Swedish people aren’t gluttons out to take advantage of the system. Just taking what they “need”, and not eating until they are sick to their stomachs and hammered. Well, I’ll teach them how ‘merica does.

(no pictures of our cafeteria keg, sorry)

Overall though, things have gone really well. The work is picking up and I will become a lot busier I’m sure. Everyone has been really great to work with, and that’s all you can really ask for in the first week. Looking forward to uploading more pics and blogs soon!

Grocery shopping when you don't know the language

So we admittedly don't know Swedish.  I know thank you (tack), please (snälla), and nice to meet you (trevligt att träffas) and I can count to 20.  Not surprisingly, none of these things will really help you navigate a grocery store.  The Swedish language is sometimes similar to English, or you can derive the English word by loosely translating and looking at the object sideways.  For example, aprikös, are apricots.  The picture may look like peaches, but you would be wrong.  Thoooose are apricots.

On our first day here, we were determined to navigate a grocery store.  We found one that was basically underground (we would later discover that we have 3 grocery stores within a 5 minute walk of our house).  It had pram ramps so we could take our stroller down easily (very nice).  We were quickly overwhelmed as there were tons of people swarming the store.  The next day we discovered two things.  1) Everyone gets paid on the 25th of each month, so a lot of shopping happens and 2) This particular store is the cheapest grocery store in the area.   Jon went off to find breakfast items and I stumbled blindly in the cheese section. Yes, there is an entire section on cheese.  Not a cooler near the cold cuts.  Three full refrigerated walls of any type of cheese you could imagine in 4 different shapes and sizes.  Wedges, wheels, slices, shredded -- it was a cheesy heaven!

Jon came back out of breath -- not a good sign -- and threw some chocolate muffins and milk in the cart.  We walked past the meat section and realized that in order to find out how much things actually cost, we would need to translate the per kg into per lb and then the currency from SEK to USD.  Doing one conversion in your head is easy -- doing 2 simultaneously is not.  Trying to figure out the cost of milk per gallon when what you have in your hands is 1.5 L is not easy.

When we left the grocery store, we had successfully bought a random smattering of items -- olive oil, chocolate muffins, lactose free milk (Jon thought it was skim), eggs, pasta, and red sauce.

On Saturday, we entered the grocery store with more confidence -- another mistake.  Jon had spoken with some people at work who recommended another (more popular) grocery store.  We walked in with a list of items to get confident we would get them all.  When we entered, it was pure chaos.  People were everywhere rushing about stuffing items in their bags - no room for carts!  I stood to the side while Jon went to figure out the meat/fish section.  He was looking for fish or mussels, hot chocolate mix and cookies.  That's all we wanted!  He came back, again out of breath, with prepared pasta and sausage.  We got out of there unscathed but I think Jon was shell shocked.  "The guy wouldn't look at me unless I had a number, which I didn't.  I had a question! Samples of ribs were being given out so it was a mob rush!"

On this shopping trip, we bought OJ thinking it was apple juice - which is understandable based on the picture below.  This was a prime example of us translating too loosely between Swedish and English.

We desperately need to learn Swedish so I can read the backs of all of these cartons.  I have no idea if I'm feeding Calvin pure sugar (I probably am) or if there are any nutrients listed at all.  All of the caloric information is in kcals and grams so I have no concept for how fattening (or not) these things are.  Grocery shopping is clearly still stressful as Jon looks crazy-eyed every time he comes back from an errand.  I imagine it will get better as we learn what everything means.

First Impressions -- Sweden

So when we landed, we were assaulted with new sounds, sights and smells.  We didn't have many preconceived notions about Stockholm, Swedes, or anything for that matter, so we were surprised by some things and unfazed by others.  Clearly these impressions are through our eyes and I'm sure that other people might find other things surprising.  I have no idea if these hold up in other parts of Sweden, but it seems to be what we have seen in Stockholm thus far.

Here is a quick list of some of the cultural differences that we noticed upon landing:

• Both men and women (especially in the 20-35 age group) tend to be model-esque, tall, thin, well dressed and made up
• People dress fashionably -- I saw a woman walking her baby stroller/pram in a taupe cape with a fur lined collar and a poodle who could easily prance as a show dog
• There is a noticeable lack of large businesses -- such as Home Depot, Target, WalMart.  For example, we saw 4 corner shops that specialized in keys only.
• Lots of Italian and Asian restaurants
• People walk the streets quickly -- understandably as it's cold.  You need to get where you are going.
• People walk everywhere -- we have averaged walking about 6 hours a day thus far.  If you need to get across the city, you walk.
• Everyone is pushing a pram/baby stroller.  Everyone.  Men by themselves. Women in groups.
• Salmon is cheaper than chicken.
• I've seen 2 cars with the baby's car seat in the front passenger seat...
• Stockholm is fairly condensed -- we've walked 1/4 of it in 2 hours or so
• The city is extraordinarily clean -- even the metro station, the Tunnelbana, is devoid of trash and graffiti
• There is lots of green space -- almost every neighborhood has multiple parks and there is generally an off-leash dog park in the larger parks.
• The city water (from the tap) is delicious and clean
• The architecture and geography is absolutely beautiful.  Gamla Stan (Old Town) was built in the 12th century and is picturesque.  I don't think it photographs nearly as beautiful as it actually is.
• Kids are outside all day -- sledding and playing outside or riding in prams on errands

Here are few pictures to show some of the beauty -- even in winter ;-)

Ready to go for a stroll

Bundled up!

Rosy cheeks from the cold

On the water

In Gamla Stan (Old Town)

Semla and coffee.  Money CAN buy happiness!

Jon strolling in Gamla Stan

Impressive statue in Gamla Stan

Store window

Street scape, Gamla Stan

Royal Coin Library

Add caption

In front of the palace

Palace (see the guard in the back?)

we just thought this was funny

Välkommen till Sverige!

We have arrived! Finally. The last week in Atlanta was perhaps the most stressful week I've ever experienced.  We had so many errands to run, bags to pack, items to ship and tons of furniture to sell, give away or recycle.  I was able to sell my Ford Explorer on Saturday but had to spend a good 2 hours at the bank on Monday to officially sell it.  Tuesday morning was a complete blur as we frantically ran last minute errands and seemingly endless runs to Goodwill.  We left for the airport at 2pm and still barely made our 5:30pm flight (blame the dogs!)  (Quick aside, never listen to the TSA agents about the care of your dog during transit. They had no idea what they were talking about and only stressed us out even more).

We boarded the flight to Amsterdam and the Delta agent asked us if we wanted to gate check any of our bags.  Ummm...yes please!  It was a $200 fee to check luggage upon arrival so free gate check was unexpected and awesome! No more schlepping!  We hopped on the flight and were happy to have the extra seat for Calvin.  The woman next to me was cooing and playing with him. She tried to entertain him in her lap but he was having none of it.  He ended up spending an inordinate amount of time in my arms because we experimented with a homeopathic remedy that was supposed to make him sleepy.  Instead, he was dialed in like he was on Ritalin and was zooming and lunging all over the place.  Never ever experiment with new things while traveling on an 8 hour flight.  Never again.

We landed in Amsterdam and I will say that those flight attendants for KLM look like they are straight off the set of the tv show, Pan Am.  Those women walked with purpose and were polished and made up.  One of the KLM attendants assured us that our dogs were now in the pet hotel at the airport.  I imagined Bessie and Darby in a whirlpool jacuzzi getting their nails done, remembered that the Atlanta TSA agents laughed in my face when I mentioned that the ground crew would walk them during the layover, and hedged my bets.  Who should I believe? This doe-eyed beauty in a soft blue uniform reassuring me that my pets were being fawned over or some overweight, underpaid TSA agents in Atlanta?  I chose to believe what could have been a beautiful lie.  The KLM agent won me over and I was hopeful that the girls were getting the walk they deserved.  We could easily find out whenever we saw them as their kennels were zip-tied shut in Atlanta.  If those were broken at all, they had been walked.

We hung out in the Amsterdam airport, ate a chocolate muffin, breezed through customs (nobody asked why we were traveling with 8 bags and 2 dogs) and napped on the 2 hour flight between Amsterdam and Stockholm.

As we were flying into Stockholm, all we saw was snow.  Beautiful, cold, snow.  The landscape was beautiful but I was terrified as to how cold everything looked.  Calvin wasn't even wearing socks!  We had left 68 degree weather in Atlanta and landed in a winter wonderland.

As we got off of the plane, we headed toward baggage claim/customs.  Terrified of the condition in which we would find the dogs, we spotted them easily.  They were on this massive cart that is usually pulled by a truck.  We grabbed our 8 bags and asked the transportation folks if we could use the cart.  Answer -- yes, but not through customs.  Okay...

This is Jon pulling our massive amount of luggage to customs.  Bessie barked at everyone who passed. People literally stopped and stared.  I felt like the head of a freakshow.

As we approached customs, I imagined a whole room full of passport lines with customs declarations and pieces of paper to fill out.  We've been through numerous countries and always had to fill out a form on the plane or when we landed -- then stand in line for about 45 minutes before proceeding through a long line.  Not in Sweden.  We transferred all of our bags to 4 of those baggage carts and declared the dogs.  The customs agent checked out their veterinary forms (somewhat quickly) and sent us on our way.  We passed through 2 big doors and much to my surprise, went straight into the surprised gaze of our taxi driver.  That's it?  No questions about why we're transporting 2 mutts and 8 bags? No questions about what we're doing in your country or who we are?  Nope!

Our taxi driver knew to expect a couple with 2 dogs and a lot of luggage but I don't think he had a clue!  He packed the bags while Jon focused on packing the dogs.  We managed to fit everything in fairly easily.

The taxi driver was helpful and dropped us and our bags at the foot of our apartment.  We ended up in our furnished place relatively unscathed and ready to drink some water and go to sleep.  More pics and videos to come!