Instead of making my usual long drive from Washington, D.C. to Waterville, ME this fall, I boarded a plane to Stockholm, Sweden on August 20th, headed straight for a full semester abroad. As my plane touched down amidst a cross-sectioned countryside full of animals and cottages and my eyes adjusted to the bright blue sky, I realized I had absolutely no idea of what to expect from the next 3.5 months. However, as I’ve been here a few weeks and gotten situated in my school and housing, I thought I would share some first thoughts and impressions from my time in Stockholm so far–it is pretty removed from the farmland I first came to associate with Sweden!
First, Stockholm is much bigger than I had expected. Originally, I had thought of Sweden as a pretty small country, and expected the city of Stockholm to be somewhat along the same scale: a city like D.C., or even a larger type of town. Boy, was I wrong. The city stretches across multiple islands and spans many smaller neighborhoods. The student housing I am assigned is near a very hip downtown area called Slussen, where many young people go out and there’s a bunch of cool bars and restaurants. However, all the way across town, the central train station (T-Centralen as it is called on the tunnelbanan, or the Stockholm train system), is also a thriving hub for tourism and shopping. Here, I’ve inserted a picture from Slussen.
Even though Stockholm is enormous, walking and cycling are huge here in terms of how to get around. We live right by a river, and there is a designated biking/running/walking path that is constantly bustling with people. Everywhere in the city, there is a bike path that runs right along the street, and bikers show no mercy if you get in their way. People walk and bike seemingly everywhere: there is no traffic like that of the United States. The massive underground train system is also a quite popular means of transportation: and the stations even have some pretty cool art!
As I’ve navigated the city and begun my Swedish language class, I’ve figured out that Swedish is fun to hear, but tough to speak. While most people do speak English here to some extent, the words and expressions that you hear often at cafes or shops are fun to repeat and make exploring a little easier if you can pick them up. Some commonly used words: tack (thank you) and hej (hello). People are very friendly if you speak to them and ask for help–otherwise you might be stuck with a little bit of a risk for a misunderstanding!
One of the coolest things about everyday life in Sweden is “fika,” or a little coffee and pastry break that Swedes take as a social or rest hour most every afternoon or morning. Walking around and discovering fun “fika” spots has been such a highlight of the past few weeks. My personal favorite is Fern and Fika: a vegan, gluten-free spot right near where my home is located. However, there are plenty of other fun spots and chains that specialize in delicious lattes, usually made with oat milk as the default (it originates from Sweden).
So far, Stockholm keeps surprising me in ways that I am happy to embrace: every corner I turn seemingly leads to something new to explore! I can’t wait to see what else I have to share by the time I have to go home :)