Easy Does It...

Stor torget, Gamla stan, 2010

ABBA in Stor torget, 1975

My Foot Exactly Where Agnetha Fältskog Stood in Stor torget

Moments after logging off from my last blog post, I had an upset stomach. I guess it is just a case of nerves and getting used to my new surroundings. I was fine by the time that Hans showed up at the hotel. It always seems to me that day 2 is a bit of a bummer when you travel, but I know that tomorrow will be better...

Hans was waiting for me when I got to the lobby at 11:00. We headed off on foot to visit a bit of the city. On the way, we saw the spot where Frida ran across the street in ABBA´s "Head Over Heels" video. (I had to take a picture). And we also saw Gamla Stan, where ABBA posed for a famous photo...

We eventually made our way to Akademibokhandeln, where I bought myself a few of Astrid Lindgren´s novels in Swedish: the three Pippi Longstocking books and "Mio, min Mio". I also bought the "ABBA Guide to Stockholm", which I had been unable to find in Canada. Then we headed to Åhlgren, where I bought a few Benny Andersson CDs. It was here that I tried to pay with my credit card, and it would not work. When we use a credit card in Sweden, we need to enter our code on the key pad, and the computer would not recognize my code. I figured I could do without, just by using my bank card. Anyway, I paid cash for the books, and went to the cash machine to get some more money, but the ATM would not recognize my debit card either! And because it is Sunday, the banks are closed. I still have a few hundred dollars´worth of Swedish kronor in my wallet, and tomorrow morning, I will head to the bank so that I can get this sorted out. I am sure that the bank people will be able to help me, but all the same, this situation has not really helped my upset stomach. I just keep telling myself to take deep breaths and to take it easy. Tomorrow will be much better... And Hans said that if push comes to shove, he can lend me a little red purse so that I can work the corner of the street near my hotel... Ha ha...

We visited the Hallwyska museum this afternoon. The Countess Hallwyska was an eccentric woman who lived in the 19th century. She was an avid collector (Chinese porcelain, Dutch and Flemish art including a Bruegel, tapisteries, Chinese bronze mirrors... even her husband´s beard) and she had staff who worked for her for years cataloguing all of her possessions and attaching little tags on all of the items. It is said she walked around the city with those specialized tags all over her clothing! Later on, we saw a portrait of the Countess´s favourite grandson who, according to our guide, "moved in artistic circles"and opened up a ballet dance studio in Paris before his close companion painted that portrait of him. Hans gave me a knowing look as if to say "companion indeed!". It was a very fine museum. On our way out, we discovered that someone had broken into the lockers and stolen people´s possessions. Luckily, our locker was safe, and I wouldn´t have worried much anyway because I didn´t leave any valuables in it.

On the way back from the museum, we visited the Stockholm Tourism office and got a programme for Love 2010, the two-week celebration celebrating the royal wedding. Every shop window here has wedding dresses or other wedding-related merchandise. In the programme, I discovered that Nanne Grönvall will be performing on Tuesday night. She is married to Peter Grönvall, Benny Andersson´s son. I have three of her songs on my iPod. When I said that, Hans understood that I had three of her sons on my iPod. He was confused, especially because she really does have three sons...

I did try to speak Swedish all day. And I can usually get by and be understood. The problem is when people answer me, I cannot understand what they say, usually because they talk so quickly. I have had lots of practice chatting with Hans, but little practice talking and even less listening... So we ended up speaking French all day. Hans says it is good practice for him (although I would say he does not need it). I was talking about poutine today, pommes (French fries), öst (cheese) and såsbrun (gravy). Hans made faces and said at least he was quite confident that only people of English descent in Canada would eat something so disgusting, that the Quebecois were too sophisticated to eat a mess like that. When I told him it was a dish that originated in Quebec, he said he was really disappointed... LOL

In the late afternoon, we met up with two of Hans´s friends, Patrik (pronounced paw-trique) and Sigbjörn. When they asked where we wanted to eat, Hans said, "Well, Marcel has diarrhea". I guess tact is not his forte... We all went to a neat little restaurant in Gamla Stan called Torget, where they played Whitney Houston the whole time we were there. I had the moules marinieres and side salad. For dessert, the strawberry sorbet. As I had not eaten since breakfast I was a little hungry. During the meal, Hans, Patrik and Sigbjörn spoke in Swedish, and it was all I could do to try and keep up with them, but I could not. Still, when the waiter came to the table, I could ask him if there was milk or cream in the sorbet (Jag har en fråga: finns det mjölk eller grädde i sorbet?), and when he asked if I wanted coffee, I was able to say no, only water. When I looked at the menu, I looked at the English side first, then the Swedish. I had to ask what a certain word meant in Swedish on the menu, because the translation just seemed wrong: on the menu, they had "hurled vegetables". Hans reassured me that they meant sauteed vegetables, not regurgitated ones...

When Sigbjörn asked me why I had learned some Swedish, I was trying to find the words to respond, but before then, Hans simply reached into my bag, pulled out the ABBA Guide to Stockholm to show it to Sigbjörn, and we all laughed. Sigbjörn then told me that he works in a hospice in the city, and he met Agnetha Fältskog in 2007 when she was visiting a sick friend. He says they wrote the initials "AF" and the year 2007 under the chair she sat on. Patrik then said that he has a friend who had Agnetha visit his flat a few years ago and she even used his washroom. When I asked if he had gone in to collect poo to put in a locket around his neck (a reference to the movie "Priscilla Queen of the Desert"), he said no, that when his friend went in after she had left, there was nothing in the bowl, not even a single curly hair. We all laughed very hard. Then, he said he thought his friend had framed the toilet seat and hung it on his wall.

So, it is not so bad. I just get really annoyed with myself and wish I could be more fluent. But, as my good friend Nick was always fond of telling me, I need to be a lot less hard on myself!

We said goodbye to Sigbjörn and Patrik, really nice guys, and Hans and I made our way on foot to my hotel, where he had parked his bike. It was 6:30 p.m., and the sun was still only about half-way to the horizon. We had all kinds of weather today: a cold wind, hot sunshine and driving rain. The weather is supposed to get nicer the next few days.

When we got to the hotel, Hans said he would see me on Thursday for the opera. Tonight, I will take it very easy and perhaps get to bed by 10:00. I am still a little tired from the jet-lag and my stomach is still a little upset. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, I will go to the bank, and then perhaps just walk around the city if it is nice.

Troy, I really wish you were here. I am sure you would love the city. I am hoping to visit their IKEA this week.

Hugs and kisses,

M.