DJs, Donuts, and Five-Finger Discounts: Stockholm syndrome at it’s finest. I already want to return!

The first thing I did in Stockholm was steal a chocolate croissant.

Well, that’s only 90% true. The very first thing I did in Stockholm was try to purchase a coffee and a chocolate croissant. In my sleep-deprived state, I didn’t notice until I was counting change later that the airport kiosk cashier had only rung up the coffee. In all fairness, the cashier also didn’t notice and obviously didn’t care. I’m not feeling too guilty.

Stolen pastry in hand, I headed for the airport bus into Stockholm city proper. I had seven hours before my flight to Berlin, and I was not spending that whole time in an airport, surrounded by bad wifi and harried travelers — I’ve played that game in the past, living at airports for ungodly amounts of time. I once did an eight hour layover at the Madrid airport, and in one desperate occasion, spent almost a full twenty four hours at an airport in Uganda. Never again.

The Stockholm airport has two options for getting into the city: train or bus. Leaving behind the hardwood airport floors (classy, but maybe unnecessary? Like, really Sweden — do you have to show off your excess of timber resources? Nobody likes a braggart.), I headed via bus into the city.

Turns out Stockholm is super adorable and easy to navigate, even with a 13kg — ahem, I mean 10kg — bookbag. People were friendly, the city is compact without feeling crowded, bikes were everywhere, and the coffee was good. I only had a few hours before my connecting flight to Berlin, so I didn’t have a chance to explore any of the local museums. But I did enjoy some delicious coffee and pastries — Sweden has an entire culture built around fika, aka the once- or twice-per-day coffee break during which people gather to catch up, chat with coworkers, and enjoy snacks. My kinda mentality.

Ahh, and a quick sidenote — the “DJ” in the title of this blog post refers to Djurgården, an island near Stockholm. My sister and I spotted it on a map a few months ago, and immediately started comparing DJ-Your-Garden and DJ-My-Garden music. We’re still waiting for the DJ-My-Garden set to drop.

Lessons Learned

Stockholm is definitely high on my list of places to return to (and preferably spend more than a few hours).

Language Notes

Fika — my new life philosophy. No matter what, take some time to slow down with a coffee break and good company. Amen.