this set of photos is from the 2nd of january when steffi and i headed to stockholm. unfortunately, we were down a man, as adelinn came down with a nasty flu after our new years party. a bit of a bummer, but when you're sick, you're sick, and there really isn't much to do but lay in bed and hope to get better soon. at around 3:00 pm we hopped the train at falköping for a 3 and a half hour ride to stockholm. the train ride consisted of the usual: talking, magazine reading, and cat napping. once in stockholm i picked up a very needed bag of cheetos (which i basically inhaled later that evening while watching how i met your mother with steffi), before heading off to hop the regional train to steffi's brother's flat, where we crashed for the next few nights. notable was the "small" IKEA display in the middle of the transition with the hashtag "almost home." i guess even the swedish recognize IKEA as a national treasure. loving not only their keen eye for design but also their sense of humor here.
we met steffi's brother joachim when we arrived to his flat and learned that both germans and americans alike have lots of trouble with pronouncing the name joachim properly - the more you know. joachim and his girlfriend are the proud owners of two siamese cats which i also met. (one was a complete doll who cuddled with me in the evenings, the other was a bit territorial and kept to herself.) one of steffi's friends stopped by later that night for dinner and afterwards joachim headed out, since he was essentially kicked out of his own flat for the weekend, haha. the three of us watched the film "Butter," which i had previously never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed. if you are into quirky indie films i definitely suggest you check the film out. it's about an uptight perfectionist and her quest to set everything right a life that is falling apart through the art of butter sculpture by entering the milwaukee butter-competion and her foe and fellow butter carver, destiny, a 10 year old orphan. the evening ended with steffi and i vegetating on the sofa watching a few episodes of how i met your mother and me hugging my bag of cheetos lovingly before climbing into my pjs and crashing on the sofa. all in all not a bad start to my stay in sweden :)
