I checked my credit card statement, and this is what it looked like. Gonna stop using my card for about a week until this insanity settles down because I have no idea what's going on here.
It's nice that all the electronics I have will take 230V so I don't actually need a power converter, just a plug.
Bought some playing cards. They were a bit expensive, but they're pretty cool; they have English-to-Swedish translations on them. Now I just need to find some suckers whose money I can take... er, I mean, some people who want to play with me.
All the stairways have these paths for strollers. That's one disincentive to have a kid.
This little guy was all bundled up; I love the huge gloves on his hands.
This was lying on the floor of the restaurant I was in. Nobody picked it up by the time I was done and nobody else was around, so free toy for me.
A rather neat subway stop.
Some more on the walls.
Some people who are moving out put free stuff here.
I watched some corneal crosslinking procedures today. Not really used much in the US yet, although it's starting. I wonder if it really works in the long run? The doctors I talked to were divided.
Watch out for guys throwing ice off rooftops.
Although they always have it blocked off.
At least, when actual people are throwing it off. These chunks fell off on their own about 3 feet away from me. That would have hurt.
A little store with lots of neat things.
Yeah, cards for $1 when I paid $10. Oh well, mine are still neat.
Notice something missing? The sidewalk. Well, it's probably there somewhere, under a foot of snow.
This is getting annoying. I'm supposed to get a student union card so I can show it if they check people in the subway. Their office is closed and they haven't answered my email, grrr. At least I haven't been stopped yet.
They have to let you inside. Come on.
Everything closes so early, especially government stuff.
Uh, those things aren't American. They're really more Asian.
Salvia? No, that's a hallucinogenic drug; pretty sure they don't sell that in grocery stores. Translate: sage.
Ooh, Pringles! Yeah! Sour Cream and Onion are OK, but I don't like plain.
I love BBQ, though. And half off! Although they weren't actually BBQ, they're grill. Which is kinda like BBQ, but not quite.
Aw, that sucks.
This is milk.
This is not milk. Or maybe it is, but not the kind I want.
This is what it looks like in my cereal. It's so thick it doesn't even go into the cereal. Lesson #47: look for mjölk, not just a picture of a cow.
Sometimes people leave the sinks pretty dirty.
But most of the time they're fairly clean.
Dumb 500 SEK notes. I've finally decided to fold them in half.
The girls across the hall just thew their coats and bags on the hallway floor in the morning, heh.
The recycling room.
Ooh, a suitcase. Too bad it's not in nicer condition.
Figured out some things about the jewel game on my phone. (1) The hammer destroys rocks, although so far I haven't had to use it. (2) The blank spaces are actually good because you can move jewels into them without having to match anything.
The Fridhemsplan station has bare rock, like a lot of other stops, so it can be a little hard to tell when you're there if you don't see a sign, but most of it also has this random pain, so that helps.
At first I thought this was a tiny restaurant inside of there, but I think it's actually just an ad and the box is actually for the construction workers.
Aw, man, tons of new scrubs and the ones I wear on the top shelf. Which means I can't reach the top of the pile, so I have to try to pull one out of the middle without toppling everything.
Remember how these shoes look; they're in the locker room I use at the hospital. It will be important later.
I wonder if that's a massage place or a "massage" place. Actually, prostitution is legal in Sweden, but paying for a prostitute is illegal. Kinda weird.
More ice.
The Texas Smoke House, which is close to the hospital.
Gotta have hooks since everyone wears coats.
It was actually pretty cheap by Swedish standards for what you got. $12 for a big burger and fries isn't bad, even in American at a somewhat-decent restaurant.
Jalapeņo ketchup? Not too bad, and you can definitely taste the jalapeņos.
Pretty smokey back there.
I can get free wifi on my iPhone, but it's rather pointless most of the time. Either I can't get any wifi signal at all or everything's locked down. Every once in a while I can get a free one, but it's definitely not something I can depend on for a map when out walking around.
There aren't many drunk, crazy, or homeless people around, but these two were at least the first two.
Aww, I really want this locker, but it's broken.
This guy was hauling his dog around in this, haha.
Kind of a neat subway stop.
And another one with big rocks.
A little area with lots of shops.
But I'm not sure where to go for the buses.
Ah, that helps.
Yep, looks like IKEA. Although what would you ever do with a giant "R?"
I see IKEA!
It's huge.
Gotta be back before 7:30pm to take the bus; otherwise you have to take another bus to the subway, which takes twice as long.
"Sale" in ice.
Oh, that's dirty. All these little stuffed toys are on the escalator up. Good luck keeping your kids from grabbing those.
Lots of floors.
And each floor is really big.
On the outside they have example rooms set up.
Some are pretty neat, but they show off the expensive items.
They have really cheap stuff, too, but it's all the way at the end. Two skillets for $8.50.
If you want the bigger items, you write down the number and pick it up at the end.
Rugs for 50 cents.
The warehouse area is at the end.
Also huge.
The lines are fairly long, but they move quickly.
There is another big shopping center nearby.
The last free IKEA bus home. Get there a bit early to get a seat.
I dunno; an old car with flame pits around it that the doorman would occasionally throw paper into.
Neat chandeliers.
Mongolian BBQ restaurant in Sweden? Sure, why not.
It was actually pretty good.
It was a buffet, although probably not worth the price.
My IKEA goodies.
Actually got to sleep in a bit today, so I didn't have to be up before the sun.
This dirt was on these stairs at the hospital yesterday; come on, that really should be clean by now.
Got to watch some cataract surgeries and trabeculectomies.
Trying to cover up as much of my head as possible, heh.
I wonder what makes these cookies "American?"
Um, there's some weird sauce on my lasagna. It was good, though.
Almost all the grocery stores have recycling machines in the back.
Pretty cheap for the size.
That's just weird.
Mariatorget.
Some of us met for drinks at Marie Laveau.
It's also a gallery (if you can call it that, with only a few paintings).
And a nightclub.
I really want some Oreos, but not that tiny pack for that price.
They apparently like these taco tubs here.
Oh, man, now how am I going to get home? Thankfully I could take another subway line to a common station and continue from there.
I'm not quite sure what this does; I press it and as far as I know, nothing happens.
The girl beside me had this feather on her door. Someone moved it, which made me quite confused for a few seconds.
This sewage vent overflew, but they had it cleaned up really quickly.
I can't say the same for this escalator, however. It's been out of commission for a few days.
Remember the shoes from earlier? They're in almost the exact same spots a few days later. The one on the left is moved a bit, but that could be the cleaners. It's like a ghost locker room.
Ooh, free lunch at the clinic. I hope this is the room I'm supposed to be in.
Aw, nope, it's this one. Not quite as good of food, but it's still free.
Got a haircut.
I kept saying, "Just a little," and she went a lot and gave me like a typical northern European cut, sigh. Oh well; it'll grow back.
Ooh, that's cool. An ice-cream dessert shaped like a wine bottle.
Funny shot glasses.
Can you spot the Americans? They're the ones standing in the middle of the sidewalk blocking everyone else rather than standing in line. How embarassing.
And this lady is taking up three seats with her stuff.
Back to IKEA for a few more things. It's annoying because you have to go through the entire store, but actually, those doors in the back take you to the check-out lanes, even though it looks like you're not supposed to go through them.
Super-cheap tables.
I think this lady just bought furniture for her entire house. She has three loaded pallets.
Klara kyrka by Central Station.
Watching The Simpsons while eating.
To be shredded.
4pm = evening shift.
These hotdog stands would be a good deal if it weren't freezing outside.
That's an interesting design.
Getting a hair dryer and straightener for when Jenny visits.
Kaka!
Pretty sure I don't want my cleaner to smell like frozen lime and vinegar.
You need your key fob to open the kitchen door. Then you need your key to open your cabinet. But if you leave the kitchen and you left your keys in the cabinet, you get locked out, which is quite a pain.
Finally got enough dishes to make a real meal.
OK, drag = pull, like you're dragging something.
Not sure how to remember push, though.
There was an open fair of all the student organizations at the university's pub on Friday afternoon. Here's a group raising AIDs awareness.
Some people talking.
Gotta love the free candy.
Lots of different clubs, although not too many that were interesting.
More free snacks.
Global Friends, who helped us get settled and does some tours.
They even had a live band that played.
It was weird because everyone stopped and listened to them.