Yearly Archives: 2009
The Would-Be King is Dead. God Save the Man Who Would Have Been King.
To tantalize their readers, some writers would need to concoct an absurd and elaborate fictitious story about a royal family, a tragic plane crash, forbidden love, an intriguing, influential and … Continue reading
Street scenes
It’s another installment of pictures of regular, everyday things how they look in Sweden. This time it’s stuff on the street. Garbage can. Illegally-parked Corvette. Amazing. People who drive these … Continue reading
I want to write a song
As some readers may know, I am currently on tour with my band, the Metroschifter. Today we are in Forli, Italy. Of course, I’m missing Sweden and the recent episodes … Continue reading
I want to write a song
As some readers may know, I am currently on tour with my band, the Metroschifter. The tour is taking us through many countries of continental Europe, far south of Sweden. … Continue reading
Grocery Store Items
I’ve received a few requests from readers in America to show some images of simple, regular, everyday stuff in Sweden that looks different. So here’s the first of a few … Continue reading
Karlaplan
Karlaplan is a picturesque area of Stockholm on the island of Ãstermalm where five major streets meet to form a star. Inspired by similar street plans in Paris, construction on … Continue reading
Secret Code: Are Swedes trying to keep Swedish to themselves?
As I’ve mentioned many times, most Swedish people speak perfect English and they love doing it. It’s the opposite of French people. The French can speak English with you but … Continue reading
Halloween in Sweden
Grab a warm sweater or safe blanket and sit thee down fore thine flickering computer screens, dear friends, for I am about to weave a bone-chilling tale, the likes of … Continue reading
The Idea of North
It’s beginning to get cold in Sweden. The first snow of the season, however fleeting, already happened a couple weeks ago. Earlier this month, daylight hours in Stockholm passed below … Continue reading
Bunny Power!
Sweden may have just taken a major step toward ousting Japan as the cutest country in the world. Stockholm is leading the charge. While some of the world’s big cities … Continue reading
The Language of Rock
When you’re living in the United States, or any English-speaking country, it’s easy to forget (or not even realize) that a large share of the world’s popular music is sung … Continue reading
Fontroversy!
It’s not every day that typography is in the news or that usage of a particular font can be described as controversial. However, such a situation is afoot this week … Continue reading
Inescapable Freedom
Sometimes I feel like a lot of the material I write for this website is the same. It goes something like this: “Sweden is clean, quiet, beautiful and the people … Continue reading
Saltsjöbanan
Saltsjöbanan is one of Stockholm’s oldest local rail lines. The 18-station line has been operating over 115 years and covers an end-to-end distance of about 11 miles (18 km). The … Continue reading
Last train to Clarksville
I’ve received a lot of comments and questions about my previous stories comparing the public transit systems in Louisville and Stockholm (or maybe I should I say: comparing Stockholm’s public … Continue reading
D-Day for Incandescence
In your face, Thomas Edison! The man who perfected and commercialized the incandescent light bulb would be aghast if he were here today. With the rest of us, he would … Continue reading
Hervé Villechaize Language School
I heard a story a long time ago about Hervé Villechaize. He was the actor who played the character Tattoo on the television series Fantasy Island and was famous for … Continue reading
If you’re afraid of the swine flu, you should probably sell your bicycle
I am obsessive about washing my my hands. Not obsessive compulsive – I only wash them when there’s a remote chance that some type of mild contamination may be on … Continue reading
Almost too pretty
Sometimes Stockholm is so pretty I could just shit.
Rain
When I wake up and it’s raining, I feel how I imagine a dog must feel when you’re closing the door and leaving it in the house alone. The dog … Continue reading
Swedish pants
I don’t know how to say this delicately, so I’ll just come right out and say it: Swedish girls think that tights are pants. If this were happening in America, … Continue reading
Signs of tolerance
These damn Swedish liberals are sooo permissive. Yes, you can park here and yes, it’s free, but we do have some rules: only in marked spaces and only for two … Continue reading
Stuck in a moment
Everybody has moments when they get lost in thought but this gammal tant was transfixed by something in a Stureplan shop window. Captivated even. If I had posted a video … Continue reading
Ask the Doctor
Since President Obama is making a major speech Wednesday on the health care crisis in America, I thought I’d post this nice photo of something I saw recently in Stockholm. … Continue reading
But I just learned the old one
You may remember a story from back in June when I had just attended the music festival in Stockholm called Where the Action Is. A portion of that yarn included … Continue reading
No more meaningless than anything else
The rumors are true. In less than a month I will be officially old. I’m not talking about 25 or some silly age that kids think is old. I’m talking … Continue reading
Axelsberg Station
The Tunnelbana Station in the Stockholm neighborhood of Axelsberg has the name of the area spelled out in a giant glass, concrete, stone and iron sculpture that stretches the entire … Continue reading
Picture perfect
Sometimes when I’m in Stockholm, I happen to glance at something and think to myself, “Wow, that really looks like Sweden.” Of course, it is Sweden. In fact, Sweden is … Continue reading
The Sky
The sky is a monster of gases that blankets the planet and protects us from the harsh nothingness of outer space. As an added bonus to this monumental task, it … Continue reading
Hermans and Gröna Lund
My favorite restaurant in Stockholm is Hermans which is a huge vegetarian buffet that is open late. Not late like Louisville-late, but like 10:00 or 11:00 at night. That’s pretty … Continue reading