We're gonna make this post a 3-parter. It's been a couple weeks and a lot has happened, so 3 parts. Firstly because the last 3 weeks can be split into 3 distinct parts (Stockholm, Norway and Germany), and also because I bought 3 new albums during that time (or pre-ordered albums were released, same-same) so it's covering three songs.
First off: Stockholm. Last time I wrote I was also sitting here at Munich airport on my way to Stockholm, but this time I'm on my way back to Shanghai. Well, I went to Stockholm and it was great. Last time I went I didn't like it so much. Mostly cause of the weather and I felt the city was dirty and just unimpressive, but it was totally different this time. Not sure why, cause the weather still wasn't great. Maybe it was just nice to be there with my parents and a couple of local friends. Those friends were Mathias, who I've written about before, probably when he was my neighbor in Singapore and when he had his internship in Shanghai last year. And then there was Carl, who I stayed with. Carl was my flatmate when I studied in Shanghai over 10 years ago, and it's probably been 7 or 8 years since we've seen each other. But I had to run to his apartment, drop my bags off, and then head out. I was on my way to the Daughter concert, and he was actually on his way to see Tame Impala.
So I ran off to see Daughter with Mathias. Which, as expected, was amazing. 6th time's the charm! Actually I shouldn't say that. I think it makes it sound like the first 5 weren't charming. But they sure were. This show was also great cause the new album makes for excellent live performances, which I expected, and they played a great mix of new and old and older. Still not The Woods, my favorite, but all around a fantastic show. Then I had nachos, which was super disappointing because it was just chips with some sour cream, salsa and guacamole on the side. Not even cheese. But I guess that's what you get for having your first meal in Scandinavia be Mexican. It wasn't by choice, though. Mathias hadn't eaten, didn't know the area, and the bar we stumbled in to only had nachos to eat. So there you have it. Then Carl met us and we went to meet up with some of his friends at a club around the corner. It was a late night, which was great for the jetlag (which, actually, I didn't really have).
Day two started out by going to meet my parents. They had arrived late on Friday night, so we met up and had lunch, and they met Carl. This was my first real meal, and it was proper Swedish, so don't worry. Mathias also came and had lunch with us, and we wandered the city together for hours and had a really, really nice day. Not too much to report, really, from Day 1 in Stockholm, as we just wandered around and looked at stuff and chatted. It was great. But then when night fell we had big plans. Carl took us to see Swedish (not so) pro-wrestling. I have never seen pro-wrestling before in America, not even on TV for more than like 2 minutes, but it was amazing. It was a shitty little venue that is usually a dirty club, but they put a ring in the middle and had a big Battle Royale. We thought we'd only stay for a couple hours, but we ended up there the entire time, like three and a half, cause it was so much fun. It was so dumb, but so amazing. The characters are ridiculous (and a lot of them are also really, really gay. Not sure where that came from). The best was probably the mime, though. Yes, a mime. Amazing. And this was followed up by a Viking restaurant. Seriously, what a fantastic night? We actually only got into the bar section of the restaurant at first, cause it was super crowded. We actually even had to wait half an hour for that. And when we finally made it in we drank mead. Which is gross. So we stopped and drank really strong beer instead. The place is like a cellar with a bunch of shields and wait staff (and guests) in costume (which made me wish I had a costume) and they have live medieval music playing. It's a ton of fun. We finally made it into the restaurant part where the music is, but it was too late for food, so we just drank more and watched the musicians. It was a fantastic night. I definitely want to go watch more Swedish wrestling. And I want to go back to the restaurant and actually eat. I assume it's just tons of meat you eat with your hands, and I like that.
Day 3 was, once, again just seeing the city with my parents. We did do a couple museums, though. The Vasa Museum, which is a huge museum with a 17th century ship that sunk 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage and is hailed as Sweden's biggest embarrassment. So why not make a museum about it? It's pretty sweet cause they actually have the entire ship rebuilt in this building, and 90% of it is original. It was the one thing I didn't do in Stockholm last time I was there that I wanted to, so luckily I made it this time. Then we saw Mathias off at the train station and went to Fotografiska, which is a fantastic photography museum. They usually have like 4 or 5 exhibits going on at a time. This time two were good and two were not, but I really enjoyed it. Then it was bed and up early for our flight to Norway. Which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
One of the albums that I bought during this trip is 10,000, the debut album from Emilie & Ogden. Don't be fooled by the name. This Canadian band actually has 3 members. Emilie is obviously the singer (as you will know if you listen to the song), but neither of the men in her band are called Ogden. So I can only assume Ogden is her harp, which features prominently on the album. Which means she obviously reminds me of Joanna Newsom. And her quirky voice helps too, but Joanna is quirkier (and better...) . But she also reminds me of Feist at times, and Florence + The Machine at times, and according to her facebook profile also St. Vincent, but I don't get that one. Anyway, she makes very nice music and I like her album. So you can now enjoy the title track, Ten Thousand.
First off: Stockholm. Last time I wrote I was also sitting here at Munich airport on my way to Stockholm, but this time I'm on my way back to Shanghai. Well, I went to Stockholm and it was great. Last time I went I didn't like it so much. Mostly cause of the weather and I felt the city was dirty and just unimpressive, but it was totally different this time. Not sure why, cause the weather still wasn't great. Maybe it was just nice to be there with my parents and a couple of local friends. Those friends were Mathias, who I've written about before, probably when he was my neighbor in Singapore and when he had his internship in Shanghai last year. And then there was Carl, who I stayed with. Carl was my flatmate when I studied in Shanghai over 10 years ago, and it's probably been 7 or 8 years since we've seen each other. But I had to run to his apartment, drop my bags off, and then head out. I was on my way to the Daughter concert, and he was actually on his way to see Tame Impala.
So I ran off to see Daughter with Mathias. Which, as expected, was amazing. 6th time's the charm! Actually I shouldn't say that. I think it makes it sound like the first 5 weren't charming. But they sure were. This show was also great cause the new album makes for excellent live performances, which I expected, and they played a great mix of new and old and older. Still not The Woods, my favorite, but all around a fantastic show. Then I had nachos, which was super disappointing because it was just chips with some sour cream, salsa and guacamole on the side. Not even cheese. But I guess that's what you get for having your first meal in Scandinavia be Mexican. It wasn't by choice, though. Mathias hadn't eaten, didn't know the area, and the bar we stumbled in to only had nachos to eat. So there you have it. Then Carl met us and we went to meet up with some of his friends at a club around the corner. It was a late night, which was great for the jetlag (which, actually, I didn't really have).
Day two started out by going to meet my parents. They had arrived late on Friday night, so we met up and had lunch, and they met Carl. This was my first real meal, and it was proper Swedish, so don't worry. Mathias also came and had lunch with us, and we wandered the city together for hours and had a really, really nice day. Not too much to report, really, from Day 1 in Stockholm, as we just wandered around and looked at stuff and chatted. It was great. But then when night fell we had big plans. Carl took us to see Swedish (not so) pro-wrestling. I have never seen pro-wrestling before in America, not even on TV for more than like 2 minutes, but it was amazing. It was a shitty little venue that is usually a dirty club, but they put a ring in the middle and had a big Battle Royale. We thought we'd only stay for a couple hours, but we ended up there the entire time, like three and a half, cause it was so much fun. It was so dumb, but so amazing. The characters are ridiculous (and a lot of them are also really, really gay. Not sure where that came from). The best was probably the mime, though. Yes, a mime. Amazing. And this was followed up by a Viking restaurant. Seriously, what a fantastic night? We actually only got into the bar section of the restaurant at first, cause it was super crowded. We actually even had to wait half an hour for that. And when we finally made it in we drank mead. Which is gross. So we stopped and drank really strong beer instead. The place is like a cellar with a bunch of shields and wait staff (and guests) in costume (which made me wish I had a costume) and they have live medieval music playing. It's a ton of fun. We finally made it into the restaurant part where the music is, but it was too late for food, so we just drank more and watched the musicians. It was a fantastic night. I definitely want to go watch more Swedish wrestling. And I want to go back to the restaurant and actually eat. I assume it's just tons of meat you eat with your hands, and I like that.
Day 3 was, once, again just seeing the city with my parents. We did do a couple museums, though. The Vasa Museum, which is a huge museum with a 17th century ship that sunk 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage and is hailed as Sweden's biggest embarrassment. So why not make a museum about it? It's pretty sweet cause they actually have the entire ship rebuilt in this building, and 90% of it is original. It was the one thing I didn't do in Stockholm last time I was there that I wanted to, so luckily I made it this time. Then we saw Mathias off at the train station and went to Fotografiska, which is a fantastic photography museum. They usually have like 4 or 5 exhibits going on at a time. This time two were good and two were not, but I really enjoyed it. Then it was bed and up early for our flight to Norway. Which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
One of the albums that I bought during this trip is 10,000, the debut album from Emilie & Ogden. Don't be fooled by the name. This Canadian band actually has 3 members. Emilie is obviously the singer (as you will know if you listen to the song), but neither of the men in her band are called Ogden. So I can only assume Ogden is her harp, which features prominently on the album. Which means she obviously reminds me of Joanna Newsom. And her quirky voice helps too, but Joanna is quirkier (and better...) . But she also reminds me of Feist at times, and Florence + The Machine at times, and according to her facebook profile also St. Vincent, but I don't get that one. Anyway, she makes very nice music and I like her album. So you can now enjoy the title track, Ten Thousand.
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