Time

It has been nearly two months since I returned from Sweden. Two months.

It is interesting to think about how quickly time passes. I returned from Paris, after my first time living abroad, nearly nine months ago. Upon my return, I was happy to be home again, but yearned for my next adventure in Europe. Sweden always appeared in my mind as that next big trip in the distance, an adventure after a long spring semester. Each day it got closer, and closer…

And now it’s over. Not only is it over, but my experience in Stockholm is slowly receding into the past.

The reason I open with such reflection is that we must recognize how quickly time passes, and learn to make the best of it. This holds especially true for travelers.

So, there is a question that should be asked – that must be asked: did I make the most of my time in Stockholm?

Yes.

Coming to Life

Summer days are long days in Sweden, particularly in Stockholm. I noticed that the sun usually did not set until nearly 11:00 PM, and it rose soon after, at around 4:00 AM. Furthermore, the weather was always good, always.

Not too hot, not too cold, with usually a slight breeze coming from the water that surrounds the many islands on which Stockholm sits. It is paramount to open the account of my Stockholm experience with this because (as many Swedes quickly informed me), Stockholm in the summer is far different than Stockholm in the winter.

“Just wait until December, this becomes the most miserable city on Earth.”

Well, while I hope that whoever told me that was exaggerating, I can at least attest that Stockholm from May through early July was quite lively, and most Swedes seemed to agree.

Every day when I walked out my door, I would see Stockholm’s many parks full with people, joggers on the city’s running paths, and countless adventurers exploring places like the lush, green island of Djurgården, one of my favorite places in the city.

In the sleek, residential area of Hammarby Sjöstad, where I stayed during the summer, there would always be children outside with their parents in the neighborhood’s many playgrounds, every day.

As I rode the (quite clean and modern) Stockholm metro to work every day, I could often look out the window and see construction site after construction site over the water. While it can be argued that they ruined the view (especially when passing Gamla Stan, the Old Town), they also said something about the city. It was growing, it was alive.

When placed in this environment, I too felt alive. I grew addicted to exploring the city, to seeing just one more park, to going to just one more museum, to going for another run. Regardless of what I was doing, I felt like doing more of it. There was energy, perhaps more than ever.

And maybe, the strong Swedish coffee culture helped with that too…

“In this machine, the coffee is extra strong.”

My first day at work. Everything went as planned. I got to the office in Norrmalm (an area close to the heart of Stockholm) well in advance, and despite jetlag I was in a pretty good mood. I was in Sweden!

I met my supervisor for my internship, John Gabrielsson, and he began to give me a tour of the office. In the kitchen were three, large coffee machines in a row. John first gestured toward the first two machines on the left, and said “The coffee in these two machines is pretty strong.”

I had read up a bit on how Swedes love their coffee, so this was unsurprising. But still, I wondered what the situation was with the third machine: decaf perhaps? Or maybe it was a flavored blend? How naïve.

“And in this machine, the coffee is extra strong.”

Then, John went on to describe what my responsibilities as an intern would be at Foodla.

But wait, what is Foodla? In short, it is a food-tech startup which connects consumers to their local growers, making it easier for people to buy and eat locally grown food.

Currently, it is working on integrating its online local food marketplace with that of local grocery stores. Working at the company were John (the company’s CEO and my immediate supervisor), Rickard Gabrielsson, and Kai Chu.

And, for a limited time, me.

As an intern at the company, my duties centered around research. I performed analysis of similar companies in English-speaking countries, explored funding opportunities, and learned about agriculture throughout Sweden and Europe.

So at this point, you may ask, how did I end up there?

Round Two

Back in Paris, after only three weeks in the city, I already decided that I wanted to go abroad again – it was that exhilarating. What remained to be discovered was how, when, and where? I realized that schedule-wise, another semester abroad would be too difficult.

But what about an internship abroad, and preferably, one in the summer? I did some research and found a wonderful company called Global Experiences. The concept of Global Experiences is simple: they interview young professionals, learn about their interests, and find them internships in different cities around the world.

Furthermore, GE takes care of housing, provides information about the host country, and organizes site visits.

So we have the how, as well as the when, but what about the where? And then it hit me: Sweden. In the past I traveled to Norway, and found myself quite intrigued with the Nordic countries. Furthermore, I had met people from Sweden in both Washington and Paris, and became even more interested.

I saw GE had a Stockholm program, and was sold.

What’s SUP?

At my office in Norrmalm, there were far more companies than just Foodla. In fact, the space I’m referring to was a shared working-area operated by SUP46, or Startup People of Sweden. There were countless startups in the building, with employees from all over the world.

The office included a café, various lounge areas, and even a forest-themed “relaxation room.” There also was a ping-pong table, which I spent many of my breaks at work at (whether I improved in skill at the game is still up for debate – Tina, Philip, Robin, I’m looking at you).

SUP deserves mention here, because it shares two big features with Stockholm. The first is an entrepreneurial culture. Adding to its modernity, Sweden takes great lengths to promote startups and innovation. There are many places similar to SUP throughout Stockholm.

However, the greater feature here is the internationalism I saw at SUP. Not only were there people in the office from all over the world, but many of the companies themselves had global contacts.

I found that Stockholm prides itself on being an international city, and a hub of the Nordic countries. Roughly a third of the city’s population is of non-Swedish background.

Reindeer, Sweets, and Coffee

I said it in my Paris blog post, and I’ll say it again here: no discussion of any country is complete without talking about the food, and the traditions that surround it.

Yes, there was fish, and a lot of it. However, that was expected to a certain extent given that I was in Scandinavia. What was more interesting to me was discovering whether other stereotypes, such as reindeer and Swedish meatballs, were actually as common as perceived.

While I’m still not quite sure how widespread they are, I did have both during my first week in Stockholm, and can verify that they are delicious.

All of this, however, pales in comparison to the biggest food surprise: the sweets.

I still remember the first Swedish meal I had: pannkakor. Swedish pancakes. With whipped cream and jam. Why was that my first meal? Here’s the story.

Upon arriving in Sweden, I was tired. Jet lag. And besides, why sleep on the plane when you can be excited about traveling to another country for seven hours?

At the airport, I met up with Devan, another GE intern, and together we took a cab to Biz Apartments, where all the interns stayed during our time in Stockholm. However, it was only 8:00 AM (I think) and we were the first ones there.

Upon entering the lobby, we met Leigh, GE’s wonderful on-site representative who (besides taking us all on amazing site visits), made sure we had zero logistical or work-related issues during our stay in Sweden.

We were tired. Leigh was not. She immediately handed us both “goodie-bags” she prepared for all the interns and took us out to have some very-much-needed coffee. As the caption on my first Swedish Instagram post suggests, the coffee was quite strong, and soon enough we went out into the city to set up our Swedish phone numbers.

On the way, however, we stopped for breakfast. I was hungry, but I wanted more than just to eat, I wanted to eat something traditional, something Swedish. It was then that Leigh mentioned pannkakor, and I had made my decision.

Of course, there was a voice inside my head that said “you know this won’t fill you up and you’ll still be hungry later.” That voice was right, but as I ate by the water in a grassy area on Stockholm’s south side, I knew that it was worth it.

But pannkakor is just one of many different kinds of sweet foods and pastries so dominant in Sweden. When we think of foods like this in Europe, what place comes to mind? Probably France or Italy. I’m of the opinion that Sweden deserves recognition here too.

Walk into any Espresso House (or any café, for that matter) in Stockholm and you’ll likely be surprised at the diversity of sweet, baked goods available. Yes, Swedes are still very healthy and in-shape – you can do both, they’ve proved it.

From the Vikings to Fika

There’s a tradition in Sweden that ties both sweets and coffee together: fika.

The concept of fika is simple – it is meeting (to my understanding in the early afternoon) with friends or coworkers for sweets and coffee.

At some organizations it is taken quite seriously, with all work halting at say, 2:00 PM, and everyone in the office heading out to “take a fika,” regardless of what’s happening at work.

I took a fika several times during my stay, and I must say that I enjoyed it. However, tied to this came two reflections.

One of the site visits we went on was to Birka, a “Viking village” on an island west of Stockholm. As we toured the site, I thought of how, eons ago, the Vikings were considered some of the most feared, vicious people in Europe.

Fortunately (at least for someone visiting Sweden!) that is no longer the case, and when Swedes are in other countries they are probably on vacation in August, rather than raiding them.

But on a more serious note, given a long enough period, time will change everything.

Everything.

The second thought that came to me as I thought of fika was about cultural traditions.

One could quite easily look at fika and say “wait a second, people could have sweets and coffee with friends in many places around the world, why is it considered a distinct Swedish tradition?”

I think this perspective misses the point. Cultural traditions are considered as such because of people. They take hold because of history. In the past, coffee was banned in Sweden, so many Swedes came up with a secret word for coffee meetings – fika. Literally just kaffi (coffee) inverted.

It is not the actual coffee and sweets themselves which make fika so unique, which make it a tradition, but the history behind them.

Throughout our lives, traditions we encounter or partake in do not come out of the blue (despite what many would claim), they are forged in some sense by people, by history, by experience.

And similarly, people can change them, or create new ones entirely. Such is the story of fika.

Are Swedes Introverted?

Before closing, there’s one topic which any article on Sweden must address: the alleged introversion of the Swedes.

Ahead of my move to Sweden, I often read of how many foreigners found Swedes to be introverted, and frankly, a bit cold. I was always skeptical – usually these things are way more complicated than people pretend them to be.

One analogy Leigh gave, which I eventually found to be accurate, was that of a coconut. It may seem quite difficult at first to get to know people in Sweden, but once you do, once you "crack the shell", you will find them to be some of the friendliest, most caring people there are.

I must note that as a rule, I am strongly against generalizing about any group of people, and there certainly were exceptions.

Perhaps the Swedish way of going about social relationships is better.

It also could be the case that for Americans, our general attitude of out-and-out friendliness seems just as odd to the Swedes. Would I personally adopt the Swedish attitude? Probably not. But it is interesting to think about.

It’s Never Really Over

Two months in Sweden.

Yes, I miss it. Even before I left the country, many aspects of my time there began to fade.

SUP was moving to a new building, and during my last weeks, the café closed and the office slowly became a ghost-town. Most of the people I got to know well at SUP are now continuing their lives across Europe, and Foodla has moved to another startup-incubator completely.

Biz Apartments in Hammarby Sjöstad now has new occupants to replace all of the GE interns who left. Nordic Wellness now has one less person working out every evening.

We should not dwell on the past, but learn from it. My time in Stockholm may have ended, but my experience has not. I still have it.

It still impacts decisions I make today, thoughts I have now, and my future. I’m happy that I can share it all with others.

Sailing through the archipelago with the other interns and Leigh. Going for evening runs along the water in Hammarby Sjöstad. Playing an intense game of ping-pong with my friends at SUP. Sharing a good story at work with John.

Standing on the edge of a pier, feeling alive as the breeze hit me, and staring out at the setting sun over Stockholm’s summer sky.