Sweet Sixteen

WSU has been taking their play to a new level this March.  I have been here in D.C. and it is great because I have been able to watch the games with quite a few other alumni.  Good times.

NHL/UFC

So I went to my first NHL hockey game ever last night.  It was pretty exciting.  There was a goal within the first 25 seconds, as well as a goal with 12 seconds left in the game to cap off the victory for the Capitals.  I was really hoping to see a fight too, and it worked out in my favor.  

There was a real hockey fight, which was fairly standard, guys punching each other in the helmets, nothing too cool.  Then there was this guy sitting a few rows behind us that was yelling and being obnoxious throughout the whole game.  Finally one of the Calgary Flames fans had enough, and decided to take him out.  If you look closely at the picture, you can see the really large guy in the back has pulled the shirt over the head of some other guy, just like in a real hockey fight.  Classic.

Good times.

Back

Made it back to the states safely.  I'm going to a Washington Capitols/Calgary Flames NHL hockey game tonight in D.C. with my buddy Adam.  Sweet.

Last Day

So it is my last morning here in Stockholm.  I have been here for about 2.3 months now, and it has been a pretty good trip.  I have seen tons of things I have never gotten to see before, and done quite a few things that I will never get to do again.  

After everything, Stockholm was great.  It had some of the coolest buildings I have seen, and it really had a lot more to it than I figured an old city could have.  It was a really great experience to get the chance to see it all, and take it in.

Well, I am getting ready to leave to go to the airport, and I don't want to forget anything, so I have to go.  I hope you all like what you've been seeing/reading from Stockholm.  This blog has been fun, and I'll try and keep it up.

Oh yeah, I was wrong about the Semla.  It is still around.  I'm enjoying my last Semla as I type.

Subway Set

So today I played a solo show at the Gamla Stan tunnelbana (subway) station here in Stockholm.  I had been planning it forever, and really wanted to do it before I left, so I finally did it.  I thought it was legal to play music inside the subway stations, as long as you were outside the "gated" area.  There are always people playing the saxophone or accordion, and occasionally someone with a guitar as well, but far less common.

I left the apartment around 11:45, and took off towards Gamla Stan (Old Town).  When I got there, nobody was playing in the tunnel, so I set up shop and began playing.  I played for a few minutes without getting any money, then I started to get some.  I ended up only playing for 20 minutes, because the subway officials came and kicked me out.  Apparently you cannot play in the subway.  You have to be completely off the subway property.  It was quite fun though.  I ended up getting about 20 crowns and 1 euro, which totals almost $5.  Not bad for 20 minutes of playing.  Wish I had some pictures, but it was a great time.  I really wish I had done it earlier, but this will work out for a good story.

Sad news

To my faithful readers who know about Semla from a previous post, they are gone ( kindof ).  As I said earlier, Semla is a seasonal treat associated with lent, and even more so with Fat Tuesday.  Fat Tuesday is national Semla Day, and Semla is only served around a month or so.  I've been waiting for stores to start phasing Semla out, but they didn't.  One day it was just gone.  I couldn't find it anyway anymore.

Until today, I found a bakery that was selling them, (1 for the price of what I used to get 2 for) so I got one.  I haven't eaten it yet, I am actually writing this, then will probably eat it in the new few minutes.

Other than this lucky find, I will miss you Semla.  Semlor too.  Ha det bra.

Ha det bra, tack thomas, hej!

I only have three days left.  I'm getting ready today to go out on another solo mission to take pictures.  The weather is decent, but Sunday is supposed to be really bad weather, so I am making sure I get out again today at least.  I have gotten some good pictures while I am here, and have gotten a good experience.  While the administrators from my school are quite slow, and don't really know what they are doing, I guess it is good I came here to Stockholm.  I don't think I will ever get an experience like this again.  Hopefully I will, but at least I got this one.

Well the title of this post is more of an inside joke to me, but to anyone who speaks Swedish, it is commonplace.  When people get off the phone here, they have certain greeting or salutations, and sometimes they are the same as at the beginning of the conversation.  People usually start the conversation out with hej, which means hello.  they also end the conversaion with hej, which is short for hej da, which means goodbye.

So, it is funny for me when people say hej, blah blah blah, then go to ha det bra, tack Thomas, hej!,  which means hello, blah blah blah, have a good one, thanks tom, see ya later.  

too bad i couldn't have spent more time learning the language.  If i had a class before I came over, I think I would be speaking quite a bit of Svensk by now.  well, I have to go, losing daylight over here.  

Hat de bra, hej!

Forlat

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, I've been kinda busy.  Sorry, no photoshop on these pictures yet either, straight out of the camera.  Only having 6 days left in Sthlm, I am trying to get quite a few things done, as well as see as many sights and take as many pictures as I have time to squeeze in.

I only have time to post a few pictures right now, but I promise more will come.  Or, you can ask me about them later, and I'll show you all the one I have time to color correct.  I've taken quite a few pictures, but looking back, I wish I'd had the time to take a few more.  At least I wish I would have known as much about photography as I did when I got here.  Even though I haven't had any photography classes during the time I've been here, I've learned quite a bit about photography just from taking pictures.  

Seems logical.  Do something more often, learn how to do it better.

Well, hope you like the pics.  AND, I don't know how to post vertical pictures on this blog, and some of my best pictures are vertical.  So, look forward to those later, meaning the next time I see you.  Ask for Klevgrand alley, it is outstanding.