Tourist and/or Local

After another week in Sverige, I am starting to feel more and more at home, rather than just a tourist.  However, with that being said, there is a lot of time to be a sightseer because our training sessions are held in the evenings.  So during the day, I have plenty of time to explore this beautiful and historic city.  I visited some museums, including Fotografiska, which had a photo exhibition on the Olympics, specifically the Stockholm Olympics, which occurred 100 years ago and was proclaimed as the first “modern Olympic Games”. 

Museum Fotografiska

Stockholm's Olympic Poster

I also did a walking tour to help me get my bearings, as well as to learn more about Sweden and Stockholm.  The tour guide was great and offered some interesting historic and modern facts about the area such as...

• Gamla Stan, the older part of the city, is mostly built on trash that people threw out on the streets, which is ironic since today Stockholm is one of the most eco-friendly cities in the world.
• 10 % of Swedes under 30 years old were conceived on IKEA beds…
• Queen Christina was mistaken as a boy when she was born in 1626 and they misinformed the country that they had a new prince and then had to clear up the mistake, however there was speculation about her gender throughout and after her life.
• Stockholm Syndrome originated in Stockholm (who woulda thought?) after some hostages felt sympathy for the robbers of a city bank.  Later, one of the robbers was invited to be part of one of the hostages’ wedding party.

View of Gamla Stan from across the water

Despite my tourist tendencies, I have been asked a few times for directions, so I must not look like a complete visitor- must be the blonde hair and blue eyes.  I have found that it is also impossible to overdress here- no one really wears athletic wear, definitely no sweats, (even on the way to gym or practice), so I if I want to look even more like a Swede, I have to dress nice. And this week is Stockholm Fashion Week, so I may have to look extra nice. 

When I am not playing soccer, I have had ample time that I have tried to make the most of.  I have always been good at balancing my time between going hard and relaxing, and the Swedes seem to have the same idea… Stockholm prides itself on “fika” which is a coffee break.  Swedes drink more coffee per capita than just about any other country in the world.  Which I can believe—you cannot walk more than a block without finding a coffee shop or café.  The coffee is AMAZING… (although I do miss Dunkin Donuts iced coffee!)  There are a lot of parks and outdoor seating near the water, so while the weather is still nice (its been about 70 degrees), I have been trying to take advantage of the outdoors, along with the other locals… Us Americans were wondering if they have jobs; Either they have long lunch breaks, don’t work the grueling 9-5 or a lot of them are on summer vacation that lasts a few weeks, so it may be wrapping up soon.

Local park in Sodermalm

This past weekend Ragsveds IF had a tough loss. After going up 1-0, we gave up our lead. It was a frustrating way to lose but things are starting to look up.  In the past few weeks, we have lost some key players due to injury, however we finally have a set coach (there was some drama I didn’t understand) and we are gaining momentum.  After two practices with the new coach, I still managed to get some time. Out of the 12 teams in our league, we stand in the middle. Our goal is to finish top 6 because they are creating a league for the top 6 teams in Division 1 north and south, which will be a division higher than what we are in now.  As always, when I get opportunities I try to do whatever I can to help the team's success. I am excited for the next few months of soccer! 

Our home field, Hagsätra IP

Small world moment—today at practice I met a Swede who went to Bowdoin for two years.  He knew some of the girls I played with when I was a freshman.  He actually recently began working with Ragsveds IF, and he couldn't believe that a girl from Bowdoin was playing on the team.  It’s amazing that there are Polar Bears on all ends of the earth, and we always end up finding each other.  This encounter definitely made me feel closer to home. Go U Bears!