Stockholm Syndrome

After much anticipation and lots of waiting we started our 3rd and final field study trip to Stockholm, Tallinn, and London. We headed to the airport on Wednesday afternoon around 3 and were in Stockholm before midnight. Because it was late and we'd been travelling all day, it was time for some rest so we could hit it hard on Thursday.

Thursday
Up and out of the hotel early to meet with a representitive from the Swedish Institute for European Studies. We learned about Sweden's position on important EU issues and were able to learn a lot about Sweden and their opinions.

We then headed out to get some lunch in town. We had a couple free hours so we wandered to Gamla Stan, the old town area where Stockholm was founded. We enjoyed seeing the Royal Palace, walking through the small alleys, and strolling by the Baltic sea. The weather was great and a light jacket was all I needed to keep warm. We of course came across a number of attractive Swedes, because they are literally everywhere.
After lunch we headed Ericsson to have a meeting with their treasury department. We also took a tour of the company history and learned about the development of telecommunications since the beginning of the industry. Our guide also had all the new and exciting cell phone toys, including a watch that was connected to his phone to tell him who is calling and locate his phone. The meetings turned out to be rather boring, with lots of technical treasury info and money management in a large industry. However we then had the evening free and after a quick change of clothes we headed out to find some traditional Swedish food.
We ended up just across the street from our hotel in a highly recommended restaurant called Vurma. They offered traditional dishes like: Reindeer, Swedish meatballs and fish stew. We throughly enjoyed our dinner and awesome waiter who helped us learn about the Swedish language (which is a lot like German), good bars, and places to see.
We then headed back into town to see the city at night and find some (cheap) beer. Sweden has massive taxes of up to 25% on alcohol, making going out a very expensive prospect. An average beer goes for around 50 Kronor, which is about €5, a little different than €1 beer in Freiburg. We did however manage to find some decently priced drinks in the cheaper, up and coming, part of town. We then headed back to the hotel to get some rest and prepare for another exciting day. I also had a chance to chat with my Dad for a few minutes about my parent's imminent trip to Europe!

Friday

We were up and out early to head over to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We had several speakers who informed us about Sweden's government setup, which is a little different as they primarily use outside agencies for research and policy recommendations. We also talked about Sweden's foreign policy with concern to the EU and about Sweden's recent EU presidency. We then had what so far has been the most interesting presentation we've had in the whole program. We learned about the affect of migration on trade. According to the study immigrants from a certain country increase trade between their home country and Sweden 3-6%. Pretty amazing that just moving can affect trade relations.
We made a quick dash back to the hotel to change before our Stockholm boat tour. While not the best tour ever I learned some interesting things about Sweden and got some pictures. The weather had turned to a heavy fog which caused picture problems unfortunately.

After the tour we decided to go check out a few museums. We ended up in the Nobel museum and learned all about the life of Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes. He was a fascinating and intelligent man who seemed to regret his creation of a powerful explosive and dedicated his fortune to pursuits of good.

Saturday
We woke up a leisurely hour and checked out of the hotel, and then headed over to Skansen island, a living history museum that shows traditional Swedish life. We walked around for a bit, enjoyed seeing some animals at their Zoo, and headed to the Vasa museum. The Vasa was a 17th century war ship that sunk after traveling only a few kilometers due to having too little ballast stone. The boat has been preserved and looks outstanding. It is amazing to stand right next to the ship and realize just how big it is, it stands 7 stories tall! Though we didn't get to go on the boat, I did get some great pictures of it and learn a lot about naval warfare.

After a quick snack we headed got ready for our Baltic cruise.
I have officially decided that boat travel is the way to go. We took a wonderful "ferry" ride from Stockholm to Tallinn. This was no dinky ferry, it carries up to 2500 passengers, has a duty free grocery store, multiple restaurants, a dance club, and bars everywhere. We spent an exciting evening enjoying everything the boat had to offer and danced the night away. We arrived in Tallinn around 10 and started our next adventure. Now  if only there was a ferry from Tallinn to London... oh well.

Well that is all I have for now. I will have another update on Tallinn and London both.