Everything Is New

Well, I know I said it about Rome, and I know I said it about Bruges, but I think Stockholm may be the most beautiful city in the world. I spent most of yesterday wandering around the old town (Gamla Stan) with my mouth open, just trying to take it in. The architecture, the narrow, curving streets, the colors... it's amazing. And I saw/did some things that I don't think I've ever done before.

I went the whole day without listening to music. I had my mp3 player in my bag, but a friend asked me about a month ago... don't you ever just want to hear the atmosphere around you? I usually don't, but decided to give it a try, and it was nice. I sang a lot of the day, so it wasn't completely without music, but it was different.

Richard had gotten breakfast ready: oatmeal, cheese, bread, butter, and some blueberry cream cheese spread. After we had started eating, he realized he had forgotten something, and got some pickles out of the fridge. "You put pickles on your oatmeal?" I asked. It seemed a bit odd, but in a country where fish is regularly fermented, I'm not one to say where the boundaries should be. "No," he said, "they're for on the bread". So we kept eating, and I noticed that he would put the blueberry spread on his bread and then put pickles on top. I was intrigued, but decided to go without.

Until I tasted it.

Hmmmm..... not really like any other blueberries I'd eaten, I decided. I had a bit more, and then realized that it actually was kind of salty and not really very fruity at all. Might work with a pickle, actually. So I put a couple on and, sure enough, it improved things pretty dramatically.

After the meal, I mentioned this to Richard. He seemed to think it was kind of funny.

Turns out that the bluish-colored paste stuff is actually liver paté. Which is why it goes well with pickles.

I also saw a guy yesterday who may have been drunk out of his mind. He came into the square where I was sitting, people-watching, and smoking a very nice cigar (a Romeo y Julietta limited edition robusto from 2001). He had a ghetto blaster with him, and he started to dance with it, in the very center of the square. Before long, he got too hot, and took off his jacket, still dancing. That wasn't enough, it seemed, and he got rid of a button-down shirt, too. Getting kind of interesting, I thought, snapping away. Then he pulled out a bottle of Chivas and danced for a while with that.

Then he put it on his head.

And he kept dancing. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do that, and I'm sober. So, if he was drunk, this is one talented man. Eventually the police came and the show kind of ended, but it was good while it lasted. I want to upload a picture, but my internet connection here doesn't seem to like some things, and that's one of them. But next week, I'll have a ton.

Well, would write more, but I need to get out and see the city...