Göteborg

GOTHENBURG - We arrived in Gothenburg at Tobias' apartment in the evening, with the sun shining brightly.

My first order of business was to hang my clothes up to dry. They had been sitting, soaking in themselves, for the entire drive. Soon the apartment was decorated with a mish-mash of black and gray t-shirts and pants and lots of my boxers.

Hmm...

Jenny and I were growing hungry and decided to venture out for dinner. A noticeable difference between America and Sweden is the fact that things close at a reasonable hour here. There don't seem to be 24 shops everywhere, no Denny's, and there sure as hell aren't any WalMarts. And I'm not complaining. It's refreshing.

However, it can leave some slim pickings on a Sunday evening.

We were able to find pizza and an Indian restaurant side-by-side.

"Let's get pizza," Jenny said. I felt like she was wanting to make sure I didn't feel completely lost and de-Americanized.

"What about Indian?" I asked.

She told me there weren't many Indian restaurants in Sweden, usually only in the big cities, and there weren't too many of those. Also, unlike places like San Francisco which seem to be very vegetarian-friendly, Sweden doesn't have as many meat-free options.

She again said we should get pizza, but I just smiled and suggested Indian instead. She looked happy about this and we ordered some food.

The woman running the restaurant was very friendly and seemed almost shocked that Jenny spoke Swedish.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

"Um... Sweden."

Funny.

She spoke English, too, which was helpful.

We headed to the convenience store next door to grab something to drink and I caved immediately. Ran straight for the Pepsi.

I've been proud of myself having cut back so much on pop while in San Francisco (and I will continue to stubbornly keep my Midwestern roots and refer to it as "pop", so stay back, Soda Nazis!) Let's just say I had a major relapse while in Illinois and sucked down way too many cans of the sugary stuff in a short period of time. I still feel the sugar withdrawal at times, wanting to beg, "C'mon... just one candy bar! I can handle just one!"

Anyway, Pepsi in hand, we ventured out to return to the apartment.

At some point, we were walking up some steps and I heard a loud crunch, like I had stepped on glass. I assumed it was just that... for a moment. Than Jenny cried out, "Simon!"

I had stepped on a snail.

I felt awful.

On the way down the stairs earlier, I hadn't noticed them. This is part of the reason why I spend so much time looking down at the ground while walking. I'm worried I'm going to step on some poor innocent bugs or little creatures. I devote a lot of walking time worrying about this. Like some intense Jain. Except that I'm still not really a vegetarian for some silly reason.

Jenny had noticed him though. And decided to call him Simon. And now I killed him.

Again, I felt awful. I kept hearing the crunch and imagined destroying that perfect shell in one silly step. Damn.

There wasn't a lot of time to dwell on it, though (don't worry, Jenny would bring it up several times of the following days). Because soon after, the sky split open and an ocean of water began pouring down on us. Intense rainfall. We were soaked in seconds.

It continued for the rest of the walk home, defying all odds and raining harder as time went on. We really couldn't do anything but laugh. I was excited to see some lightning, too.

Again, my secret fascination with the thought of being struck by lightning crept in again. I just watched a news piece today about a man in Minnesota who was struck by lightning. And lived. So not fair... What about me? And my latent superpowers?

Anyway, we were soaked to the bone and had no choice but to walk straight through deep puddles. No worries. There wasn't a dry spot left.

We had a nice moment in the rain and headed inside.

Now I was stuck with clothes on that were completely soaked and the rest of my clothes hanging up to dry after a wash. Clothing options were severely limited.

Dinner was good and I enjoyed some of the best naan I've ever had. The meal hit the spot and I probably ate more than was necessary, but just found myself having a hard time finding a good place to stop.

We talked through the evening, slept well, and lounged around the next day. There were big plans to visit a park in Gothenburg and see the seals, but, as it turns out, I am a Time Eater.

Hours just seem to slip by as I go "blah blah blah..."

Tobias arrived and we headed out into the city to run errands. First on the list: finding me a new adapter as the one Radio Shack sold me was a Worthless Fire Hazard. I suppose I should always check labels more closely, but I just assumed Radio Shack wouldn't sell an item marketed as "A Worthless Fire Hazard."

That's what I get for assuming.

We then visited the rehearsal space Tobias and Albert use for music. It was a great space in a warehouse and reminded me a bit of the visits I made to WESN's studio.

Tobias was nice enough to share some of the music he and Albert made and also to allow me to screw around on the drums for a while as he played. Very tolerant of him...

Video to follow as soon as the internet stops being so difficult...

Anyway, we were there for quite a while and I was just happy to get to play. I never did learn an instrument and was always too self-conscious to try when there were instruments available to me, especially when living with the band. One of the few regrets I still carry around.

We left and went to the market to get fixings for dinner. Jenny was going to make Taco Pie.

I spent the walk to the store telling a story about my time in Pennsylvania, The Game, an attempted hospital break-in, and a road cone. In another moment of synchronicity, I came upon this store in the shopping center as soon as I finished the story.



Whatever. I thought it was funny.

I walked around, probably slack-jawed, at the market, taking it all in. Completely the same while being totally different. I guess I just really have a thing for taking in all the differences and similarities between cultures. It was an endless source of entertainment and thought for me while in America, just the variety of cultures we have surrounding us all the time and the different things you can see going from one part of a city to the next. The same goes for me being in another country.

My favorite product thus far? Tubes of cheese.



I first saw this at the shop near the house during Midsummer. Tubes that look like toothpaste, but instead of minty-goodness, they contain a variety of cheese spreads mixed with various things, like bacon, ham, herbs, or shrimp. I suppose not so different from the tubs of cheese spread in America... I just enjoy it.

We returned to the apartment and Jenny prepared dinner. It was really good. Crust, veggie meat, green peppers, tomatoes, and some cheese I probably can't pronounce the name of. I had seconds and made sure to have more the next day for lunch.

We all talked, Jenny and Tobias caught up on Doctor Who, and I attempted to put my adapter to use while doing some writing.

Later, Tobias was discovered in the living room playing with a Lego car. He then began constructing a catapult.



He sure looked happy...

The next day my clothes were finally dry and we packed up to head out to Örebo to meet Lena for the festival.

And, of course, I felt obliged to grace everyone with my best Dumb Donald impression...



With that said and done, we loaded the car and headed north.