diversion [dih-vur-zhuh-n]: Stockholm

We had a wonderful weekend in Stockholm. I love Paris and fell in love with Stockholm instantly, but it's so weird how different they are. One way to describe Stockholm is to say it's everything that Paris isn't. Stockholm is clean, efficient and orderly while Paris, as amazing and beautiful as it is, can often be messy, chaotic and haphazard. Being borderline obsessive compulsive, I immediately identified with the symmetry of Stockholm. The airport, train station and downtown core all had helpful signs directing us in the right direction. The train from the airport into downtown was the most comfortable and luxurious train I've ever been on.

Another big difference between the Swedes and French was in personal expression. While French society may be anarchic, their personal appearance is very regimented. People are expected to dress and behave a certain way while in public. The Swedes are more individualistic. You can see middle-aged women with pink stripes in their hair, thirteen year old kids with Mohawks and young guys with really long beards.

Of course it goes both ways. The Swedes don't seem to have the same passion as the French, especially for food. Food in Stockholm was more generic than we're used to in Paris. With chain restaurants serving burgers, ribs and nachos, it felt more American than European. I think the best way to describe the difference is the French live to eat while the Swedes eat to live. Having said that, Lori had some really good Swedish meatballs and I ate reindeer that was really good as well.

A lot of cities have hop on/hop off bus tours but Stockholm also has hop on/hop off boat tours which work very well. I didn't realize how nautical Sweden is. Stockholm lies between the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren and there are approximately 30,000 islands in the Stockholm area. As we flew in, we could see hundreds of islands and half a dozen ferries moving between them.