So many costumes…
Wednesday
Wednesday morning of Study Tour we had to ourselves! Some folks went shopping, others waited outside the Grand Hotel for Lady Gaga to make an appearance (she performed in Stockholm Tuesday 
night). Charlotte and Sara and I went to… wait for it… THE ABBA MUSEUM!! It didn’t occur to me until Sara mentioned it, but I’m glad she did! 2004-2005 was a major ABBA phase in my life. Of course Stockholm would have a museum, and when am I coming back? Probably not soon. If ever. There were pretty nifty cutouts of the band members you could stick your face into outside, which we had a lot of fun with. I look pretty great as Anni-Frid, if I do say so myself. Overall the museum was pretty fun and interactive, there were stations where you could “audition” for the band and sing one of their songs, virtually try on the costumes, mix tracks and see how they compared to the original, and even get up onstage and dance with holograms! I did it. Dancing Queen. Charlotte even got some video. It was so much fun, though I was a bit sick, which made the high notes a bit challenging. Though I did hit those low notes pretty solidly.
We met at the train station and made our way as a group to the Autism Center for Small Children. It was in a hospital, and had a very medical-model feel to it. They talked a lot about “treatment” and it wasn’t the coziest of settings. Interesting, though, and we had coffee & pastries afterwards. Nearly everywhere we go, we had coffee and pastries either as a break or after we finished up. It’s a good system.
What a view!
We had a couple hours on our own before meeting at the Philharmonic for a concert. Classical music has definitely grown on me in the last couple years. I was melting in my seat, and Maddie kept giving me some pretty weird looks. We sat behind the musicians, so for the first time as an audience member I could watch the conductor from the front. I think it’s fun, comparing styles of conductors. For one of the pieces a thirteen-year-old violinist came on stage, and delivered a performance I could have expected of any first-chair. I was dying.
Thursday
Our first visit Thursday was to an organization called Solhagagruppen that works with individuals with various disabilities, has its own group homes, and provides case managers and therapists. It was a fascinating visit, as Trine, the manager of pedagogy, told us about the work she did and some case examples, and then Patrik, another employee, told us his story and life experiences as someone with Aspergers. We were there for three full hours, and the breadth and depth of Solhagagruppen’s work was amazing. It seemed to be less-medical model, a little more holistic. Afterwards we had an hour and a half for lunch on our own, and Charlotte, Sara and I found this super adorable little cafe with the most fantastic sandwiches. Some folks had gone to Subway (first one I’d seen in months, Denmark doesn’t have them!), but I’m glad we found our little American-themed shop.
The next visit– our last for the week– was to Olof Risberg at the Boy’s Clinic. He is a psychologist/psychotherapist that works with children who have been sexually abused or have sexually abused. We spent the first chunk of our visit asking questions, and then he went through a bit of a powerpoint, and we walked around and saw the space. It was a very heavy topic, but the space was well arranged and cozy and inviting. A very safe-feeling space. It was one of those visits that was hard to draw yourself out of, like going to a very heavy movie on a Saturday afternoon and then walking outside with the sun still shining like you’re supposed to just continue on with your day and start chatting and making jokes with your friends.
Group dinner was at Herman’s. Everything was vegetarian, and it was so delicious!! You had to guess sometimes, as to what was on your plate, but it was fantastic and filling and by the time Sarah brought around the desserts, you could barely try every one. But they were delicious too.
View of the city from outside Herman’s
Oh Vegetarians
Friday
Sarah read to us on the tram
I should probably say a thing or two about breakfast. Breakfast every morning at this hotel was probably one of the highlights of the trip. I have never had bacon on so many consecutive mornings as I did in Stockholm. It was thick and well cooked (but not so much that it was burnt or crispy) with next to no fat. Perfection. And there were little roasted potatoes, lots of bread, brie, fruit, juice… and plenty of other things I didn’t try. Typing this is making me really hungry.
Junibakan 🙂
That morning we packed up our luggage and left it in the bag room before heading into the city for a morning of museums.Our first visit was to Junibaken, a children’s museum based on the works of Astrid Lindgren, the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was cool to see and fun to watch all the little kids run around, but not the most engaging of visits. There was a cool ride that took us through various settings of her novels, like the HC Andersen ride at Tivoli, which was pretty 
awesome. Afterwards we walked a short distance over to the Vasa Museum, containing an entire ship that was built between 1626-1628, and then sank a couple hours after leaving the harbor. The Vasa was mostly forgotten about until she was re-discovered in the 1950s, and in the 1960s was extracted from the Baltic, almost completely intact. It was a 5-story museum, with exhibits on the construction, why it sank, the weaponry on board, and life on vessels in the seventeenth century. Lunch was nearby (Fish again. We had a lot of fish that week. a little too much fish). Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, and met the bus to take us back to the airport.
Lots of walking, academic visits, fish, and class bonding. All in all, a good week.
Thanks Stockholm!
The Strange Pull 