I can't even say hello (god dag), because my attempt comes out something like a cross between Icelandic and Dutch. Which, no, it's definitely not that.
But, yes, hello Sweden!
It's sort of odd, because I didn't come to Stockholm for Stockholm. (I picked the public library that seemed best for the research I'm doing; to be honest I was kind of hoping for Oslo, because Norway is the Scandinavian country I know the least. But you go where the evidence leads you.) So I hadn't thought at all about what Stockholm is like, or what one does in Stockholm. I'd completely forgotten that it's a lovely place! Here's the sky this evening, from my hostel window:
I love Stockholm already. Cars stop for pedestrians. The evening light is lovely, reflecting off the buildings. The city is full of parks. Everything seems to be named after Astrid Lindgren. And the LIBRARY, OH, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE LIBRARY.
Today, before starting my research proper tomorrow, I went to check out Stadsbiblioteket, the city library. (This isn't even the library I'm here to study; it's another amazing library.) As you walk up the stairs, it's like emerging into some great temple. But a temple of books:
Pictures don't do it justice at all. Imagine my face the whole time I was in that room; it was something like this:
And that's just the main room; there are also side rooms for nonfiction, and spaces for quiet study, and a wonderful children's section with children's books in so many languages (always my kryptonite). Children's books in Farsi! Children's books in Sami! So many children's books in Finnish. A whole shelf of Icelandic.
Here's the "baby carriage parking area" – can't say they don't know their audience:
So that was the library; other than that I've mostly just been getting my bearings (and some groceries) before diving into my research all this coming week.
Good lord, I must be in Scandinavia. So many yogurt products and variations on yogurt products:
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