It’s Friday night and I’m riding the train home from the
airport after a great week with great friends. Long Study Tour Week = Success.
So, last Sunday, we flew into Stockholm and went straight
from the hotel to
Herman’s where we had the most amazing vegetarian dinner I
have ever eaten AND it was a buffet. Needless to say, I ate my body weight in
tofu, vegetarian lasagna, and hummus. Monday morning, we kicked off study tour
week with an urban awareness exercise. Basically, they gave us a map and sent
us out into Stockholm on a self-guided tour. Random fact: Swedes don't talk,
they sing. The language is still ugly (like Danish) but the ups and downs somehow make it sound a little prettier. Good times. Then we took the metro
to Sodersjukhuset: a maternity and delivery ward where we were given a lecture
by two midwives and then toured the maternity ward. If I haven’t already
mentioned, midwives are like Goddesses in Scandinavia, as in you don’t give birth without
a midwife present. Cool visit, but pretty much the same thing as my visit three
weeks ago in Roskilde. After that, we had a few hours to walk around gamla stan
(the old town) before we met for dinner at
Stortorgskallaren.
 |
| the girls and Adam, our tour leader |
 |
| The Globen Hotel |
 |
| St. George slaying the dragon |
 |
| Gamla Stan square |
 |
| Gamla Stan |
 |
the restaurant
|
Tuesday morning,
we went to the
Capio Arto Clinic where we got to see a live ACL reconstruction
surgery via webcam from the OR downstairs! After the initial “I’m going to
vomit if this surgeon sticks his metal hook into this girl’s open knee one more
time” feeling, I decided it was probably one of the coolest things I have ever
seen. They literally took out part of her patellar tendon, threaded it, drilled
through her tibia and femur, shredded (yes, shredded.. like an electric cheese
grater) away the torn ligament, and inserted the graft through her bones.
Unreal. After the clinic, we were given 45 minutes to walk around the old town
again before meeting up for a boat tour. Thought we had the whole metro figured
out, but got off at the wrong “K” stop. With names like Karlaplanan and
Kungstradgard, it gets confusing. Long story short, my six friends and I ran
around the entire harbor looking for the group, only to find out there are in
fact, two harbors. Best part was, we found them as they were pushing off the
dock. Really missed the boat on that one. Pun totally intended. After taking a
minute to catch our breath, compose ourselves, (and yell obscenities to the
assholes taking pictures of us crying on the dock), we stopped at a wine store
and headed back to the hotel to work out and go in the sauna. Honestly though,
we made it pretty fun. There is a group of ten girls in my core course who have
gotten really close in the last month and we managed to make the best of it. We
all got some cheese, crackers, and chocolate to go with our wine and got ready
to go out in the hotel room. Super classy. Europe will do that, I suppose.
Anyway, that night, we were going to the
Stockholm Ice Bar. As you could
probably guess, it is a bar, made entirely of ice. Seats, glasses, bottles,
bar, ALL ICE. They gave us velvet cloaks with fur hoods and a free drink. Mine
tasted like apple pie in liquid form. That about sums that up. Great night.
 |
| vikings, rawr |
 |
| after we missed the boat. clearly thrilled. |
 |
| classy is as classy does |
 |
| keeks! |
 |
| Caroline |
 |
| ice queen, rawr |
 |
| to be or not to be..? |
 |
| C-Section |
 |
| signature move, obviously |
Next
morning, we ate, for the third and final time, the best hotel breakfast known
to man and then went to our final academic visit in Sweden.. Svenska Roda
Korset, or, the
Swedish Red Cross. Lecture, coffee, questions.. same thing, different day. It was interesting, though, to talk to the presenting nurse
about how they deal with undocumented migrants (a little more subtle of a term
than illegal alien) in Sweden. Immigration is a huge issue in Scandinavia right
now, particularly in Sweden and Denmark, with a good deal of controversy around
it. Technically, taxpayers’ money cannot be used to treat or aid undocumented
migrants, so the Swedish Red Cross uses donations, grants, etc. to do so “under
the table”. The organization as a whole is really focused on providing a safe,
secret haven for these individuals. Denmark has a similar view on the topic,
definitely less in favor than Sweden, but on another planet compared to the US.
Anyway, after the Red Cross, we went to the
Vasa Museet, which is a museum
housing one of the oldest, most well preserved ships in the world. The Vasa was
built in 1626 and completed in 1628 .Unfortunately, she only made it about 1000
meters on her maiden voyage before sinking to the floor of the harbor, where
she remained there for over 300 years. Check the link and look at some
pictures.. it’s fairly clear why she sunk. Anyway, after a few more hours of
walking around, we boarded the overnight
ferry/cruise to Tallinn, Estonia. WILD night. Bonded with the girls over wine, went to the cabaret in the lower deck, and then danced all night in the tackiest disco tech with my new Estonian friend, Kerli. Great night. Rough morning. Cruises aren't for me, I've decided. As fun as it was, I still feel like I'm rocking on a boat and it's been three days since I got off.
 |
| replica of the sinking |
 |
| hallway on the ferry |
 |
| bedroom on the ferry |
 |
| dancers on the ferry |
 |
| disco, whaddupppp |
 |
| Kerli, my new bff |
 |
| dancers..? |
 |
| cat woman |
If you’ve never heard of Estonia, think Skype. They invented
it.. with the help of Denmark (credit due where credit deserved). At any rate,
it is a VERY small country (1.3 million people) with one of the most well preserved
medieval towns in the world. That was really the only thing I loved about Tallinn.. the
OldTown was completely separate and secluded from the rest of the city, which to be honest, I found rather boring.. and Russian. They are famous for the
Singing Revolution and have a pretty interesting history full of occupation and independence, back and forth, until the singing revolution in 1991 when the country finally gained its independence from the Soviet Union.
So when we got off the ferry Thursday morning, we went on our last two academic visits. Both are hardly worth mentioning, but I will, only to express how absurd they were. The first guy was a family doctor; he started off the lecture by asking what our questions were, and then forgot to actually give us a lecture. Or else was just very confused. Even then, he wasn't understand anyone's questions and just started writing in chicken scratch and drawing funny symbols on the board. It was very uncomfortable for everyone at first.. an hour in and 30 random arrows on the board later, it was just plain funny. We thanked him and walked out the door in total confusion. The second guy was even better.. head of surgery at the Regional Hospital. He at least had a lecture prepared, however, he whipped through it in 10 minutes without looking up once and mumbling sarcastic comments the whole time before opening the floor for questions. Here's the kicker.. one question was, "why did you want to become a surgeon?" Now remember, we are all fairly serious about pursuing a medical career and really would have appreciated a personal response. What we got? "so I can stab people and get away with it." A few forced laughs later and we were waiting for the real answer.. it didn't come. Next question.. "do you have many women becoming surgeons here and if not why do you think that is?" Answer.. "ha ha surgery is a man's world, ha ha. Women would be more concerned with starting a family and taking care of kids." ....not direct quotes but when you're that blatantly sexist in front of a predominately female class, nonetheless, I don't think direct quotes are needed. You should have seen the reaction. Of course he went on to explain how his wife is a doctor, but she takes care of the kids and he didn't watch them grow up because he was a surgeon. LOL. See ya later, buddy. And on that note...
Hotel check in and dinner at the coolest restaurant;
Olde Hansa a medieval themed restaurant in Old Tallinn, where the staff dressed in period clothing, washed our hands in a basin before we sat, served us honey beer in goblets, danced around playing recorders, and fed us a King's feast. Nut bread, meat bread, herbed cheese, ginger turnips, barley, lentils, sauerkraut, olives, cabbage, etc. and for those who so chose (not I), pork hunks and chicken legs. Great way to end a disappointing day. The food is always so good on these trips.. too good, actually, and it somehow always seems to be buffet or all you can eat. And of course, desserts. This morning we got a walking tour of Old Tallinn from the most adorable tour guide, took lots of pictures, lost all feeling in our extremities (freezing), and then were treated to coffee and cake at a cafe. 1000 calories later, we went to lunch at
AED; rude service, amazing vegetarian food. Did I mention I ate way too much this week?
 |
| Olde Hansa |
 |
| our feast table |
 |
| Old Town by night |
 |
| entrance to the old town |
 |
| new hats in front of the famous door |
 |
| my favorite purchase, probably ever.. a classic, handmade Scandinavian hatscarf with the famous Nordic Reindeer ( I got the white one that Gayin has on) |
Two hours later, we were in the airport and on our way home. Susanne and Michael met me at the station and went back for homemade soup, salad, and hummus.. exactly what I needed after this week. Susanne and Michael ate the handmade Estonian chocolates I brought home for them for dessert. I couldn't resist a piece of bread with peanut butter and jelly.. an entire week without peanut butter is a lot harder for me than you think. Anyway, I could not be happier to be home and in my own bed right now. I missed them and I missed candles and my bathroom and shower and my bed... which I am about to fall asleep in right now. Tomorrow I will wake up early to workout and do some homework and then spend the rest of the day relaxing because the next two weeks are going to be hell. Professors like to cram absolutely everything into these two weeks before we go on break again. Speaking of... 2 WEEKS UNTIL ITALY, MOMMY!!!!!!!!! Okay, write again soon! P.s. check back soon, I will add more photos as my friends upload them:) Vi ses, hej.
