It will be two weeks tomorrow that I’ve been in Sweden and I can hardly believe that so little time has passed as it seems much has transpired. It’s a gorgeous Swedish summer with puffy clouds, blue skies and sparkling water. My time so far has been consumed with a rather trying search for housing which I’m happy to say has concluded with pleasant, if expensive results. The housing market is controlled by the government, which keeps rents low but leaves little to be offered to outsiders except illegal and overpriced sublets. Add to that the fact that I arrived at a time when most Swedes are out in the archipelago at their summer homes and it feels like I’ve been looking for a needle in a non-existent haystack. My Swedish friend Katarina came to my rescue by sending e-mails asking everyone she knows in Stockholm if they had a place for me. I’m staying with a wonderful woman named Lotta in Ektorp, which is just a few kilometers east of Stockholm. I’ll be here until the end of August and then I have a place of my own in a part of the city called Östermalm. It’s a swanky neighborhood, high rent, very central and close to the water (though there’s little that isn’t here) as well as several great parks. Djurgården is a large-ish island, very close to my place with miles of waterfront running trails and lots of huge old villas and a palace. Perfect for marathon training. I’ll have to move again, just before Christmas, but the International Programs Coordinator at KTH seems to think I’ll be able to get a student apartment by then. So, a month in what feels like the countryside and then the rest of my time right in the heart of the city. Perfect.
Lotta is a lighting designer and just sent her 17 year old daughter off to Sacramento for a year as an exchange student. She’s probably very close to my age, perhaps just a few years older, and she has a lovely, apartment in a building that was built in the 1930’s. It is contemporary Swedish, lots of IKEA, great wallpaper and minimal detailing. There’s an inlet of the Baltic Sea about a 5 minute walk away and a cycling trail that goes straight into Stockholm. Lotta is away for a couple of weeks, at her summer house near Gavle and so for the moment I have the place to myself. She works in an office with several other designers and has promised to take me there to see what they do. I’m happy for the arrangement as she seems so kind and it’s nice to make some Swedish friends. I’ve spent the past couple of days schlepping luggage and getting settled in—shopping for food, wine, a coffee pot, towels, etc and settling in with a nice bath and and some much needed sleep. I’ll recount my hostel stay another time but suffice it to say I spent six days in a room with a Born Again Christian who felt compelled to espouse her (and God’s) views on Stockholm’s upcoming Pride Festival so you can well imagine how we got along.
Yesterday I did my first serious run in preparation for the Nice to Cannes Marathon in November. It’s six miles into Stockholm from here and so I ran the round trip before it got too hot to be out. Today was my first day of getting to work and I have to say it feels great to get going. I have much to do, but for now at least, my motivation is strong. I met with Torun Warne, the director of the Arkitekturmuseet, and she was very generous in offering support for my research. The archive is closed until mid-August, which gives me some time to read and get back into this material.
My missive wouldn’t be complete without mentioning something about economy, exchange rates and the pathetically weak dollar. Stockholm isn’t the most affordable city to begin with and at 6 SEK to the dollar it borders on ridiculous. I’ve done my best to be frugal.
Here are some specifics:
taxi from Central Station to Hostel (1.5 km) 140 SEK $ 23.33
one night in a 6-bed dorm 240 SEK $ 40.00
glass of wine 46 SEK $ 7.60
Emmental cheese 350g 40 SEK $ 6.60
small Barilla pasta sauce 23 SEK $ 3.80
zucchini per kg 20 SEK $ 3.33
milk 1 liter 8 SEK $ 1.31
baguette 17 SEK $ 2.83
load of laundry 35 SEK $ 5.83
my running shoes ($95 in US) 1200 SEK $ 200
hair gel 40 SEK $ 6.60
one month of internet 295 SEK $ 49.16
fee for taking cash from ATM $ 5.00
