If I could visit a city I’ve never been to, I would pick
Stockholm, Sweden. I first became interested in Sweden, after taking an
Ancestry.com DNA test. My first results said that my ethnic background was
about 17% Swedish. I thought that was very cool. I started studying Swedish
using Rosetta Stone software. . I found that I really liked the language. To make a long story short, my DNA results
were reanalyzed to reveal a 17% European background, with about 13% Irish. I
thought that made sense given how my great grandfather on my mother’s side of
the family looks. The Vikings also went
to England and Ireland, so I’m OK with the Irish background.
As we were discussing or favorite reading genres, I
surprised my Professor with the revelation that I preferred Swedish Mystery
novels. My favorites are the Martin Beck Series by Maj Sjöwall
and Per Wahlöö. I found out about
this series when I contacted the author of
“The Ice Cage” (Olivier Nilsson-Julien) regarding other Scandinavian
mysteries.
I’ve looked at several websites about Stockholm and Sweden.
I’ve listened to Swedish Radio in English. There’s nothing that bothers me
about the city, except I know it’s very expensive. One of my cousin’s was able
to visit Sweden last year. I really enjoyed hearing his stories and looking at
his photos.
I’ve even considered taking a long-distance learning Swedish
class. Once when I was at the ice rink
in Chelsea, Michigan, I heard people speaking Swedish. For some crazy reason I
didn’t think that was unusual. I really kicked myself when I didn’t see Niklas
Lidström
behind me. He was just another dad waiting for his kid at the rink. I really
love the fact that the Detroit Red Wings have a contingent of Swedish born
players.
What I admire about Stockholm is the history, cleanliness, cool
designs, and of course the people.
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