Stockholm

For the last day of my European tour, I went to Stockholm, Sweden - the land of IKEA!  I love Stockholm and believe that it's one of the most beautiful cities in Europe...just not in February.  My journey began in Frankfurt with a delayed flight to London-Heathrow, where I would connect to a flight into Stockholm.  My connection time was tight, but I managed to run through the airport and reach my connecting flight.  I managed to grab a package of crackers for my dinner.  Upon boarding the flight, we were told that weather conditions in Sweden were really bad.  The level of snow and ice was preventing the city from keeping the airport open (or the runways cleared).  They told us that we wouldn't leave for about 3 hours.  So, instead of waiting in the comfortable terminal, we sat on the plane - in case the airport suddenly opened.

We finally received permission to fly and off we went!  We had to circle Stockholm for a little while, as they de-iced the runway.  Several flights all landed at the exact same time - this was about 2am in the morning.  Needless to say, there weren't many taxis at this time and the line was very long, with all the passengers from those flights.  Two hours later, the taxi line just wasn't moving.  I sent part of my team to wait in line for the local bus.  When that bus arrived we ran over and the driver told us that there weren't any more seats - half my team was aboard.  With some begging, I was able to get the LAST seat on the bus and off we went! to the center of Stockholm.

By now, it's about 4:30am.  There weren't any taxis at the bus station, to take us to the hotel.  The level of snow and ice created problems for cars.  We decided that we had to walk.  So, off we went!  We walked about 2 km in the snow, dragging our suitcases.  We took turns acting as the "snow plow" in front of the group.  At this point, I thanked my Heavenly Father that I brought my winter jacket with me.  about 45 minutes later, we made it to the hotel.  Tired, hungry and not in a positive mood - I went to sleep, so I could at least get a couple of hours sleep before our meetings.  I'm sorry if I sound like I am complaining too much on the journey.  I know that it's just a matter of perspective...which I was trying to regain the next day.

The meetings took place at a well-known Swedish game developer.  Probably one of the most technically advanced in the world.  Their offices are incredible.  The people of Stockholm couldn't use buses or cars on this particular morning, so a lot of people missed work.  However, here is the view from their office windows:

A look at the frozen harbor and beautiful buildings...with a glimmer of sunlight

Ships frozen in the harbor

Here's a snapshot of the outside of just one of the conference rooms.  They make games that simulate military combat - the tank and airplane images are etched onto the glass:

Their game room

With the arrival experience behind us, I snapped a quick picture of my team as we tried to walk in the snow and ice to a restaurant for dinner:

The picture is a little blurry, because my hands were so cold ; )

We ended up at a Lebanese restaurant called Tabbouli.  I know what you're thinking - "you went all the way to Sweden and ate at a Lebanese restaurant?!?"  It was a fantastic choice and the food was amazing with about 16 different Mediterranean dishes.  For desert, they served me some deep-friend dumplings - you know, the healthy kind.  It was filled with honey and walnuts:

The next day, I arose early to catch my flights back home.  I almost missed the flight from Stockholm, because the taxis weren't available.  I switched to the trains and they weren't running on schedule.  I was already sore from the luggage-dragging experience before, but I still managed to sprint through the airport and catch my flight.  I can't wait to get back to my family!