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Summer is the time of year to escape New York, and the summer of 1997 had the many hot and humid days that I wilt under.

The Men Here Are Gorgeous

Tony
2004-01-28 10:31:37

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restored. It's in a capsule like building that sort of floats around the ship and protects it. Except for the 3,000 children in the museum, a look at the Vasa was one of those touristy things worthwhile doing.

My final meal at the foodcourt in the Hotorget was followed by a brief look at the Huset, the gay center on Sveavagen. Gays aren't doing at all badly from the look of the Huset. It's an all-in-one sort of place, with a commercial pub and disco, a gay bookstore and cafe, plus some meeting rooms and a library. All done in an inviting and expensive looking style. It was practically empty when I went in. I think I saw 3 people there at the most, and I didn't linger.

That was pretty much it for my week in Stockholm. I picked up a few snacks on the way back to my hotel to munch on while I packed. I'd leave early the next morning to get out to the airport.

I was laden down with two heavy bags next morning because of all the books I'd bought. This is normal for me, but by far the hardest part of my trips: lugging stuff home. I dragged my stuff through the enormous (and empty)bus terminal to the gate for the airport bus. The bus was already there and I could get right on, but first I had to pass through two sets of doors to get outside. The first pair opened automatically, and then closed behinds me. But the second set didn't open. I immediately felt trapped. And this was REALLY odd for Sweden--that something didn't work properly! A full minute passed, and several other people came into the hot little glassed in room. They were confused too. Then...finally, the outer door opened, and we all practically ran out of there. I told the ticket-taker that those doors weren't functioning properly. He said they were actually, and explained that in the winter, this door set-up kept the cold-air out of the bus-terminal. Some clever planner probably thought this up, but it goes entirely against human nature. Already I could see the next round of passengers for the bus getting a little panicky in the glass-box. Thinking of everything has its bad side, too.

Still, that was one of the few annoying things I'd experienced in the Folkhemmet of Sweden. It had been such a wonderful week in such a beautiful city in a country that truly is a model. At Arlanda airport's duty-free shop, I found a compendium of Swedish summer songs. It was the perfect souvenir of my trip to Sweden. Whenever I listen to it, there are certain melodies that evoke some of the lyrical moments I experienced there, particularly my evening walks with that special midsummer golden light.I couldn't have picked a better time to go.

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