Swedish Fish (Stockholm: Part Fyra)

The next morning I awoke, planning on going to the airport early and waiting for my flight, but I was surprised when I saw this scene outside:

The snow was a surprise to everyone. I decided to walk around the city for a couple of hours, taking pictures of the snow as I had enough time. Here are some things around Sergels Torg in City:

Here are some photos from Kungsträdgården:

I then walked to Gamla Stan where I got these pictures of the royal palace:

and these of Storkyrkan:

Here is Stortorget:

Here is the area between Gamla Stan and City:

Just as I entered City, I came across this eerie sight. I was unsure whether it was a living person or not as it was very cold and this was not moving:

I took the bus to the airport from the train station at City. I had a little bit of time at the airport, so I ate at a restaurant where I got this crab and caviar sandwich with a beer called Eriksberg:

I also bought some lingonberry and cloudberry jam for myself at the airport; some Swedish chocolate for Kelsey, Katie, and Lindsay; and some moose jerky for Cody. I left Stockholm with the feeling that I was leaving a comfortable place. I saw everything there was to see in the northern city, but I still felt as though I could have stayed longer as the city had a very welcoming atmosphere.

Cervantes Festival

This weekend was the Cervantes festival in Alcalá de Henares. Cody and I went to the Plaza Cervantes Friday and Saturday. There were many street vendors selling crafts, spices, and foods. I had quite a bit of chorizo and a kebab. There were also several people displaying certain trades like blacksmiths, printers, marble sculptors, and ceramicists. All of the vendors and workers wore period costumes as seen in the pictures and many street performers from Madrid showed up. The festival attracts people from all over Spain and I even heard the people in one booth speaking Portuguese. Here are the pictures:

I didn't have any of the octopus from the picture above, but I wanted some. It was quite expensive at ten euros for a small dish.

Moving In and the Old Town

I moved in to the new apartment yesterday and am getting everything adjusted. As I said in the last post, it's in a nice location and I've been able to take my lunches of ham sandwiches out on the balcony where I can watch the people, walking in and out of shops on the street, or doing their laundry and watering plants on the balconies of the building across the street. The weather has been warm and dry during the day and cool at night. Here are some pictures of the new place:

Today I got up early and went to the historic district of Alcalá de Henares which is about a five minute walk from my apartment. The area was crowded with people on their way to church. Many vendors set up stalls along the narrow streets to hawk cheap touristy items (buttons, patches, flags, ceramics, etc.) at higher prices than the stores found elsewhere. There were many street performers as well. This was my favorite street performer I have seen yet (possibly my favorite ever):

She had a recording of Camille Saint-Saëns' "La Danse Macabre" and other songs playing as she controlled the skeleton's playing of the violin. She made it sit on the little stool during the breaks between songs. Here's the street the performer was on:

Down this street I came upon the Plaza de Cervantes, named in honor of the famous local writer whose statue stands in the center of the square. Not much further was an old church, the name of which I do not yet know. There are many more places downtown which I have yet to visit extensively, such as the old university. Here are some scenes from the plaza and churches:

I also went to Madrid today to time the trip I will make to the meeting tomorrow morning. I will visit it more extensively soon and post some pictures.