New Age Viking

It's been awhile, but a few weeks back I returned from a weekend "business" trip to Minneapolis and felt like a new age viking returning with my spoils from war. When Miranda arrived in Sweden we immediately started a list of everything we wanted to buy once we returned to the U.S. It continued to grow and grow as we learned about all of the little things that we loved but couldn't find here. Unlucky for me, I returned to the U.S. before Miranda, so I got the job of buying everything on our list.

It was actually a very nice trip, even if it was extremely short. I randomly met an old college friend on my flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis. Found out that he's working in Dubai and was on his way back to the U.S. for a six week summer break. I chatted with his brother and dad after clearing customs, then got in touch with another good college friend who picked me up at the airport. After that the weekend was a blur. I got to spend a decent amount of time with most of my college friends, attended a professional seminar, saw a fair number of coworkers and most of my post-college friends, spent a lot of time with Miranda's family and got to play fetch with my cat Helius (yes, he really plays fetch, and when I was in the house, he didn't want to do anything but play). I spent even more time with my parents, got in some nice runs on the Mendota Heights trails plus a long run around all of the lakes in Uptown, and I even got to compete in a local 5K on Harriet Island and Lilydale Road. Everything about the weekend was a rush, but it was so nice to see some familiar faces for once. I felt bad that I couldn't dedicate much time to any one given person, but there was just too much to do.

It was good to be home, and it was amazing how quickly I fell into my old way of life. Plans every night with non-stop errands. I know it was a special situation, but the long lists of things to do just seemed too normal. My first day in town I tried to be very Swedish and took the Light Rail downtown, then walked all the way across downtown to my seminar. It felt good. Not dependent on a car. That night I was going to catch a bus to a friend's party, but another friend offered to give me a ride in that direction. I got dropped off about two miles away and wandered around the neighborhoods (not knowing where I was going and amazed that there are no sidewalks in Columbia Heights) until I found my destination. You have no idea how many "who's that crazy guy?" looks I received from passing drivers. Yeah, it was 80 degrees and humid, and during my hour lost in the suburb, I was the only person walking.

So the next day I went back to my American ways. If I wasn't shopping I was driving...a few loops from West St. Paul to Minneapolis to Roseville to West St. Paul. Probably about 50-75 miles a day. It was ridiculous. It wasn't necessary, it just happened. More than anything, it made me realize just how spread out the Twin Cities really are. Everything is so close and accessible that it's no big deal to drive to the next destination, but once you add up each stop you realize that you've gone way farther than you ever intended. It also made me realize how much I love the layout here in Stockholm. Having everything you need within walking distance makes life so much simpler.

So as I said, I took advantage of the weak dollar and listened to my cravings (Chipotle was amazing. Never take that for granted!) and bought like a madman, or as I said, attacked the city like a new age viking. I won't list everything, but this picture might give you an idea.

The bike is a story of bad timing. I've had my eye this specific model for a while, but never wanted to buy it at full price. For some reason I hopped onto Craiglist Minneapolis about three weeks after moving to Stockholm and found a used version of the bike for a price too good to pass up. Miranda's parents really came through for me in making the transaction, and it has been sitting in their basement ever since. The bike is a messenger bike, and I'm pretty sure that, excluding the messengers, I'm the fastest city rider in town.

Lastly, a funny story. When Miranda's parents dropped me off at the Minneapolis airport there was a Channel 5 TV van. We commented that we hoped nothing big was happening, but otherwise forgot about it. Apparently Channel 5 did a news story on pick-pockets at the airport that night, and my butt, hidden under big-pocketed shorts, was featured on the news! Kendell recognized me lugging my bike box and carry-on into the airport as the camera zoomed in on my rear end. To add to the irony, I had diamond earrings in my pocket for Miranda. Probably one of the best pick-pocket targets at the airport that night. Luckily, the earrings were delivered to Miranda without any problems. And for those of you who know about Miranda's "engagement earrings" theory, I want you to know that these were not engagement earrings. Just a "thank you for moving to Sweden" gift. Or as we jokingly call them, "domestic partner earrings."