Where in the world is Paul Stewart?

Upon arriving to Stockholm, I had no place to stay. I got off the train from Oslo, put my hands on my hips, and just thought "What am I gonna do now?" (btw, just spent almost a full minute looking for the question mark on this French keyboard.) So, after some prayer and good ol common sense, I looked up some hostels online and walked to the nearest one, only a block and a half away. Here's what transpired at the door:

Jenny (girl who works at hostel): Paul Stewart?
Me (guy at the door): Ummm, no, but I'm assuming he's the one with the reservation?
Jenny: Yeah, but I've been waiting for him for over 4 hours now.
Me: Ok.....
Jenny: So you get his reservation and bed!
Me: Wow, ok, cool! I guess you didnt have any other beds?
Jenny: Yeah, we're booked solid.
Me: So, that worked out good for me. But what the heck happened to Paul Stewart?
Jenny: (Shrugs)
Me: Dang. Paul Stewart is in someone's trunk right now. And he's tired.
Jenny: (Laughs)
Me: Who can sleep at a time like this? People are missing! (then) So is there a breakfast?

So apparently the fact that Paul Stewart was missing didn't bother me that much. I found out as I had to switch rooms throughout my 4 days there, that I was simply following the path of beds that Paul Stewart would have had, had he not been abducted by aliens. Every time I saw Jenny we joked about other things that had happened to Paul Stewart. Last I heard from Jenny her theory was he met a hot Swedish blonde and was shacking up with her. Guess that's better than being tied up in a trunk somewhere. Either way, I got his bed. Score.

Before Stockholm: two pics I forgot from Oslo.

A new kind of jumping pic. This one was inspired by two Australians I was kicking it around with all day. Btw, inside that triangular building is a really cool old ship - they built the building around it.



Just wanted to document here how beautiful it was in Oslo. This is from Museum island looking toward the city centre.



Stockholm! On the way here, on the train, this really cool, funny thing was happening right next to me, and I had to get this on video:



This is a really cool, big fountain that I spent some time at in the middle of the night. It doesnt really get that dark here - only like dusk around midnight. Some Dutch friends I met, we just hung out here and watched drunken Swedish teenagers with too much money and even more time on their hands frolick in the fountain and drink vodka from a box (like boxed wine). Eventually they came over and practiced their English with us and it was enteraining and memorable.



Museum of Modern Art. By the way, can anybody point me to the entrance? Kinda hard to find.



My locker number was 44!



A jumping pic with my two new Dutch friends - Esther and Hannah. They were soft-spoken and kind. We spent the whole day looking at bold modern art, making food together, and being entertained by the aformentioned Swedish teenagers.



Stockholm has many canals and rivers running through it. Here I paused with my rented bike and just reflected on my whole trip. Its hard to believe sometimes that sitting here on this dock, watching the boat gently nudge the dock, is the same trip as, say, traveling the Highlands in Scotland or paragliding in Switzerland.



I made a new friend with a horse. He came immediately when I did the "come here horse" clicking sound with my mouth. I actually did pet him, but didn't get that moment here. Horses are so content to just eat grass. Simple pleasures.



Another Jazz Festival! This one was more of a buy an admission ticket type, like with a wristband. A bit pricey, but then again, so is everything in Scandanavia. But so worth it.



What is it with kids and bubbles? They love them - can't get enough. Here, a girl chased a bubble, randomly dressed as Spiderman, complete with muscles. Kids just love fun. That is so great. Look at that look on her face - she's in nirvana.



I glanced over here and had to do a double take - this dog blended into the crowd just like a person. I almost didn't seem him at first.



This base player was my favourite performer of the whole festival. He twisted, contorted, and scrunched his face with every note. I love that. I love when musicans just can't help but perform with their whole body. And this guy could play that thing.



Play it, baby!



Because Stockholm is so northern, the sunsets are looong. This went on for over an hour. Great for taking pictures. I watched this for so long.



Look at the cloud patterns in the sky. Wow.



This is what jazz music looks like.



Tower of Power! The coolest, funkiest jazz band.



The most random, awesome headliner to a jazz festival ever: Mary J. Blige! This woman was amazing. Worth the price of admission just to see her perform.



This is what feels like at the end of every concert. Just a mass exodus.



This is after midnight in the harbour.



I'm kind of 12 years old sometimes. But come on - that's a full fart!



Massman attacks! When I paid for my hot dog, no one in line. By the time she handed it me, six people in line. Ah- thank you.



It's amazing what gets captured on a grocery store survelliance camera:



Skansen! This open-air museum was part zoo, part theme park, and part Colonial Williamsburg. Just a lot of animals, old authentic schoolhouse and farms, and people dressed in farm and colonial-type garb.

Here, and otter scratched his face on this log for at least ten minutes.



This mama brown bear had the itch to end all itches. This was only about a fifth of how long this went on:



The laziest elk in the world. Later, this one lying down raised his head and chewed the fat about a foot from my face.



There were two sudden thunder showers during the day in Skansen. During this one, many of us took shelter in this cabin while this woman stirred a potato soup and described many things in Swedish. I just nodded and sampled the cheese like I understood every word.



Somebody tell me what's going on here: a well with candy cane stems, and hundreds of baby pacifiers hanging from them and piled below.



In this schoolhouse, I didn't need to understand Swedish to understand that this switch of twigs would have found a place on my hands as a child if I had grown up over a hundred years ago in Sweden.



Just a nice bridge over a green bog.



By the bog:



The second thunderstorm. This vendor under the umbrella was wise to my picture-taking activies. He kept turning away as soon as I would raise my camera. I think he could be wanted somewhere.



Waiting out the storm:



This silver orb in the botanical gardens is the coolest thing I've ever seen that's out of place amoung flowers.



Canoeing in the river! This was possibly my favourite thing I did in Stockholm. So calm, beautiful, and fun. Behind me is what is supposed to be the greatest preserved war ship in the world. Recently discovered sunken nearby, it got it's own building built around it too.



On the water:



My canoe point of view.



This is Foster. We met in the hostel and I saw him everyday. He's from LA. He was really chill and always on this computer. Unfortunately for him, his bags were delayed six days in the States - he would never fly Delta again. But it didn't seem to phase him. He finally got his bags here. I always liked just sitting down and shooting the bull with Foster. Take notice of the patched hole in my jeans in the "swimsuit area", btw. That's backpacking!



Off to Paris again! Whoo hoo!