Stockholm, I miss you!

11 January 2011. That was my first day in Stockholm, the start to my roller-coaster 6 months in a foreign country. I can't believe it has been more than 3 years?! 

I'll forever remember that first day when the four of us were trying to find our lodging with our many gigantic luggages. We had to go to the university library first to get our keys. That was easy. We took a cab! After that, we dragged our luggages down the slope to the train station and at the same time we were blessed with a mild snow storm. The elevator was under repair. What are the odds right? We carried our luggages down the stairs and waited for our train. Our accommodation was just one station away. Once we reached Universitetet station, we lugged our luggages out and this time the elevator worked. Thank God. We took bus 40 to our hostels at the Professorslingan area and by this time, all of us were drained out of our energies. When we alighted, the snow was already up to my mid-calf area, making it almost impossible to drag my luggages. So all of us carried our >30kg burden to the opposite side, and we decided to help each other carry the luggages up to the rooms because there were no elevators. By the time I was in my room, I wanted to sleep so badly, but I had no pillow, no blanket and no mattress cover. BOO. All of us made our way to IKEA to buy all the household necessities and we had the authentic IKEA meatballs that night. The most memorable dinner in Stockholm - a plate of meatballs and mash for just SEK16. Going back was another nightmare because it was nail bitingly cold and windy. I had the best sleep ever on the first night. 

This "first day in Stockholm" scenario keeps playing in my head whenever I miss my exchange experience. 

I miss my cosy hostel room that had the freshest tap water. 

I miss looking out of the window and seeing snow fall. 

I miss walking in snow in my boots, and occasionally slipping on ice. 

I miss the scarily accurate public transportation. The bus stop for bus 40 is just outside my building!

I miss doing my laundry and bitching about strangers who didn't know how to do laundry properly (LOL). 

I miss the beautiful KTH (or Royal Institute of Technology). 

I JUST MISS EVERYTHING LAH. :( 

I definitely must spend at least a month in Stockholm in the near future. The company has plans for me to go to Copenhagen for a research workshop at the headquarters. Maybe I should visit Stockholm after my week in Copenhagen! 

I LOVE YOU STOCKHOLM!!!