Number of SAABS and Volvos on the road: too many to count
Family members visited: 9
Family members that own a SAAB or Volvo: 8
Number of times I’ve traveled alone with my mother since the age of 15 before this trip: 0
Times my mother and I were frustrated about not being able to talk about people in public because they spoke Swedish too: 26
Cities visited: 5
Hours spent in Stockholm: 7
Hours spent walking in Stockholm: 6
Number of times I consulted a Stockholm map: 1
Total hours spent on trains: 9
Cost of buying Karlstad to Stockholm train ticket at last minute: 600 SEK
Crayfish consumed in one evening in Gothenburg: 7
Days spent in Sweden: 10
Days someone mentioned threat of Swine Flu: 10
Jokes made about Swine Flu: 2
Swedes I know who think they’ve had Swine Flu: 1
Minutes between landing in Gothenburg and seeing an IKEA: 11
Bags of Swedish candy brought back in suitcase: 6
Meals that included potatoes: 10
Meals of blood pudding: 4
Days with less than two fika (coffee break): 1
Starbucks sightings: 0
IKEA sightings: 3
Postcards sent with photos of topless sunbathers: 3
Topless sunbather sightings: 0
Articles read in newspaper about the Swedish Royal Family: 3
Times I’ve been to Sweden: over 15
Number of bright green, marzipan covered Princesstarta (Princess Cake) eaten: 1
Fast food restaurants visited: 0
Age that I first learned to speak Swedish: 0
Times I had to speak English: 0
Pictures taken with bikes in them: 53
Time in the morning people started buying liquor at Stockholm Airport Duty Free: 6
Cans of reindeer pate snuck through customs: 2