First impressions
August 20, 2022
My story resumes as I wait with two fellow DIS students outside of our apartment building, a charming 6-story green brick apartment building, clearly only a few years old.
After getting my room key, I’m finally able to check out my room and meet my roommate in person! The rooms came furnished which was great, because it meant I didn’t have to use up any luggage space packing bedding. Bed was surprisingly comfortable, and there’s a ton of space in the room which is super nice and it doesn’t feel at all crowded. We also have our own private bathroom (as do all the rooms in this apartment building), which is an awesome perk.
My side of the room! Vaulted ceilings are certainly a huge perk to being on the top floor.
Each floor has a super nice, well-stocked communal kitchen/living area, where we are expected to cook our own meals. Didn’t get around to any grocery shopping today, but that’s on the list for tomorrow and I’ll do my best to share whatever my first meal ends up being.
After letting my body recover a bit from the day’s travels, I set out with some friends to explore the city and practice the commute to where I have class, which is roughly 45 minutes north of where I am living. Stockholm is famous for its mural-filled metro stations, a few of which I was able to see and enjoy. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out more as I explore more of the city.
One of the many uniquely-decorated metro stops throughout the city.
After around an hour we reached the Swedish Royal College of Music, a portion of which has been repurposed to house DIS classrooms and study spaces.
Front facade of the Royal College of Music. Beautiful, no?
After declaring our test of public transit a success, we explored some of the main pedestrian corridors through the center of the city, doing some very brief window shopping and stopping at a fantastic Vietnamese place for some pho!
We took the metro back home and thus concluded our first evening in Stockholm, as I now find myself back in my remarkably comfortable bed looking forward to relaxing for a bit before getting some much needed sleep.
As for my overall first impressions of the city:
- There are so many people! The metro stations were all utterly packed which was a cool sight to see.
- Public transit is fantastic, well documented, and easy to understand even though almost none of it is in English!
- There are awesome places to explore everywhere and I just need to spend some time getting out and about.