Visiting Stockholm

We've been having a wonderful time in Stockholm - this is the short time of the year that temperatures are close to 70° F and there are long, often sunny days.  But the days can feel chilly, too,  when it's cloudy, and in the lower 60°'s.  Regardless, everyone is out, enjoying the long days of summer.

It starts getting light about 3:00, and the birds start singing, and it's fully light by 4 am.  Hard to keep sleeping, but I just cover my head with the sheet and try to sleep (even though I've also got up and poked around for a bit for the last couple of nights.)

The most surprising aspect of our time so far is how affordable it is.  For decades, Scandinavia has had the reputation (and the reality) of being expensive.

Right now, we're eating out and buying groceries at more or less the equivalent price at home (in Asheville, NC) for nice meals and normal provisions.

Amazing.

There are a few things that are more expensive (wine and beer are heavily taxed at restaurants, so a glass of wine is more expensive than at home, but not more that it was in DC, on a recent visit).  Purchased at the state liquor stores, a bottle of wine is equivalent in price to similar ones at home in the grocery store.

Even though many fruits and vegetables are imported, the costs there are comparable, too, except for unusual things (cilantro and ginger, for example).  But apples, bananas, eggs, fish, meat, etc. are normal prices, as are seasonal fruits.  And good bread is similar, too, in cost, to what I'd pay at home, even though I normally make all of our bread!      

P.S. Lots of photos on my FB feed (public). Adding photos is always challenging on an iPad using Blogger (ha!) or the website.

Another postscript: Amazingly, my photos on my iPad just synced from images from my iPhone through today - woo-hoo- maybe I can add images? Although it's actually the other way that's the problem (e.g. access images on my iPhone). We'll see.

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