Torsdag 3/19/15
When we boat the Stockholm passes, the man recommend we take the commuter boat for a tour. We hopped on the 10 o'clock boat from one of the main squares, Nybroplan. We got a great view of the estuary of the Baltic Sea. We saw the crown princess's palace and other beautiful houses on the shore. We hopped off at the fifth stop, Nacka Strand. It was a cute little stop in the fashion district. There was a statue commemorating the founding of the United Nations. On the ride back to Nybroplan, Becca and Sidney asked the captain if they could honk the horn. They got to sit in the chair and he posed for their pictures. I bet he gets lonely up there all day!
After lunch we went to the US embassy. We me Rick, a US diplomat, at the Jokkmokk Winter Conference. He is originally from Florida. He invited us to visit the US embassy while we are in Stockholm. Technically we were back on American soil for an hour or so! The US embassy was next to all the other countries embassies. They have a hockey tournament every year called the diplomatic cup. This year it was canceled due to tensions with Russia. We met Joel, a former intern and Gustavus alumnus, who played hockey at Gustavus. They year he was hired at the embassy the US defeated all its competition, including Canada, scoring first place.
When we arrived we had to wait outside the gate and get processed through security one by one. Rick told us that in 2013, I believe, some man came to the embassy with a bomb vest and rather than be exposed he detonated in the guard station killing several men. Once inside we gathered in an assembly room. We couldn't get an actual tour of the building because it is all restricted but its mainly offices. At least thats what they told us…
Rick, Joel, and Rick's colleague Aaron told us about the foreign service and how an embassy is set up. Rick was a Navy Seal for 8 years before he switched careers. He served in Indonesia and volunteered for an assignment in Iraq. After that he was allowed safer post in New Zealand and then Stockholm. Aaron was formerly a lawyer. Apparently it is very difficult getting hired into the foreign service. You have to take a test that most fail their first several times. The year Rick was hired it was easier to get into Harvard.
We were told all about the different branches of an embassy and the types of jobs. The entry level paper pushing jobs sound terribly boring. Being stationed around the world would be cool but I don't know if it is the type of work I want to do or if I could handle the uncertainty of where my next assignment was. Aaron doesn't know if his wife and him will end up in the same country for their next jobs.
After dinner we went to the Fotografiska, a photo gallery. We got lost for a bit because I am not the smoothest with public transportation but we found it! The art was really interesting. There was a large Serrano exhibit. He is a cuban-american who is famous for Piss Christ, a photo of a statue of Christ in a jar of his urine. There were also exhibits of his called History of Sex and Klan. The latter was portraits of KKK members. As a man of color I find it fascinating he was able to get them to agree to being photographed. His work touches on so many controversial issues.
It is so nice we are staying on a boat because almost everywhere in the main part of Stockholm we can see it and orient ourselves easily.
When we boat the Stockholm passes, the man recommend we take the commuter boat for a tour. We hopped on the 10 o'clock boat from one of the main squares, Nybroplan. We got a great view of the estuary of the Baltic Sea. We saw the crown princess's palace and other beautiful houses on the shore. We hopped off at the fifth stop, Nacka Strand. It was a cute little stop in the fashion district. There was a statue commemorating the founding of the United Nations. On the ride back to Nybroplan, Becca and Sidney asked the captain if they could honk the horn. They got to sit in the chair and he posed for their pictures. I bet he gets lonely up there all day!
After lunch we went to the US embassy. We me Rick, a US diplomat, at the Jokkmokk Winter Conference. He is originally from Florida. He invited us to visit the US embassy while we are in Stockholm. Technically we were back on American soil for an hour or so! The US embassy was next to all the other countries embassies. They have a hockey tournament every year called the diplomatic cup. This year it was canceled due to tensions with Russia. We met Joel, a former intern and Gustavus alumnus, who played hockey at Gustavus. They year he was hired at the embassy the US defeated all its competition, including Canada, scoring first place.
When we arrived we had to wait outside the gate and get processed through security one by one. Rick told us that in 2013, I believe, some man came to the embassy with a bomb vest and rather than be exposed he detonated in the guard station killing several men. Once inside we gathered in an assembly room. We couldn't get an actual tour of the building because it is all restricted but its mainly offices. At least thats what they told us…
Rick, Joel, and Rick's colleague Aaron told us about the foreign service and how an embassy is set up. Rick was a Navy Seal for 8 years before he switched careers. He served in Indonesia and volunteered for an assignment in Iraq. After that he was allowed safer post in New Zealand and then Stockholm. Aaron was formerly a lawyer. Apparently it is very difficult getting hired into the foreign service. You have to take a test that most fail their first several times. The year Rick was hired it was easier to get into Harvard.
We were told all about the different branches of an embassy and the types of jobs. The entry level paper pushing jobs sound terribly boring. Being stationed around the world would be cool but I don't know if it is the type of work I want to do or if I could handle the uncertainty of where my next assignment was. Aaron doesn't know if his wife and him will end up in the same country for their next jobs.
After dinner we went to the Fotografiska, a photo gallery. We got lost for a bit because I am not the smoothest with public transportation but we found it! The art was really interesting. There was a large Serrano exhibit. He is a cuban-american who is famous for Piss Christ, a photo of a statue of Christ in a jar of his urine. There were also exhibits of his called History of Sex and Klan. The latter was portraits of KKK members. As a man of color I find it fascinating he was able to get them to agree to being photographed. His work touches on so many controversial issues.
It is so nice we are staying on a boat because almost everywhere in the main part of Stockholm we can see it and orient ourselves easily.
Laura, Becca, Kenzie, Me, Paget, Hannah, Lindsey
Waiting for the boat at Nybroplan
Hannah and I on the boat
Paget and I on the boat
Hannah and I on the boat
Hannah and I in Nacka Strand
Becca, Pat and Hannah with the statue in the back at Nacka Strand
Hannah at Nacka Strand
Becca and Pat at Nacka Strand
Waiting for the boat at Nacka Strand
I don't recall hearing about the 2013 incident at the embassy. What a shame! The statue at Nacka Strand looks really tall. What does it depict?
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