From herring to Lone Star, Sweden has a lot to offer

This weekend was filled with interesting shopping experiences: a serious trip to the grocery store to buy actual provisions and the obligatory trip to Ikea.

It is really hard to go grocery shopping when you didn't grow up with any of the brands, food or words on the shelves. I wandered around the store picking up things and asking Erik stuff like "are these cookies or crackers?", "do they have yogurt you eat with a spoon instead of drink?" and "does this come in whole wheat?". I could spend 20 minutes in one aisle looking at packages, and trying to guess what might be inside. I spent 15 minutes in the "tube food" section alone, freaking out on the bacon in a tube.




I also spent a good 15 minutes perusing the fish selection.

On the other hand, going to Ikea is somewhat comforting. The Swedish Ikea is EXACTLY like your friendly neighborhood Ikea, just more authentic. For instance, everyone is actually speaking Swedish, and the cinnamon buns and coffee are better. The experience is pretty much dead-on though to that in the States, same products, same insane crowds. I even heard some woman say (in English) in the parking lot, "crazy f*#&ing people". I felt right at home.

To top off our crazy shopping day, Erik and I went to a restaurant called Texas Longhorn, which a surprisingly authentic steak and BBQ place in the middle of Stockholm. They even have Lone Star, $10 Lone Star, but it is the real deal. Heaven.