Officially in the 'Holm

We did indeed make it to Stockholm in good shape and with fairly good attitudes. Cayton was basically an angel on the trip over. We only had one run in with a whiny, nordic sweater wearing crybaby who was actually about 35 years old. And I was worried about Cayton! Apparently the guy expected to be able to put his friggin' chair in my lap and not have to deal with me (or Cayton) occasionally hitting his chair. I was so sorry to have disturbed His Majesty. I was not aware that a member of the Swedish Royal Family would be aboard the same Continental tin can/plane that we were. Oh well, I guess you can't expect perfect behavior out of everyone...

After gathering our stuff at the airport and passing through a pretty easy Customs process, we were on our way to the city. The airport was about 20 miles outside the city, so it was a pretty good taxi ride. Cayton was so tired that she obsessively asked for "More Milk!". However, when we gave her the milk she shoved it away and said, "No milk!". I guess you can't expect a two year old to be rational after an eight hour plane ride.

We taxied straight to Josh's hotel since we figured that our hotel wouldn't be ready. He has a pretty sweet set up there with the concierge lounge on his floor. After a little breakfast and freshening up, we were ready to explore the city. By explore, I mean we taxied over to our hotel, took showers, and then crashed for a nap. It was a bit of a rookie mistake, but all in all in turned out well. We were able to stay up later that night for drinks with Josh, Lindsey and Mike. We partied Euro style - we drank and talked while Cayton slept in her stroller. I wish American lawmakers could see the wisdom in allowing babies in bars...

I think after all of the things we saw and all of the new experiences we had, the best part of the trip was just hanging out with our friends. The city was absolutely beautiful and it provided a unique backdrop to the time that we spent talking and catching up. It was a bit like old times, but with a strange new language swirling around us. I probably need a week or two to let the memories form completely in my mind and I will write about them. But, my immediate impression is that good times with good friends can make even an epic journey seem manageable.