Neither of us has been to Sweden before, and as this visit will be 72 hours for me and 48 for her, I can't really say we've been yet. However, it's enough time for some quick observations.

What's with all the %#@ smoking? Isn't this SWEDEN for Pete's sake? Aren't they all supposed to be healthier than thou, blonde, multilingual and overtaxed? And I mean, they are (at least the blonde and multilingual parts.) But yikes, so many people, young, old, and otherwise normal looking (for Sweden, which needs qualifying) with papirosas dangling from their gobs… The sidewalk cafes are basically clouds of tobacco fog, the nonsmokers effectively banished to the interiors of restaurants (no-smoking areas by law.) I have to imagine that a packet of fags in Sweden costs a bunch, but evidently it hasn’t yet hit its elasticity point. Who woulda thunk?

Likewise the cars on the streets of the Old Town and adjacent parts of (mainly 19th Century) inner Stockholm.

Teenagers driving cars seems to be an almost unique North American phenomenon, at least in my experience. Not so in Stockholm. On several occasions we have to jump back out of the road as a green light is accompanied by screeching tires as a Volvo T5 or some such, piloted by a young man wearing silver shades, accompanied by blonde persons of mixed gender, blasts through the intersection like there's a Mig on his butt. Fading sounds of whatever "wheee" is in Swedish accompany the diminishing speck into the urban distance. Probably on their way to the bar so they can sit outside and smoke.

It's when this occurs involving a Hummer in the Old Town (Gamla Stan) that I really take note. Teenagers driving Hummers in Stockholm. Well, doesn't that just take the herring? Who do they think they are, Californians? (No, she says, just Swedish meatballs.) Ha ha.