We’ve reduced the selection of our summer trip largely down to two rules – a) we can’t have been in the country for a two-week summer trip before (starting as of Mer’s 40th birthday in 2013), and b) it should be as cheap as we can find using Google Explore.

While preference does hold some sway in the final decision, the first two rules are great narrowers of the choices we have in Europe. They both landed on Sweden, and we had no good reason to override the rules, so here we are.

The odd thing about the cheap fare is that it was for very specific dates, and so we are on our longest European trip ever, lasting 19 days from leaving the house to getting back to in (inclusive of the travel days). 17 days is probably going to feel like a long time at some point around day 13, but we’re excited (and filled the time with plans and even left some things out).

Also, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose using Google Explore. When we found tickets under $500 each out of Pittsburgh, we jumped on the offer. Since then there have been multiple dates that have popped up f0r $380 each. Such is the travel life.

I worked a full day Friday and we left a little after 4:00 for an 8:20 flight. We had no issues, but I was a little worried when we got to the airport only 2.5 hours before we had to fly. I usually like to have the full recommended three hours, but it worked out fine. Pittsburgh is quickly becoming my favorite airport – it looks new, has tons of good restaurants, only one building (so no guessing which terminal your airline is flying out of), and we’ve breezed through security there twice now in less than five minutes total. The airport is roomy and aesthetically pleasing with high ceilings and public art, and both times has been a calm atmosphere. Good job, Pitt!

Our flight transferred in Reykjavik in Iceland, with only an hour and twenty minutes to transfer. No problem. And we even cleared EU customs in Iceland and so skipped that here in Stockholm. Our plane to Stockholm was out on the tarmac, and our bus driver was a very cheerful and extroverted man from Turkey who was singing and making jokes with the passengers at 7:00 am. Fun man.

We had a smooth flight to Stockholm, although we had to sit one row apart because we checked in so late. On the other hand, I got an exit row and had tons of room to stretch out, and I didn’t have to pay extra for it. Ha!

We’ve gotten to a point in our lives where we find it easier to take a taxi or Uber to our hotel from the airport, as long as it’s reasonable. Uber was about $40, and most public transit options were the same or more, or involved multiple changes. We took the Uber car, and so ended up checking in to our room a little after 2:00, and finally getting to sleep for a couple of hours around 3:00.

After sleep and a shower, we ate dinner at the attached restaurant, where we split a…wait for it…hot dog tower. It seems Scandinavians really love hot dogs. A Norwegian student told me I had to have hot dogs when I got to Norway, and Icelanders had them on many menus. We split the platter of six hot dogs (three different types) and fries. Two of them were excellent, and the third was a tad too spicey for me. Which led to ice cream to settle my spiced-up stomach when we did our…

…Rick Steves walk. Mer loves Rick Steves guidebooks, and Rick has two walks for Stockholm. After supper, Mer wanted to do the “modern Stockholm” walk, so we walked along a pleasant pedestrian street down to the central island and harbor of Stockholm, stopping for ice cream along the way. I hoped (correctly) that strawberry gelato would calm my stomach some.

Stockholm has diverse and often pretty architecture. There are art deco buildings and “wow! concrete!” buildings from the 1970’s. There are office towers and classic palace-looking buildings. And lions, There seem to be lion statues everywhere, and we’re not sure why yet.

From the parliament building, we walked along the water and then to a nice park area where festivals are held. We saw the nearby main synagogue for the city and the associated Holocaust memorial, as well as a memorial to a diplomat named Raoul Wallenberg who saved Jews during the war by getting them Swedish passports.

We got a grand view of the in-the-city amusement park across the harbor, which is fun. We walked along a shopping district and saw Swedes loudly celebrating a soccer match result, but with teams that didn’t seem to be Sweden. We finished up in a modern square with a lit-up 1970’s fountain that I liked even though it was dated looking.

We headed back to the hotel to try to get a full night’s sleep before the touring starts in earnest tomorrow. From a two-hour walk, Stockholm looks like it will be fun to explore.