The 2-1 Weekend Concluded

We have practice 4 times a week and generally play our matches on Sundays. Monday is our day off so our weekend schedule is usually a little askew, hence this weekend will conclude on Monday, perhaps the highest peak of our rollercoaster.

On the right is Dave Egan, my contact, coach, and setter here in Sweden. He's Canadian, eh, and has lived here for a year or so now and is constantly making sure his "professional" (that's me) is comfortable and enjoying his time in Sweden. On the left is Jonas, "the guy to know is Orebro" who bartends and manages bars in Orebro, the 3rd largest city in Sweden, about 35 minutes out of Vingaker. He's obviously Swedish, but speaks great English. When I say he's the guy in Orebro to know I'm not lying; everywhere we go people know him, say hello, give him free drinks, and somehow seem to have the utmost respect. I feel that I'll be okay whenever I'm with him. Oh, and he refuses to smile for pictures. Anyway, the two of them are sitting in the dining car on a train to Stockholm. They woke me up bright and early (about nine) to head out to train station. We enjoyed a few beers on the 2 hour+ ride into the city that you can't come home from without a hangover.

It's a LOT colder in Stockholm. The train station was massive, much more like an airport terminal. The subway was directly beneath the trains, so that was pretty cool. Once we arrived we met Dave's fellow Canadian, another volleyball player who is currently not playing, but working as an agent for BringIt Promotions (THE US agency). We did a little pub-hopping looking for a place to eat. I was starving the whole time, but they seemed to enjoy chewing Guiness and other motor oil beers as opposed to actually having some food. Still, I managed to choke it down and enjoy every 5th or 6th sip.

I managed to catch Jonas off-gaurd and snap a picture. We actually ate at this Irish pub, but yes, had too many Guiness as well. Andy, as you've probably guessed is on the left. He's rather opinionated and once he starts drinking loves to talk American politics. He's apparently been around and talked with a lot of embarressed Americans, so wanted to know my stance. Ass. Ha. All in all, he's a good guy and we had a great time. He was the one that hooked us up with the tickets to see Arcade Fire in concert that night - the reason we went to Stockholm. So after dinner we walked over to the venue right in the heart of the city. It's a bustling, crazy place, with the occasional European feel when you turn down the wrong street.

This is where we saw the show. I'm not real sure what the huge globe is because we were in an annex off to the side in a pretty small spot. There were about 4,000 people apparently, but it felt about half that size. Arcade Fire is a 10-man Canadian band that's been growing in popularity all over the world. Naturally, the music was too loud and you couldn't understand the lyrics, but it was rather enjoyable for music I'm not very familiar with. After the show we caught a ride home with Jonas' buddy, dreading having to wake up early the next morning for work. Like I said, always up and down, but keeping busy. There's plenty of down-time to catch up on sleep later.