Stockholm Trip: Short Layover in London

I'd been to London Heathrow Airport several times, and often our wait for the next flight to the Middle East was a few hours long.  We had the privilege of business class, so relaxing in the British Airways lounge was far from an unpleasant indeed.  But this time it was a short transition for a flight to Stockholm.

The following in my journal entry:

February 22nd 2004, Sunday morning.

I am here en route to Stockholm, Sweden, to visit with my friend Per, a fellow PDIer and Saudi Aramco coach. The stresses of the past couple of weeks have muted somewhat my excitement about visiting with him and touring Stockholm. But now that I’m just hours away from being there, I’m starting to think more about what I want to do: above all, see the city, meet people, learn about its culture.

I want to know about Per’s world… the places he walks to, works out at, dines at, and of course works at, PDI Scandanavia.

I want to know what defines Sweden, its characteristics. At one point, he described it as an open society; we were in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to which he contrasted Sweden. What else?

I want to know the traits of a Swedish personality… informal, like Americans? Reserved or outgoing? Factual or intuitive? Planful or spontaneous?

I want to know about its industries and businesses… its politics and international relations… its people, culture, and customs… some “basics,” too, of everyday life: currency (krona, singular; kronor, plural), telecommunications, transportation, TV, food and drinks.

I want to know about its music, literature, and arts.