Sitting in Stockholm

I have just arrived in Stockholm and am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Dublin. A short layover - a little less than an hour.


Since my last update, I had one last day in New York and then flew here. I mentioned before that one of my missions for Wednesday was to get discounted tickets to a Broadway show. I waited in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square (that place is awful) and came away with 50% off tickets to A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Abby met me downtown after she got off work and we headed over to the theater.


The show was great! We had good sits - orchestra level, but way off to one side. I OF COURSE was sitting behind a man with an absurdly large head, which he was fond of tilting to the side. Tilted like that, he managed to block fully half the stage. Luckily he got tired in the second act and slumped down in his seat and I had a perfect view.


The production itself was wonderful. Getting to hear Bernadette Peters sing "Send in the Clowns" was probably the high point of the show, but all the lead actors were very strong. After the show ended, we waited by the stage door and got our programs signed. I got all of the lead actors except Elaine Stritch. While we were waiting for actors to come out, I happened to be standing next to Marni Nixon, who I didn't know was a person until someone else standing nearby said, "Aren't you Marni Nixon?" and she said, "Yes," and then when I got home I looked her up on Wikipedia. She was waiting to say hello to Bernadette but then got sick of waiting and instructed her granddaughter to "tell Bernadette that Marni Nixon says hello." (This was the actual moment I resolved to Google this person when I got home. My resolve was strengthened when the granddaughter dutifully repeated this message, and Bernadette looked around hopefully and said, "Is she here? Did she see the show??")


So that was a fun conclusion to my time in New York. Yesterday (Thursday), I got packed up, went to the post office, ate lunch, and then went to the airport. I flew SAS (Scandanavian Air) here to Stockholm. Our flight was delayed in taking off but arrived on time so no complaints. I had a window seat and no one in the aisle seat so lots of space to stretch out. I watched a Harry Potter movie and wrote some postcards and tried to sleep. SAS helpfully puts small mirrors in their seat backs so you can monitor your appearance in real time: slowly morphing from "dynamic world traveler" to "greasy haired hobo". The food was pretty alright. Dinner was shredded chicken in some sort of gravy, which born a closer resemblance to cat food than anything I have ever eaten, but it was hot and tasty so I can't complain too much.


Next stop: DUBLIN. And bed.


UPDATE: I just checked my e-mail and there was an add for Groupon: Stockholm. I wish I could have read what it was. Oh, also, they sell reindeer skins in the gift shop here. Given how tired I am at the moment, it is taking all my willpower not to purchase one, wrap myself in it, and go to sleep on the floor. Luckily, to get the reindeer skin, I would have to walk all the way back to the gift store, and I can't convince myself that walking the 40 feet is worth it, so I'm just gazing at the pelt from afar.