Lost in Stockholm

This was quite sad. We were watching the excitement of Midsnattsloppet Mål (sodermalms stockholm night running marathon), and while a few people collapsed from the running and heat exhaustion, one man went into cardiac arrest.

He was being revived by the paramedics for at least 20 minutes before he was taken to Södersjukhuset. I hope he lives but it did not look good from our position watching the tragic scene unfold.

Amen to his survival. He passed away and was declared dead on arrival.

A second man also collapsed and passed away. It was not a good night for them. Prayers go out to their families.

These photos are not graphic but are real and disturbing nevertheless. Please bear in mind.


This photo is on the cover of dn.se.




Just read that health declarations maybe required in light of these two deaths in the upcoming races.

(If you are looking to reprint these photos, you may NOT do so without permission, please contact me for information)

Wondering what the Swedish Police are doing on a sunny summer afternoon? Dancing. In Malmö. At Stortorget. At least one police officer.

Wow, amazingly awesome no words can describe it. Now we know how the police solve cases in Sweden: by dancing.

Even ABC news in America picked up on the story. Some cops just wanna have fun. And some cops just wanna chill out.

Stockholm. It is the Venice of the North. The City Hall, Stadshuset, is model after Venice’s famous Campanile square. Swedes do love their country on the water and visiting in the summer is the best way than to take advantage of the weather, midnight sun, and countless lakes and islands.

Because my mom is visiting, we decided to go a tourist binge and see as much as possible in 2,5 days. Since I also see annoying ads for the Stockholm Card, a special card that gives access to SL and 75 museums, I thought ‘let buy it for us’. The catch is, being Stockholm, nothing is cheap. Even tourist friendly cards are not cheap.

First, other helpful posts on visiting Stockholm:
Best Bars and Pubs in Stockholm
One day walk around Stockholm
Visit to the Absolut Ice Bar
Free Museums in Stockholm

The Swedish Crown at Skeppsbron


But there is a way to maximize the card to get more than your money’s worth. I bought the 48 hour card but realized that optimal card is 72 hours. The benefit of having the card worth “hours” instead of “days” is that if you start the card at 11AM Tuesday it’s valid until 11AM Thurs (for 48 hours).

Here’s the low down on the best way to use your Stockholm Card, see the most beautiful sites and museums in Stockholm, and not run around silly like a tourist on crack.

Price of the Stockholm Card:
Adult cards
SEK 395 for 24 hours
525 for 48 hours
SEK 625 for 72 hours – BUY THIS CARD!
SEK 895 for 120 hours

Child cards – under 18 years old
SEK 195 for 24 hours
SEK 225 for 48 hours
SEK 245 for 72 hours
SEK 285 for 120 hours

Must see places to visit using the Stockholm Card. The trick with using the card is going to the most expensive museums and sites in order to maximize the value.

Some museums worth visiting
Aquaria Vattenmuseum [Aquaria Water Museum] SEK 80
Drottningholms Slott [Drottningholm Palace] SEK 80
Gröna Lunds Tivoli [Gröna Lund’s Amusement Park] SEK 80-90
Fotografiska Museet SEK 95
Junibacken [Junibacken] SEK 125
Kungsholmen Runt [Kungsholmen Boat Ride] SEK 140
Kungliga Slottet [Royal Palace] SEK 100
Livrustkammaren [Royal Armoury] SEK 70
Nationalmuseum [Nationalmuseum] SEK 100
Nobelmuseet [Nobel Museum] SEK 70
Nordiska museet [Nordiska museet] SEK 80
Skansen [Skansen Open Air Museum] SEK 70-120
Skansen-akvariet [Skansen’s Aquarium] SEK 90
Skattkammaren [Royal Treasury] SEK 100
SkyView – on Top of the Globe SEK 130
Stadshuset [City Hall] SEK 50-80
Storkyrkan [Stockholm Cathedral] SEK 30
Vasamuseet [Vasa Museum] SEK 110

Skeppsbron Island – view from Djurgården on the Hop on Hop off boat

The other benefit of buying a Stockholm Card is access to SL local transportation. This includes unlimited rides on the tunnelbanan (metro), pendaltåg (commuter line trains), and buses. Considering a single pass ride on the tunnelbanan is 30SEK (25SEK when having a 8 pass ticket), the card is great for going back and forth without worry. Even one day passes on the SL is 100SEK; definitely not cheap.

How we maximized the Stockholm Card for 48 hours, the itinerary. Cost for two people – 1050SEK
Monday -
Hop on Hop off Boat from Gamla Stan to Djurgården – 40SEK*2 = 80
Vasa Museet – 110SEK *2 = 220
Nordiska Museet – 80SEK*2 = 160
SL Bus 47 to Kaknästornet – 40SEK*2 = 80
SL Bus and Metro back home – 30SEK*2 = 60

Tuesday –
SL metro to Slussen – 30SEK*2 = 60
Hop on Hop off Boat to Skeppsbron – 40SEK*2 = 80
Modern Museum and Architecture Museum joint entrance – 110SEK*2 = 220
Bus to Odenplan – 30SEK*2 = 60
(break for mom)
Vin & Spritsmuseet – 50SEK
SL metro – 30SEK*2 = 60
Skyview (boyfriend and I) – 130SEK*2 = 260
SL to Djurgården – 30SEK*2 = 60
Skansen – 110SEK*2 = 220 (and a lucky occasion to see Allsång!!!)
Gröna Lund – 80SEK*2 =160 (for 27 kronor on the first game, boyfriend won a 2 kg box of Kex chocolates!!!)
SL back home – 30SEK*2 = 60

Wednesday Morning -
Medieval Museum – Free entrance but you get a poster with the card – 50SEK
SL to Centralstation – 30SEK*2 = 60
Kungsholmen Runt – 140SEK*2 = 280 – highly recommend this one!
SL back home- 30SEK*2 = 60
End of 48 hours!!!

Total cost of the museums, transportations, and boat rides: 2120SEK
Savings from buying the 48 hour Stockholm Card: 1070SEK
Final savings per person: 535SEK !!!

If you are around for a 3rd day, buy the 72 hour card. This is what I suggest on adding to your itinerary in Stockholm for the extra 24 hours.
Kungsholmen Runt boat ride along Kungsholmen, Långholmen – 140SEK
Fotografiska Museet – Annie Lebovitz special exhibition until Sept 2010 – 95SEK
Drottningholms Slott [Drottningholm Palace] – entrance is to the Chinese Pavilion and Theater SEK 80
Kungliga Slottet [Royal Palace] SEK 100

I would move the Photographic Museum to Day 1 as only three things are done. That way, you have plenty of time to take the boat tour, visit the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan, and go to Drottningholm (takes 40 minutes by SL).

The famous Vasa Ship – the only ship intact from the 1600s in the world


By buying a tourist card, you can visit great spots in the city without having to stress yourself out. All the days that my mom and I went out, we started at noon and continued on till evening. If we were better about time, we would start at 10AM and finish around 7PM.

Gröna Lund could take a lot longer as it’s an amusement part; tickets to the rides and the games are not included in the pass. That’s why we only played one game.

Visitors and tourists to Stockholm, I hope this helps you on your journey to navigate the city. It’s small but overwhelming with things to do. The Stockholm Card, though pricy, is one of the best ways to do this on the dime and still see the castles and museums everyone loves.

Update: Thursday, April 22st, 14.42 GMT+1
All major airports in Sweden are operating. This includes Stockholm Arlanda, Bromma, Göteborg Landvetter, and Malmö airports. Please check arlanda.se for flight information to ensure your flight is scheduled to take off or arrive into a Swedish airport.

Update: Wednesday, April 21st, 13.32 GMT+1
Information regarding flights by Ryanair:
(A) Southbound flights from Spain, Southern Italy, Southern France (Marseille), Malta and Morocco continue as normal today.

(B) All flights in Northern Europe (except flights between Ireland and the UK) to operate as scheduled from 05.00hrs Thurs 22nd April.

(C) All flights between Ireland and UK (including domestic routes) will resume normal schedules from 05.00hrs on Fri 23rd April (to allow for extra flights from Ireland to Continental Europe; and from UK to Continental Europe on Thursday 22nd April).

(D) Ryanair expects more delays and cancellations on Thurs/Friday as Europe’s ATC’s and airports struggle to handle the volume of flights.

(E) Revised handling procedures notified to all airports to eliminate a backlog of passengers as soon as normal flight schedules resume.

No other major updates from the other airports. Cathy Pacific announced no new flight reservations can be made until after May 10th.

Update: Wednesday, April 21st, 11.32 GMT+1

Swedish Airports: Malmö Airport, Ronneby Airport, Ängelholm Helsingborg Airport and Visby Airport are now open for traffic. According to the forecast Gothenburg Landvetter will be able to open for traffic after 2 p.m. According to the same forecast Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Stockholm-Bromma Airport will probably be able to open for traffic at 4 PM. Karlstad Airport is expected to be closed for takeoffs and landings until further notice. Swedavia airports in the North are also open for traffic – ie Kiruna Airport, Luleå Airport, Umeå City Airport, Örnskoldsvik Airport, Åre Östersund Airport and Sundsvall Härnösand Airport.

Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Germany now have flights operating throughout all the airports but are experiencing severe disruptions and delays. Please check with your airline if your flight is leaving.

Belgium, Bulgaria, Belarus, Spain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine airports are all open but flights may be delayed.

Ryainair is expected to make an announcement regarding its affected flights to certain parts of Europe.

Update: Tuesday, April 20th, 16.40 GMT+1
Stockholm Arlanda, Gothenburg Landvetter, Malmo, Bromma airports are all closed now.

Update: Tuesday, April 20th, 10.30 GMT+1

Gothenburg Landvetter Airport, Malmö Airport, Visby Airport, Ronneby Airport and Ängelholm Helsingborg Airport are closed for air traffic. Stockholm Arlanda Airport has resumed some traffic (mainly from Norway and northern cities), most international flights are still canceled.

Norway’s airports are open but with cancellations to affected European cities.

Airports in Britain are still closed but Scottish airports (Glasgow, Edinburgg, Aberdeen) are open with limited flights.

Airports in Spain are open.

France’s main airports are partially open but with many canceled flights.

Germany’s airports are closed.

Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport is closed but an update is expected at 15hr GMT+1. Thanks to @Shazzer for the information.

For more information check out Flight stats.

Asian passengers, please be aware of significant delays and cancellations with Qantas, Thai Airways, Cathy Pacific, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and possibly others. Most Asian airlines are routing passengers via Rome, Moscow, Madrid in order to still transport stranded passengers.

American airlines are reissuing tickets for free, please check your itinerary or visit the website of your carrier.

I just found that European Union laws are very strict about canceled and delayed flights. You may be entitled to compensation (hotel, food) so please keep your receipts and email the airline as soon as possible to check what possibilities exist.

Update: Monday, April 19th, 9.05 GMT+1
Stockholm’s Arlanda airport is now OPEN for limited operations sometime this morning. Stockholm-Bromma Airport and Gothenburg Landvetter Airport will also open durning the morning time. The ash cloud may deteriorate flying conditions Monday night which can force the airport to close again.

If you need information on arrivals and departures at Arlanda:
http://www.arlanda.se/en/Information–services-to/Traveller-information/ArrivalsDepartures/Domestic-arrivals/

http://www.arlanda.se/en/Information–services-to/Traveller-information/ArrivalsDepartures/International-arrivals/

http://www.arlanda.se/en/Information–services-to/Traveller-information/ArrivalsDepartures/Domestic-departures/

http://www.arlanda.se/en/Information–services-to/Traveller-information/ArrivalsDepartures/International-departures/

For information Göteborg Landvetter Airport, please click here.

Other European cities are expected to open airspace amid heated discussions between airlines and the governments. Norway’s airports are currently in limited operations. Most of the Baltic states’ airports are still closed. France’s Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport is closed until Tuesday, April 20th 08.00 (Suspension du trafic aérien en Ile-de-France jusqu’à Mardi 20 avril 08h00 au minimum).

Erfurt and Frankfurt Airports are open for some flights. All other German airports are closed.

Airports in Britain, Scotland, and Ireland are closed most of the Monday.

If you need information on a particular airport not listed, please post your comment below.

Check this board for all updates.

Update: Sunday April 18th, 22.39 GMT+1
Most airports are still closed in Europe.

All major airports in France are closed (Paris CDG, Orly, Lyon) while Nice and Marsaille airports are open.

Airports in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona and Son Sant Joan) are currently open and operating flights to countries not affected by the ash cloud.

Ryan Air has canceled flights until Wednesday 13.00GMT. This includes flights to and from: UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic States until 1300hrs on Wed 21 April. Ryanair flights from Spain, the Canary and Baleric islands, the south of Italy (including Pisa, Rome, Sardinia and Sicily), Malta and North Africa will continue to operate just domestic and southbound routes.

Northern airspace in Sweden is open but all major airports are closed until further notice. I visited Arlanda Airport today and it was devoid of the bustle and chaos associated with airports.

Please click on the links below to go to NYtimes flight board. Some flights may resume tomorrow but it is unclear what will happen.

Saturday, April 17th:
Just a really quick update for those traveling to or from Europe and needing information about flights regarding the Eyjafjällajökull volcano eruption.

Airports in most of Europe are closed with the exception of Spain, Keflavik (Iceland), Russia, and Turkey. British airspace is closed until 1AM Sunday local time. Many mainland European cities may open at 2PM local time today. However, that is uncertain.

To check current flight time tables you can use the NYTimes on the Tracking Cancellations From the Ash Cloud.

Swedish airpspace is basically closed until further notice. DN (in swedish) has updating information about the closure and information about other European cities. IceNews has a long list of places to check if you more information.

You can at least see photos of the volcanic eruption on my other post.

I’ll post as I hear information. At this point rail, bus, and rental car service is completely booked. If you don’t have to travel, please do not.

The ash cloud coverage over the Northern Hemisphere:

UPDATED: Added more photos on Sunday April 18th. They are the topmost photos.

The first eruption on March 27th by Fimmvörðuháls in the passage between Eyjafjallajökull (pronounce: Aye-ya-fyah-dla-jow-kudl – thanks Tinna) and Myrdalsjokull glaciers erupted and didn’t blow everyone’s minds away. Now, a volcano has again erupted in the glacier located in southern Iceland and the event is spectacular.

I am so excited that I would do anything to hop on a place and take photographs of this amazing event (because photographers are crazy). Some people are even getting photographs of the volcano with lightening, an amazing phenomena explained by Science Blogs. Too bad, most European airports are closed open under chaotic conditions.

Yesterday afternoon, airspace over Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom closed down because of the volcanic ash. Volcanic ash can cause engine failure because the ash is so fine and meld itself to the crevices in the engine. Ash can also increase the weight of the airplane, which not makes the plane heavier, but unevenly bulky. The Guardian posted a good article why ash is dangerous to planes and DN.se posted about the environmental effects of the volcano.

This is an experience few get to enjoy since volcanoes rarely erupt in the part of the northern hemisphere. With the first eruption from last month, Eyjafjallajökull is giving the world a great show and giving Iceland more attention than it ever wanted. As an anonymous person said,

Dear Iceland, we said send CASH … not ASH!

UPDATE: For those travelers coming into Sweden or leaving Sweden via Arlanda or any airports, please check LFV for updates. Airspace is still closed and Stockholm Arlanda is not expected to open until Saturday.

I gathered 1525 photos below of the volcanic eruption and ash that are being posted to Flickr as well as a video and a map. If you have a photo to share, please post the link below in the comments. It would be great to collect as many pictures as possible to share with everyone.

How to pronounce Eyjafjällajökull

Photographed by: Pu the Owl

Photographed by: B&B Kristinsson

Photographed by: Anna Artist

Photographed by: Soleysk

Photographed by: Jennifer Greenland

Photographed by: Skarphéðinn Þráinsson (thanks for sharing!)

Photographed by: Solioli

AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson

Photographed by: Snorri_s

Photographed by: GSFC

Photographed by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orvaratli

Photographed by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orvaratli

Photographed by: Orvaratli

Photographed by: Solioli

Photographed by: Fredrik Holm

Photographed by: Helgi58

Photographed by: Skarpi

Photographed by: Steini3

Photographed by: Now in Iceland

Photographed by: Now in Iceland

Photographed by: Fredrik Holm

Photographed by: David (thanks for sharing!)

Enjoy the volcano photos of Iceland!

Saturdays in Sweden are a special day, especially if you are a kid. It’s Lördagsgodis, translated in English as Saturday’s Candies. It is the day to stuff yourself silly with candy (in swedish: godis). As a Swedish child, Saturday is a special treat day to eat sweets and go to the candy store.

Shopping for candy is more of an adventure than eating it for me. The colors, the shapes, the sizes! Truly is eye candy of candy. Swedish grocery stores have bins stacked 10-20 bins wide and 6 bins tall. That can be as much as 120 different varieties of loose candy! It’s Jelly Belly madness for Americans who have seen the Jelly Belly bins at the candy store. Loose candies can be jelly, hard, chocolate, licorice, gummy, marshmallow, sweet, sour, just about anything you can imagine.

On top of the loose candy selection like our Swedish Fish, there are the chocolates, Läkerol, and more. I’ll have to take photos of this amazing obsession. Even full fledged candy stores all over the city exist!

To really get hyper, Easter time is when Swedes really go crazy for candy. People, adults and children, eats lots of godis. Chocolate, loose candies, whatever.

Yet, what I haven’t figured out is how Swedes are still slender. I can count the number of fat people on both my hands, and that’s in all of Sweden. And candy bins along with candy isles are the quintessential staple of any grocery store. Even convenience stores and gas stations have loose candy. And yet they are skinny. Maybe it’s the coffee and snus and skiing but I am fascinated by their obsession with sweets. Remember the Swedes even have a day for waffles.

There’s also the strange ice creams in Sweden, like Piggelin and Päron and Sitting Bull. Not sure yet if that’s part of the Lördagsgodis.

Oh, my favorite are the sour candies, like the blue bottle caps. The licorice candies are a definite no go, unless it’s a licorice Jelly Belly jelly bean. And what candy do you save space for on sweet Saturday?

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter and Glad Påsk to friends, family, and readers all over the world from the Swede, my bunny rabbit (the little dude above), and I. =)

For those celebrating, please encourage NOT giving real bunnies as gifts. Thousands of little rabbits each year are abandoned by summer because they were given as gifts to children. They’re real pets and need as much love and attention as dogs and cats.

This year, if your child wants a bunny, give them a delicious chocolate bunny instead. The non-profit group MMC (Make Mine Chocolate) encourages people to buy chocolate easter rabbits instead of real bunnies. Join their Facebook page and show your support.

Get out there, eat chocolate, and save a bunny rabbit.

This week in Stockholm, traveling anywhere is a bad idea. The weather has been so bad that it’s better to stay at home than go to work, a so called, snödag. Schools were closed, and those who braved the weather took an adventure through the city to get home. Cuz of course SL, the local rail and bus transit system of Stockholm was broken most of the day.

I had a better adventure than trying to get to work on Monday. I was going to Skavsta airport on Sunday evening to travel to London. While Hairy Swede hates on Arlanda airport, I am going to hate on Skavsta, rather Ryan Air. Because Ryan Airline can not only be the silliest airline, it can have the stupidest bus service ever.

The flight was at 21hr (9pm) and I decided to take the Ryan Air bus at 17hr to get to the airport by 18.30. That would give me plenty of time to relax at the airport. Normally, I’m not the on time sort of person at the airports, but this time I felt it prudent to get there in a timely manner.

At 16.55, everyone has queued up at the bus area at Gate 15. At least this time, there was no City Terminalen chaos as the gate checkers were oblivious to bus passengers. At 17.05, a Ryan Air transfer bus passed came into the station, passed us, and went back out again. It never came back.

The Ryan Air bus in Stockholm’s station was empty. The ticket checker, of course sitting INSIDE the station said the bus was full. Because you know, being inside gives you better visibility to things outside than people standing outside.

She was pretty annoying and after 30min, we all got refunds and went to search for the next bus. Hell if I would trust the next Ryan Air bus at 18.15. It doesn’t beat the 0.00€ flights that Jason found, but a cash return is better than losing the bus ticket.

So I went downstairs to the lower gates to wait for Flygbussarna. At 17.30 people started boarding the bus for the departing 17.50. The bus filled. Another bus came to handle the overflow. That bus filled. So another came to take passengers, one of them being me. I got on the bus and it filled too. So guess what, Flygbussarna sent another bus to fill it in.

Finally at 19.30 I arrived to Skavsta. Checked in bag, had my passport checked. And the check-in counter man said, “You do know the flight is delayed, right?”

“Really?”

“Yea, it will leave at 23.25″ … Boo … At Skavsta.

At 23.25 I boarded the plane, at a little past midnight we took off. We managed to get out of the airport and into the air, on the way to London. Better than the Skavsta airport chaos two weeks ago when Ryanair had the airport close. THAT was stupid. Who knew traveling from Sweden would be so difficult.

And at 04.00, I was sleeping in my bed. Finally. In London.

Honestly, I should have learned something about Sweden.

That is, I should now be master of the dairy section of a grocery store. Because I failed that, I am crawling back to become the master of the milk section of the Swedish grocery store. Folks, take heed, learning the different types of milk (mjölk på svenska) takes a highly skilled, milk loving ninja to figure it out. And so, I tried.

Just at the Coop (one of the local grocery stores), I counted 20 different milk-esque items (including different fat levels of the same type). Yes, madness. Bear with me as I try to explain all the pretty cartons of milk varietals.

Regular milks comes in 1 liter cartons or 1.5 liter cartons. Easy to fit in the fridge, but a bitch to keep fresh. I noticed, once opened, this milk stays good for 5-6 days. But hey, they are recyclable, easy to break down, and stores neatly in the fridge. Just use a chip clip to keep it closed tight once the carton is open.
Milk also comes in different color boxes, in case you are lazy, just know the color.
Mjölk – The Red Box - The all american Swedish milk. It’s the regular milk at 3% fat.
Mellanmjölk – The Green Box - Slightly lower fat at 1.5% and literally means “middle milk”
Lättmjölk – The Blue Box – We would call this skim milk at .5% fat.
Minimjolk – The Yellow Box – Almost fat free milk at .1%.
Gammaldagsmjölk – “Old time milk” which is to say, this milk is pasteurized but not homogenized, which means the fat floats to the surface and you have to give it a good shake. (Thanks Melissa for this) Raw milk is pretty delicious stuff and slightly higher in fat than regular 3% milk.
Latte Art – As you can guess, this milk (in cartons that are blue or brown) is used to make lattes and hot drinks. Definitely worth it if you love lattes and hot chocolates.

Important Note: Emma pointed out that the colors don’t correspond to regional milks, like Skåne milk. The colors listed above are for the company Arla.

Matlagninsgrädde – Orange container – Light cream, ie. half and half in the US, that is 15% fat.
Vispgrädde – Red container – Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream that is 36% fat.

The Filmjölk Family

The wonder of Wikipedia is awesome yet again. I’ll summarize what they say though.

Fil is like yogurt but less thick and a bit less sour. Fil is a major part of Nordic dairy culture, not just Sweden. But they all basically taste the same some more fatty, some with flavors, some plain. People eat fil with musli, very tasty stuff. But some folks have filmjölk with knäckebröd or just with jam. Up to you.

a-fil- Comes unflavored and flavored and anywhere from 0.5-3% fat. The “A” comes from lactobacillus acidophilus, a probiotic bateria. It’s advertised as a more digestive friendly fil.
Långfil- Has a slightly elastic feel to it because of the Lactococcus bacteria. This fil comes only as unflavored and in 3% fat.
Aktivfil- Has active cultures in the fil.

Filmjölk – The standard fil that comes flavored and unflavored. This fil ranges from 2.5-3% in fat.
Mellanfil – Middle fil as you can call it. Comes only in unflavored version and is 1.5% fat.
Lättfil – Light fil that is .5% fat and comes in a variety of flavors. There is blåbär/hallon (blueberry/raspberry), persika/hallon (peach/raspberry), jordgubb (strawberry), smultron/jordgubb/vinbär, and lime/banana (umm, strangest combination).
f-fil -

Onaka – Made with bacteria that is supposedly popular in Japan, which never made any sense to me since the Japanese didn’t really drink dairy until recently.
Thanks to Melissa of HuntGatherLove for some of these updates.
Kefir – Eastern-style fil, popular in Russia. There’s a similar style fil in Iceland called Skyr. It is truly delicious goodness.
Fjäll – This is not fil, it is a thin rich yogurt. Hjortron (cloudberry) is supposedly delightful.
Hälsofil – Literally ‘healthy fil.’ It’s been approved by the Swedish Medicinal Products Agency since this fil helps with immune and digestive systems.

And for kicks…
Turkisk yogurt
Greek Yogurt
Skyr
On your next visit to the grocery store with your recyclable plastic bag, experiment with some crazy milk or fil.

When Jeremy Soul first invited me to attend his day game pick up artist boot camp for Love Systems, I was really excited.  And then I felt really weird going to stalk a group a guys on learning how to pick up girls and then head out in the “field” to try out their newly learned skills.

Last week for eight hours I learned what men learned about women.  Before you give me the smack down that dating systems are stupid and full of douche bags, the aim is what we girls always wanted: a nice guy that can talk to girls.

The guys I met were your average Joes, average Svens you could say. They were good looking guys, all with jobs and some sort of life aspirations but missing a girl in their lives. The men attending are one of two types: 1. newly single and now thrown back to the wolverines; 2. men of good status looking to meet women.

As I found out and well suspected, men have tried for eons to successfully woe women.  It is in our DNA; humans are meant to procreate and those that don’t, clean up the gene pool a bit more and allow for stronger, smarter, more beautiful, more tactful creatures to evolve to the next generation.  That’s what so amazing about dating; at the end of the day there’s only one real goal: survival.  On one hand, being humans, we have slapped Darwin in the face and defied death, diseases, and now mating.  Okay, I’m being extremely harsh.

On the other hand, we are giving men who lack a certain je ne sais quoi to effectively compete on the mad race to find a suitable mate.   If we look at birds, it would be like teaching male birds how to build a better nest and increase the level and standards of competition.  That’s what Love Systems does; give men tools to bring the playing field to a move equitable level for men of different status levels.   And you know what? It’s a good thing.  Because somehow the human species is caught up in some perverse game of the most obnoxious men taking women and leaving the rest of the male species to duke it out at lower levels.   Well, fuck that.  There are plenty of men who without some sort of dating help would be at a loss, yet on a genetic level, are perfect mates.

Jeremy who teaches day game workshops turns concept of survival of the fittest on its head by bringing in the group of men that were excluded from the Darwin’s game because they couldn’t get past first base with women; and therefore would not survive to the next generation.  That’s profound.   Let’s teach good men to meet women.   And ladies, the female species is seeking exactly this: quality men of good social standing to produce offspring for the next generation.

But before I give you the whole lowdown on pick up artists as an interloper, what do you think men need to to do to meet women?

And girls, what are your worst stories of men hitting you, at the bar, in the club, on the street, whatever?