Studying in Scandinavia - Eli Goodwin 2023

On our way to the Swedish Royal Palace, we were just in time to watch the changing of the guards! They were escorted by a marching band which went right by us! In the royal palace we were able to see the royal treasury where they kept the king's robes, crowns, and scepters. Then we continued through the rest of the palace where we discovered the royal apartments. All throughout the numerous halls and rooms, paintings, statues, and gold accents absolutely drenched the site. Everything was detailed to the nines; there wasn't a single space that was undecorated. It was incredibly beautiful, and I was in awe at the sheer scale of the place. Dreaming of Palaces and Poetry, Eli Goodwin

While in Stockholm, we were able to visit the Paradox Museum where we took some stellar photographs of different optical illusions and paradoxes. I had an argument with myself, recreated The Creation of Adam with TJ, and walked into a room of infinite versions of my compadres and I. The attraction was heavily interactive, and there were workers around the halls to help take photos! This sentence isn't true, Eli Goodwin

The ABBA Museum was like walking into another world. Music played from every speaker, there was a hall dedicated to their outfits throughout the years, CDs and vinyl record albums lined the walls... It was incredible! There was a space where you could put on headphones and dance to an ABBA song with other people. It was surreal, in the best kind of way. We were able to dance with hologram versions of ABBA as the new hypothetical fifth member of the band, so TJ, Megan, Nat and I all got on stage at the same time and absolutely killed it 🤟 I wish Blogger would let me upload videos, Eli Goodwin

While exploring Stockholm, we stopped by the museum of spirits to educate ourselves on the history of alcohol! It was interesting to learn not only what ingredients go into alcohol, liquor, and spirits, but also the different ways to distill and ferment alcohol. They also had an entire exhibit dedicated to Absolut vodka, which makes sense since it's a Swedish brand. The Viking Museum was also on our list, and covered the history of the Vikings and their culture. It was fascinating to learn that being a Viking was more of a profession or a job title rather than a hereditary line. There were numerous Viking artifacts to see including tools, clothing, weapons, and coins, amongst other things. My personal favorite area was the room that included stories of all of their mythology; I'm a sucker for storytelling. I'm working on telling a story as I type, Eli Good...

It makes sense that we would go out with a bang, and what better way to do so than by visiting Sweden's capital and largest city, as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia, Stockholm. With this city being the country's political, economic, and cultural center, you can bet that it has a lot to offer. This modern metropolis wasn't always this way, and its history is rich and ancient. There were already people living in the area where Stockholm is located around 8000 BC, but as temperatures dropped shortly after the Ice Age, many of the inhabitants moved South until the land eventually thawed and became fertile, prompting them to migrate north again. Stockholm’s geography also helped to make it into a viable and reliable trading port, as Stockholm’s city borders cover fourteen individual islands. While the first iteration of Stockholm was built in 1000 CE by the Vikings, it would go through many changes before becoming the Stockholm we know today. Hundreds of years of ...

On one of our last days in Sweden we were all invited to our darkroom photography professor's home to celebrate Midsummer. We were all tasked with bringing freshly picked flowers to dinner and some of us arranged them around the dining tables while everyone else helped cook. Our darkroom professor, Orjan, taught us a Swedish drinking song and fed us a full course meal complete with strawberry cake for dessert. Some of the entrees included different kinds of herring, Swedish meatballs, and potatoes. We discussed the progress we made and the techniques we learned during the course, and I ended up making flower crowns for everyone who didn't have one, including Orjan and our MSSU professor Ed! It was a lovely way to end our time in Mullsjo before heading to Stockholm. Many thanks Mullsjo, Eli Goodwin

One thing I didn't expect was the amount of graffiti we saw while abroad. None of us were complaining though; I found it comforting that punks across the globe will always find a way to put their art in public spaces for others to see. Some murals were even in the process of being painted as we were exploring the city! Always looking for graffiti, Eli Goodwin