Yesterday I think I felt both worn out on museums and shopping, so I went to Scansen, which is the Scandinavia’s largest open-air folk museum. My original intention was to take pictures of of the preserved residences, but I also visited the nordic animals. I was also curious to see the craftsmen at work, but I think I got there too early (around 11:00am), as they had not set up shop yet.
My goal for picture-taking was for references and possible story ideas for my comics. Since my human characters were alive about 130-120 years ago, and my non-human characters were born about 400 years ago, I look for historical references. My non-human characters also travelled, so setting a story in old Scandinavia is not unfeasible. I mostly took pictures of the farmsteads, and the inside when I could.
I can confirm that the Scandinavian elg looks just like the American moose.
Here the elg were fenced away from human reach but not sight, and I mused how I’ve seen seen moose in the wild less than 30 feet (10 meters) away. Both the elg and the bears lazed about, but the great-eared and the great grey owls kindly showed themselves, as did the wolverines and the otter. I did not see the lynx, but I did not expect too.
Still in the mood for reference-photos, I then went to the August Strindberg museum. He was a famous Swedish playwright, and he lived in the location of the museum (it might have been his last residence, if I remember correctly). Some of the information was in English, but most of it in Swedish. I thought it an interesting fact that he was anti-Semitic at one point, but later in life got in interested in Jewish Mysticism. The other part of the museum was preserved rooms of his apartment, most of the articles originally his.
About my impressions of Stockholm itself, it indeed felt «very European». The architecture is very impressive, and almost imposing. Or was I the intruder? Admittedly, this city brought the most culture shock of the three major cities I´ve visited. I felt I had a harder time to meld into the crowd than Copenhagen or Oslo. It could be that in the latter two, I could read and understand more of the signs and speech, whereas the written Swedish seemes truely foreign.
Today I am taking the scenic train ride to Malmö. It is dark and rainy outside, and I saw lightening flash more than once. I have been blessed with good weather so far on my trip, as Mista noted when I visited Oslo. I had a tiny bit of rain on my first day in Copenhagen, but it stopped quickly. On the train ride through Jutland, I think I saw an equal ratio between grain fields and woods: on this trip, I see more forests.
As a character from my comic noted about human tastes:
…So I must admit that what I find familiar is biasing my preferences. As much as I like to go for the «more exotic» option, here I must confess that I find Oslo the most approachable city so far. It is interesting, because before the trip I had wound myself up in tizzy, thinking I would prefer the cultural hotspots Copenhagen and Stockholm…But spending a little time in each, I find I don´t prefer them. I´m finding myself opting for the place «most like home». Norway is also the country I have spent the least amount of time in—Oh well. Now that I´ve been here, I have a better idea of what I want, and how to plan future Norway trips.
Upon this realization, I find it a relief that I already have a background in Norwegian, and I already have resources.
Unless Malmö blows me away, let´s assume I will continue with norsk. Gaining a reading ability in Swedish would be useful, but I will save that for further down the road.
For down-time and relaxation, I have been watching the anime «Classroom of the Elite», which I have been really enjoying. Some dystopia aspects along with psychological twists are just my cup of tea. Some fanservice is a bit much, but I have to remember that anime is made for a Japanese audience, not an American one.