Nothing happened today

Ergh.

I woke up with an achy head and a scratchy throat and decided I might be better off taking it easy than jaunting off around the city.

I pretty much slept all day and only woke up to visit the breakfast buffet, the apothecary, and a cafe for lunch (where I had tomato and herring soup).

I don't really feel bad, but I'm scared to death of feeling worse. I'd rather have to take it easy for a day now, than spend a week in bed later because I didn't listen to my body. Despite bundling up in layers with my hat and tights and gloves and scarf, the wind is still cutting me to pieces.

Speaking of hats, my hat seems to be getting a few stares. I bought it in Norway from a local handicrafts kind of shop. It's turquoise and brown striped with a lime green stripe running up the back and a pointy top and ear flaps. I like it; it makes me smile. It also keeps my head warm which is of the utmost importance now.

I visited another street vendor tonight. Around midnight, I got an incredible craving for a chocolate bar, so I wandered up to the 7-11 (they're on every corner here), bought a chocolate bar I've never heard of before (the Lion bar) and stopped at hamburger vendor on the way back to the hotel. I got a drink, fries, and burger for 65 kr or roughly 10 USD. Not McDonald's prices, but quite inexpensive for where I am. The food wasn't great, but it was tolerable, which is all I can really expect.

I think I'm going to go back to bed now. I'd actually like to do some sightseeing tomorrow.

Eat where the locals eat

Turns out that old adage is true after all.

I just had the most delicious meal of mustard fried herring with mashed potatoes and a cappucino, all for around 150 kr. The exchange rate is slightly better here (6 kr equal 1 USD as opposed to 5 kr in Norway) so expenses should a bit cheaper.

My train arrived in Stockholm around 10:20 p.m. Unfortunately, because of a profound scheduling snafu, I don't have a room yet.

You see, I originally planned to take the overnight train from Oslo to Stockholm which would not only save me the expense of a hotel reservation but also save me the tedium of back to back seven hour train rides. Alas, the rail service canceled their overnight train from Oslo to Stockholm so I had the option of either arriving in Sweden tonight or tomorrow night. I gambled that a hotel somewhere would have a room available for me and thus I could get a jump on my time in Stockholm by arrive 12 hours or so earlier than planned.

I lost my gamble.

Turns out there's some kind of big deal medical conference in town and all the rooms everywhere are booked. Those rooms that aren't hotel rooms are booked by travelers like me, so I'm left without a place to sleep tonight. The hotel was kind enough to hold my bags for the evening, and I've checked my e-mail in the business center and the like, but I'm really not sure what to do other than wander the city.

Update: So I wandered the city. It was cold, and it was rainy, but it was pretty safe. I'm near central square and plenty of bars and pubs and the like are open late. Around 4 a.m., my throat and head started bothering me so I wandered back to the hotel and they found me a room because someone no-showed. I'm going to go upstairs and crash now, I think.