So much has happened in Stockholm that it feels like I have been here for days, not weeks. For starters the following things have defined my trip:

1. I might as well be Swedish. I have lost count of the number of people that have come up to me and rattled off as if I were a long lost cousin. I have also heard from various sources that I fit in really well. Cool.
2. Babies. And lots of ‘em. Everyone has babies here! They are like the no. 1 accessory after Gucci and Prada and are so ‘in’ right now. Considering chicks don’t really get hit on at bars and clubs (why?!) and Swedes spend most of their time working and singing in parks, they sure find enough time to have lots of sex!!!
3. Cost. Sweden and probably most of Scandinavia are very expensive places to live in and travel, especially if you are on a South African budget.
4. They have the fastest and most reliable Internet access of all places that I’ve visited.
5. Sweden is like paradise with bad weather.

Anyway, after my presentation last week (which went really well BTW), I was treated to a healthy mix of business and of course pleasure. I had a very productive tour of the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newsroom and met with one of Sweden’s new media legends — Bo Hedin — who was responsible for setting up the first online news website in Sweden in 1994 and currently heads up the new media unit at SvD.

I later sat in on a very long and detailed demonstration of the Polopoly CMS, a successful application born in Sweden and used by many high profile companies in Scandinavia and Europe.

Once the business side of things was temporarily taken care of, I was able to do some guilt-free sight seeing and thoroughly enjoyed my visits to Gamla Stan (the old town) and the Vasa Museum, the world’s oldest restored warship which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was later found and fully restored 333 years later. I also got to see a flesh and blood reindeer and elk (amongst many other things) on a visit to Skansen, the oldest open-air museum in the world. Carl, my good friend and tour guide who sometimes masquerades as a developer for Primelabs, knows Stockholm like the back of his hand and was responsible for some trully memorable experiences.
Carl: I hope you get that raise ;-)

My dose of partying was taken care of last night at the ultra exclusive Cafe Opera where I managed to crack a place on the guest list (thanks Barbara!). Imagine 18th Century architecture, stinking rich snobs, Swedish bimbos, ridiculously overpriced drinks with a pumping sound system and you have Cafe Opera – what a great place.

Today we did a boat tour of the Stockholm Archipelago, a series of 24 000 islands that stretches 80 km east of the city and makes for some spectacular viewing, especially considering that things are starting to warm up and masses of trees are getting new leaves.

The evening ended off with chicken curry and a generous portion of Irish whisky courtesy of Mark Comerford, another person you should try and meet if you are ever in the Stockholm area and enjoy humour mixed with blatant honesty and an understanding of journalism and new media that is second to none.

Tomorrow is my last day in Stockholm before I make the long haul back to Jo’burg after receiving a demonstration of Streamio, a video-streaming service used by many organisations including the Red Cross. It’s been a very successful trip on many levels and I’m already looking forward to coming back. Stockholm thanks for having me!

View my Stockholm Photo Set