Niklas' blog

I’ll stop writing about the weather in Stockholm for a while after this, I promise, but following the great weather of yesterday around lunch, we got pee for dessert; see what went down at 16:00, i.e. as I was leaving work for home:

Beck is releasing a new album with Danger Mouse producing. The first song I heard off it is “Chemtrails“, psychedelic with lush multi-voice arrangements, but I urge you to seek out a track called “Profanity Prayers“, it’s top. The album’s his best since “Sea Change”.

As Mia and I are going to Serbia in less than a week and hence, I just visited the only place in Stockholm that claimed to be able to exchange Swedish Crowns for Serbian Dinars; au contraire, no cigar: they said there are currently no Serbian Dinars in the entire kingdom of Sweden, and instead advised me to exchange money to Euros, travel with a wad to Serbia and when there, exchange for Dinars. My cousin Zoran told me to just bring my VISA-card and use any of the ATM’s there instead.

By the way, the teller at the exchange-place gave me a long slip of things to consider before leaving for Serbia. Among the snippets:

Withdrawing cash
There are only a few ATM’s around.¹

Haggling
It’s customary to haggle for Chinese and Turkish merchandise in the cities Subotica, Pancevo and Belgrade.

Tips
It’s customary to tip 10% in restaurants and a little sum of money to cab-drivers and bell-boys.

Miscellaneous
Prices:
Bottle of beer: 7-20 SEK
Coca-cola: 10 SEK
Gas: 10 SEK/liter

Yep, seems like we’re set. All I need to do now is pack. Something inside me tells me to pack a bunch of warm clothes just in case, while my more sane side tells me not to pack anything warm apart from a jacket; I think I’ll follow my more sane side and actually buy warm clothes when there, if they’re actually ever needed.

I think you’ve guessed how much I’m longing for sane temperatures. Come, warmth. Come.

1. Which, according to Zoran, is wrong.[back]