Welcome to Sweden, home of meatballs and Abba

When we flew home to Arlanda airport in Stockholm this week after our vacation, the first sign I saw in the airport was “Meatballs – 169 kr!”  I was amused that the first word you see upon arriving in Sweden is “meatballs” and my Swedish husband was outraged about the latter “169 kr” which is the equivalent to 25 U.S. Dollars.

The next sign you see in the airport is for the Abba Museum.  Then you see the Abba puppets,  pictures of Abba, and then written on every column in the luggage section is the title of one of their songs – “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie”, “The Winner Takes it All”, etc.

I don’t know why, but I find it sweet when a country fulfills it’s sterotypes.  I love that upon entering Sweden for the first time, a tourist will say, “I can’t believe it’s actually all meatballs and Abba!  Where’s the Ikea?”  (I expect an Ikea store to open adjacent to the airport in the next 5 years.)