The volcano on Iceland is still making life pretty hard for people all around the world. 6.8 million people are in fact affected by the flight stop and thousands are stuck all over the globe and can’t do anything but wait for the big cloud of ashes to dissolve and the airports to open again. But – things are finally looking brighter! The first flights in three days landed in Sweden this morning and the big airports are open for business today, even if the business is very limited at the moment. 2 000 passengers took off from Arlanda in Stockholm today, as opposed to a normal 50 000…

But what about the people that are stuck in Sweden?  Surely, there must be worse things than being held up in lovely, spring-like Sweden? Or is it? I made a quick call to 31 year old James from London, who has been trapped in Gothenburg (Göteborg) since last Thursday.

 Hello James, describe life as stuck in Sweden with three words!
– A long wait.
So how are things in Sweden at the moment?
– I must admit it is a bit lonely as well since I travelled on my own. Anywhere is dull if you are on your own, right? I don’t know many people here so if anyone in the area fancies a pint, just give me a shout, ha ha! Right now, I’m just waiting to hear from the airline. As things stand now I might be able to fly home on Wednesday evening. But I’ll just have to wait and see, really. Someone just mentioned Saturday at earliest…
What brought you to Sweden in the first place?
– Business. It was supposed to be two day trip, but now I’ve been in Gothenburg for almost a week now.
Are you living on the streets or do you have a roof over your head?
– Luckily, I could just continue to stay at the hotel I was booked in at, and even better, my company is paying for the room so I don’t have to worry about that too on top of everything else. But still, Sweden is pretty darn expensive! I paid nearly 70 kronor for a pint of beer yesterday.
Have you done anything exciting that might make up for the fact that you are stuck?
– Well, Sweden is pretty exciting but I wish it was just a little bit warmer. The weather hasn’t been great, around seven or eight degrees and windy, but I still took a boat trip around the city, it’s called Paddan and I strongly recommend anyone being stuck in Gothenburg to do the same thing. I believe paddan means the toad or something?
Yup, that’s right. Speaking of which, have you eaten anything fun and Swedish yet? 
– I had the most amazing piece of rye bread completely covered in fresh prawns and mayonnaise, it was heavenly. And expensive…  
Have you learnt anything about Sweden the last days that you didn’t know from before?
– Everyone has been extremely helpful and I still think it’s amazing how immaculate people’s English is. Also, I found out that you can get news about and from Sweden in English at the Local, that’s been pretty handy.
Any survival tips to people who might get stuck in Sweden in the future?
– H&M’s underwear department has been a great help, for sure.
Are you coming back or have you had enough of Sweden now?
– No, I’ll definitely be back, I talked to my girlfriend yesterday about trying to come back in the summer. But we better check the volcano forecast first.
Well, good luck and enjoy your stay anyway…                                       
-Tack så mycket!

(illusration borrowed from Aftonbladet.se)