The four of them were waiting for me at the metro station in Stockholm. My heart was bursting with excitement as I exited through the turnstile and gave big hugs to Siri, David and his two kids, Love and Lykke. It felt like a family reunion even though I met Siri and David just once before in a different country and only for a few hours. Fast forward 10 months, the couple opened their home to me for five days in beautiful Sweden!
From Copenhagen to Stockholm and then Oslo, I loved my ten days in Scandinavia. The cool weather, kind people, clean streets, fresh air and abundant waterways made it feel like some sort of utopia.
David and Siri live in the Södermalm neighborhood and they took me to Monteliusvägen my first night to see a gorgeous view of the sun setting behind the Stockholm skyline. I returned the next morning to capture the panoramic view in daylight.
Ten months ago, I roadtripped across Iceland with my best friend Annaliese. We traveled hundreds of miles exploring glaciers, geysers, icebergs, hot springs and black sand beaches. We even got a glimpse of the northern lights!
On one of our last nights in Iceland, we rented a private room in a shared AirBNB near Skogar and we met Siri and David during the complimentary breakfast the host offered in the morning. We chatted and laughed over coffee and waffles. Of course I got a photo of the breakfast crew!
We said our goodbyes and walked out the front door of the AirBNB but we made it only a few feet before finding our rental car in the driveway with a flat rear tire! The car only came with a tire repair kit, not a spare, and one thing was for certain: I was not going to be any help! Annaliese and I first recruited the AirBNB host but David jumped in graciously when he saw us in distress.
I played a step-by-step video on YouTube and held my phone in front of David’s face as he tinkered with the tire while Siri and Annaliese provided moral support. We almost gave up multiple times but after about 45 minutes the tire finally started to fill up with sealant. We laughed so hard through the whole ordeal! There we were, stranded in a remote area of Iceland and these strangers stopped to help us even though it delayed them getting on the road to continue their vacation. Thank goodness for good people! We exchanged Instagram handles and I promised to visit Sweden sometime soon without knowing I’d be in Europe this summer.
“Come to Sweden! That is written in the stars,” Siri wrote in an Instagram message a few days after the tire incident.
Written in the stars, indeed! It felt great to reconnect with familiar faces after traveling solo for about a month.
I was the “American tourist” and nine-year-old Love (pronounced: Lu-vey) spoke nearly perfect English. It took David and Siri by surprise because they only speak Swedish at home and never heard Love speak fluent English which he picked up primarily from friends at school and watching YouTube videos. It was pretty cool seeing a young kid getting to apply his English language skills. He even tried teaching me how to pronounce a few words in Swedish and we laughed at some of my failed attempts.
Down narrow alleys in Old Town Stockholm you’ll find plenty of shops selling Fika-themed merchandise — travel mugs, plates, kitchen towels, t-shirts, etc. I had never heard of Fika before traveling to Sweden but I’m obsessed with the idea behind this longtime Swedish ritual. Simply put, Fika is a coffee break. It’s a time to slow down and have conversations with family, friends, colleagues or strangers while enjoying coffee and cake. It sounds so simple, right? But we all know how easy it is to forget to take a break in a world that feels like it is moving a mile a minute. Think about all that’s lost when we don’t slow down to reflect and connect. As I explained in an earlier post, the concept of Fika is how “The Coffee Break” name was born as a way to highlight positive people and connections. There is so much to be learned from other people and it’s important we take the time to listen.
Siri invited me out for a night on the town with several of her friends. The Swedish speakers all spoke English the whole night so I could be apart of the conversation which I thought was very kind. This trip has taught me how important language is to connection and how isolating it can feel to not understand those around you. I’ve got to learn a second language! At a bar after dinner, Siri convinced the bartender to let her DJ and she scoffed at some of my American music suggestions!
Life is nothing but a collection of connections with people formed by our environment, chance encounters and unpredictable timing. It’s an important reminder that there are no wrong turns in life because you never know what positive connection might exist around the next corner.
Even bad experiences — like the flat tire — can lead to meaningful connection and friendship. It’s true, my Stockholm reunion with David and Siri was written in the stars but I’d like to think our first meeting was written in the stars before we even crossed paths. And if that is true, think about all the connections yet to be made.
Never forget to take breaks (Fika!) and meet new people. Those connections might just help you find what’s already written in the stars.
The Coffee Break 
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