Today I flew on Norwegian Airlines direct from Oakland to Stockholm on a shiny new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. It’s got super long wings and then a gigantic engine on each wing that bobs up and down as it moves up the runway. The windows on the plane have an adjustable tint instead of the standard plastic shade. It’s pretty cool.

I paid $179 for this one-way flight to Stockholm. The price went up to $240 after adding food and a checked bag. Not bad. The check-in process was slow as staffing was minimal and every other person was over their carry-on weight limitation.

I was in 13F beside a girl I didn’t speak a word to and some Swedish looking dude. He was working on his laptop and seemed early 20s, but didn’t say anything. I watched two episodes of the League and then The Hangover II. The meal was alright, it was a chicken rigatoni thing. I passed out for like 3 hours and then woke up to have a pretty weak breakfast sandwich. It was more bread that content, that’s for sure.

Chatted up the guy beside me near the end. We talked about life in SF, binge drinking, and him witnessing a homeless man bleed to death from a stab wound right outside of his window in the deep tenderloin. He was a Swedish student of Miami Ad School in San Francisco. I gave him my e-mail and we made vague plans to get a drink sometime in The City.

“Where are you going next” said the man at passport control. “Kenya” I replied. He stamped my passport neatly after I told him I’m not returning to Europe from there. My backpack came out on the carousel after 15 minutes and then I walked through that green nothing to declare lane. My cell-phone started working again after I restarted it–free data courtesy of T-Mobile.

Matt met me in the arrivals section of the airport, getting there just as I was through. We hugged and then caught up as if we had just seen each other yesterday. They say that’s how you know they’re a friend for life. We walked down to the train station at the airport, and he guided me through topping up a spare transit card he had.

We had a nice little 25 minute train ride and then another 10 minute bus and we arrived at the quaint little place him and Sophia call home. The guest bedroom was made up nicely for me and I felt so at home with such great hospitality.

It’s 15.19 now and I’m seated here at Matt’s dining table in his and Sophia’s flat. It’s nice and cozy. I just showered, feeling much more refreshed after the 10 hour flight. I’m wearing this wine colored flower shirt and red SuperDry shorts. I’m feeling a little caffeinated after Matt made me a nice strong ‘Swedish style’ cup of coffee. You can use a coarse grind to increase the oil content of the coffee.

A pretty smooth journey–despite the jetlag.