Swedish culture, as we know it, is defined by one thing: IKEA (and maybe H&M). From stereotypical Swedish meatballs and lingonberries to crazy-designed leather chairs, IKEA has it all. And surprisingly, the store does a pretty good job portraying what Stockholm, Sweden is actually like. There are numerous furniture stores (how they all stay in business is beyond me), everything on the IKEA menu is considered Swedish food, especially the cinnamon buns, and people are tall, beautiful, and slender as shown in H&M advertisements. Unfortunately, when I say IKEA embodies Stockholm, it also means there isn’t much else to know about Swedish culture that can’t be found in IKEA or H&M.
However, what I love most is the fact that food is always the one component of culture that is unique to an area. And after being in Stockholm, the Swedes definitely have their own take on food, especially on American food.
After a whole day of traveling, my friends and I were completely famished, so we stopped by a local Greek place called Gyrella and ordered some “mega pitas.”
Next morning, ventured out to Saturnus Cafe for the city’s largest cinnamon buns. 
Husmanskost (“husman”:house owner and “kost”: food), traditional Swedish dishes made with everyday ingredients, was actually served pretty limitedly. When we finally decided on a restaurant known for its husmanskost, we were disappointed to find that it didn’t even have Swedish meatballs on its menu. Yet, I was still very glad we went to Salt because it’s a very well-known restaurant in the Kungsholmen area.
Before heading back to London, we stopped at Cafe Fix across the street from our hostel where we got some brunch.
But the most epic moment of my trip revolved around a hot dog:
Stockholm had its beautiful moments, Gamla Stan (Old Town Stockholm) and picturesque subway stations, and I think I just might have to go back one day to finally have real Swedish meatballs, and definitely some more of that hot dog heaven.
