Megan’s abroad in London, England, until Dec. 13.

Before I begin, an apology: Lots of my posts have been about (and will continue to be about) places other than London. See, the moment I got here I knew I wanted to travel everywhere. England is amazing, yes, but if I just stayed on the island, what good would I have accomplished? I had never been to Europe before this trip, and I plan on taking full advantage of my proximity to cool places and the cheap airfare throughout the continent.

That being said, this past weekend I took a trip to Sweden. Scandinavia doesn’t typically make the list of a study abroad student’s top vacation spots, but I went to visit my cousin Pearl. Pearl is similar to an aunt or a grandmother to me - she’s in her seventies and has lived in Stockholm for almost 28 years. She moved there in her forties and met her Swedish husband Bo (pronounced “Boo”) while she was teaching at an international school there. Pearl and Bo spend half their time in America, so I’ve seen them occasionally through the years. Nobody in my immediate family has trekked to Stockholm to see them before, so I knew I’d get quite a lecture if I was in Europe and didn’t stop by. Plus, free lodging in Sweden! Why not stop by?

I arrived in Stockholm with no expectations. The only references I had in my mind were the Swedish Chef from the Muppets and Ulla from The Producers. (Ironically, there was a production of The Producers going on in Stockholm while I was there.) I was relieved to find that most people speak English very well, and amazed to see the variety of architecture and landscapes there. Stockholm is built upon a series of islands, all connected by bridges, so everything has a view of the water and there are boats docked year-round. Also, Sweden has not been involved in a war for hundreds of years, so buildings have been standing for centuries. And the Swedish language doesn’t sound at all like the Swedish Chef. Sorry to disappoint.

Aside from the great views, my trip was special because I had a chance to connect with Pearl. Over homemade meals (that made me wish I could cook) we constantly chatted, and I found out she wrote a book about one of our distant cousins who was exiled during World War II and that Bo designed water towers for a living before he retired and is also a talented abstract artist. I found out that Pearl and I have a lot in common, from political leanings to thoughts on certain family members. And I got to do this all while strolling through one of the world’s most beautiful capitals. Not too shabby of a family reunion.

Read Megan’s previous post l Meet the rest of our study abroad bloggers