Hay (hello) from Sweden!!!!!!!! The first wave of the Swish contingent has arrived and we have taken the city by storm (as if there was ever any doubt)! Jamie, Jason and Laszlo arrived at 7:30am Saturday morning, after a long, sleepless flight on SAS. We are staying with our amazing hosts Linda Leopold and Fredrik Strage, who have walked us all over this beautiful city.

Saturday afternoon, Jason and Jamie taped an interview for TV4 on Nyhetsmorgon Sondag, which is the Swedish equivalent of the Today Show, discussing Linda's book "FagHag" and what it means to be a faghag, as interpreted by Swish of course! It was televised at 9:15am Sunday morning, and we all got up early to watch it. They both spoke very well about gay issues in the US, and how they differ from Europe and Sweden. They also discussed why Swish is here, what we are doing for the LGBT movement in the US, and the many facets of "faghag-dom." It was quite an honor for Swish to be on the show, and we are very excited about the perspectives we are bringing to Europride. (Link to the interview below.)

Everyone has been ridiculously nice, from the couple sitting next to us on the plane who recommended a number of great restaurants to try; to the lady who started walking with us outside the subway and told us about her costume for the Pride March (she's going dressed as a giant condom - now that's dedication!); to Hans, the friendly drunk on the subway who offered us a beer, and his support for the pride festival; to the cabdriver who patiently loaded Jamie into his trunk for the ride home last night (long story). And it's only day 2!!!!

Highlights from the trip so far:

1) While waiting for our bags at the carousel, we saw a baseball bat roll by on the conveyor. Remarked Laszlo dryly, "Oh look, someone else is here for EuroPride."

2) A sweat-drenched, late-night, porn musical at a local gay bar...and the sweating was on our part, not the actors. The night was complete with bad drag queens wearing pig noses, a room covered in red velvet, and "mums mums" (marshmallow-chocolate cookies that were yummy, until we found out they were a prop in the porn!). Could be a hit on Broadway!

3) Jamie's first taste of herring-on-the-street, with lemon and red onions - gives NY hot dog vendors a run for their money.

4) Laszlo's jet-lagged dancing in Jamie's new high heels in the apartment. (They are the same shoe size. Who knew?!) Video forth-coming.

5) Jamie getting recognized in the grocery store Sunday morning, shortly after their televised interview. Jamie asks "OH, are you coming to Pride Park.? Jamie's 1 fan replies: "No!" Oh well...it was still nice to be recognized.

After a much needed night of sleep, and a hearty breakfast (Jamie went grocery shopping, as we mentioned, and discovered new cheeses) we are all off for our second day of adventure in Stockholm. More stories and pictures coming soon!