As I mentioned yesterday, last night I went to the Stockholm city hall for a buffet dinner to welcome all exchange students and guest researchers in Stockholm. I’ll let the pics of the night tell the story:
The lighting was pretty bad in most of the rooms, so you’ll have to excuse the bad pictures! There were a LOT of people there! My estimate would have been about 600-700 people. The main event was held in the Blue Hall where they have the Nobel prize ceremonies every December. The waiters first served everyone wine and juice and then the vice chancellor went up to give the welcoming speech. Apparently last semester the students had all run to the buffet and didn’t listen to a word that was said. The organizers said this one was much more civilized! After the speech the buffet was opened…
It took ages to get to the food, so Manuela and I came up with a clever strategy: We got plates from one table and then squeezed into the middle of the line at another table. It worked like a charm! 
As you can see by the crowd around the tables (and the amount of food the first people were serving!!) we were advised by previous exchange students: If you didn’t get yourself in line quickly, odds are you won’t get to eat! I heard a girl say: “It’s like everyone in here hasn’t eaten for five years!!!”. The food was actually very very good. I tried to take some pictures from above. The second picture was taking in the “night-mode” setting on my camera so it’s a little blurred, but you can see more. I took most of the rest in night-mode, which is why a lot of them are blurry!
This is the Golden Hall. I’m sure you’re clever enough to guess why! On the far wall is the “Queen of the Lake Mälaren”, which represents Stockholm being honoured by the East and the West. According to the Stadshuset website, this room contains over 18 MILLION mosaic pieces made of gold and glass!
A closer look at the Queen and a pic of the other side of the wall. For those who might not believe I’m actually in Stockholm, here’s a pic of me in the Golden Hall!
I got some pictures outside as we headed home. As you can see in the center pic, there appears to be a bright light reflected in the sky, but we didn’t know what it was.