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I actually managed to get a fair amount accomplished today — including everything I’d set out to do. Yay, me. Not only did I make it to KTH and the Tekniskamuseet, but I got a fair amount of walking around and photography in (albeit much of it on the film camera, so nothing’s postable yet), and made it out to an actual restaurant and a pub.

KTH.

Folke, my host at KTH, was a very sweet and kind guy who talked to me about his department’s current projects for probably 45 minutes; his own current research involves tracing the origin of moisture leakage in building envelopes by checking the isotope fingerprint of the water, which is actually rather a cool idea. He then showed me around the facilities — my favorite was probably the miniature test cleanroom, in which they can test the effectiveness not only of different airflows but of different garments; his description of people putting on the test clothes and “dancing around” in the little chamber was rather vivid, and very endearing. (Whoever said engineering is boring must not have actually learned some of the things they get up to.) He even gave me a copy of a dissertation on soft (i.e., lower-exergy) air conditioning in a warm, humid climate, which is pretty cool indeed (er, no pun intended, really).

Column finial at KTH.

After my visit, I wound up walking around again for a couple of hours, trying desperately to find a stop for the number 69 bus to take me to the Tekniska Museet. I’d gotten directions — there was supposed to be a stop on one side of T-centralen — but I swear I walked around the entire station and entirely failed to find it. (This is where a traveling companion really comes in handy: not only do you have someone with whom you can discuss the invisibility of things you’re seeking, but you also have another set of eyes looking for whatever it is, thus theoretically doubling your chances of actually not missing it.) So I walked around random streets, enjoying the crowds and the architecture and occasionally taking photographs, until I wound up along the Strand — and finally found a bus stop for #69. Good freakin’ god: I’d left KTH a little after 11:00, and it was about 2:30 when I finally found the bus line. Apparently I am navigationally challenged.

One of the buildings I photographed while wandering around aimlessly through Stockholm.

The main thing I’d wanted to see at the Science Museum was an exhibit on high-tech textiles, but I found that a little disappointing — not enough detail, more of a summary of cool things we can do (e.g., the woven mats with networks of fibers in them are not only used in car seats and beds, but can be adapted to clean up oil spills and then centrifuged to get the oil out). I consciously avoided the “Science Is Fun!” sections intended for children. Actually, my favorite bit was the machine room, a big hall full of models and actual full-scale relics from the 19th century on up: everything from windmills to diesel generators to motorcycles. Quite cool. I’d had high hopes for the iron exhibit, as well — tracing the history of iron and steel from prehistory to the modern day — but most of it was untranslated and my Swedish vocab is only enough for me to recognize bits and pieces. (That is, I could recognize when they were talking about iron and when about steel, and occasional details. Not very helpful; should’ve studied harder.)

I bought some lovely postcards for friends, which I shall mail if I get around to it and otherwise will just hand-deliver, and a CD of radio recordings from 1940. (Have I mentioned that I have a weakness for 1930s and 1940s music? Erm. Well, I do. Fred Astaire was quite sexy, actually.)

The restaurant and pub were nothing too exciting, I’m afraid. I did buy my first cup of coffee today, though: a nice soja latte. The lack of coffee might explain why I’ve been having these vague headaches lately. . . .

Coffee!

I haven’t quite decided what I’ll do tomorrow; possibly the Vasamuseet, though that’s another one that’s only really accessible by bus or by foot. I really must go to the bus Web site and figure out where I can catch the buses I need, so I don’t tramp randomly through the city again peering hopelessly at bus shelters in search of the numbers I need. It works, eventually, but it’s not dreadfully efficient.