It seems that fate had determined 1996 would be the year I fulfilled a childhood dream of overseas travel, one way or the other.  Had I not already planned my trip to Iceland, Sweden would have been my first trip to involve flying over an ocean across multiple time zones.  As it stands, I visited Iceland in late July through early August, went back to work for less than two weeks, then headed over the Atlantic again to Sweden where I spent a week primarily on business, before returning to the USA by way of England. 

It is unfortunate that much of my time in Sweden was spent battling what was apparently a nasty case of food poisoning I got shortly before leaving the US.  Because of this, I was unable to fully appreciate most of the traditional Scandinavian food prevalent in Sweden, and sought nutritional refuge daily in a nearby burger joint.  Although it certainly slowed me down some, the food poisoning did not prevent me from touring around Stockholm after the business was done each day, nor did it keep me from enjoying a truly spectacular balloon ride over the city.  I wish to thank the folks at the Sterling Commerce Stockholm office for sponsoring this unique opportunity to see Sweden by air, as well as by land and sea.