Our last day in Karlstad and it was spent mostly being mellow – except for Elias who was up at 5:30 am.. We did some shopping in town – most of the town folks are starting to speak Swedish to us… maybe we look less like tourists now. We certainly feel more comfortable wandinering around. Tomorrow we wake up at 5am, the taxi will come at 6. We have a lot of cleaning and straightening up to do.

However, before we left Ruben had one more adventure. Every night Ruben went out on “walkabout” where he would walk through the town. The purpose was part exercise, and part entertainment. Listening to the sounds of a city full of people in the various acts, of eating, washing, watching TV, and talking was fascinating.  So may people per block made for an interesting walk.

In this last walk-about, Ruben discovered a strip club on the same street where we were living in the quiet part of town. The club was a tiny non-descript door on the street with the only clue being the name “Maxim” and a small playboy bunny over the doorway. Walking in on the top-level was an assortment of videos that would be found nowhere near the U.S. border. The club was empty and there was only one guy watching the front and two girls working there that night. They commented that the club was typically busier on Fridays and the weekends. The going rate for a dance was 200 – 500 Kroner and double that for two girls. If you wanted a “private pose” they would go behind a glass window and they could amuse you in a less discreet manner.

Regrettably for Ruben, he didn’t have a single Kroner in his pocket to pay for the adventure, so that is where that evening ended. Oh well maybe some other lifetime.