St. Louis got an IKEA this year. To many local shoppers this a Big Deal. It's as if your area has been recognized as a major city only when the Swedish retailer comes to town.
I had never set foot in one. Andy and Claire were looking for something or other and decided to go to the store. Might as well ride along for a look.
First impression: the place is bloody enormous. And, unless you know its interior back alleys, it is laid out to make you walk through the whole damn thing, department by department. It's exhausting. One of the first things you see is the sign above. Steffe will have to tell us how to pronounce it. Most of the products have Swedish names, hard for Americans to remember. And Swedish signboards everywhere you look, not to mention their I-am-told-famous Swedish meatballs in the cafe.
It didn't make much of an impression on Audrey, who is as yet unacquainted with English, at least in the active sense. However, she can lock her eyes onto something, if only briefly. It could be me and the camera in the store or someone walking around our home. But who knows, kanske en dag kommer hon att lära sig tala svenska. 1
I had never set foot in one. Andy and Claire were looking for something or other and decided to go to the store. Might as well ride along for a look.
First impression: the place is bloody enormous. And, unless you know its interior back alleys, it is laid out to make you walk through the whole damn thing, department by department. It's exhausting. One of the first things you see is the sign above. Steffe will have to tell us how to pronounce it. Most of the products have Swedish names, hard for Americans to remember. And Swedish signboards everywhere you look, not to mention their I-am-told-famous Swedish meatballs in the cafe.
It didn't make much of an impression on Audrey, who is as yet unacquainted with English, at least in the active sense. However, she can lock her eyes onto something, if only briefly. It could be me and the camera in the store or someone walking around our home. But who knows, kanske en dag kommer hon att lära sig tala svenska. 1
1. Maybe some day she will learn to speak Swedish, per Google Translate.
Love this post Bob. Nicely written.
ReplyDeleteSo adorable! We've got these shops here. I've never been in one.
ReplyDeleteYou had me laughing out loud reading this. I remember my very first trip to an IKEA store and I had much the same impressions. They have their formula and they are sticking to it.
ReplyDeleteIKEA's are fun to go to. I have to be careful not to buy out the whole store.
ReplyDeletefamous Swedish meatballs in the cafe.
Food is meh.
Whatever she's looking at, it must be fascinating!
ReplyDelete