Calling 112 (AKA 911)

Swedish people do tend to enjoy their alcohol.  Especially since at the ripe old age of 18 can an individual start legally consuming alcoholic beverages.  Oh boy!!  Well, just because they like it, doesn't mean they can handle it, and definitely doesn't mean they should be imbibing it!

So at like 1:15 this morning I'm laying in bed reading Brisingr (Book 3 of the Inheritance series about dragons and stuff). I like to read before bed, it helps me wind down and shut my brain off from the chaos that is life.  I need to get up at 10 am to get ready so I can go to a camaro club car meet with my boyfriend (that's a WHOLE set of blogs of it's own one day).  We have no AC so I've got the window open and considering how close we live to town centrum(a whopping 5 min stroll) we often get to listen to harmonic sounds of drunkards stumbling home from the bars in the middle of the night.  Tonight was no exception...or was it!?!?

Well (see above stated time), I start hearing drunken swedish screaming and then some weird thumping noises.  I pondered what it could be, but then the noise stopped.  So I went back to reading, and about 1 min later I hear glass shattering everywhere.  My first reaction is someone just broke into one of the cars on the street, so I run to the window to look out and check if I can see anything.  This way if a crime is being committed I can attempt to help the police or victims out.  I realize the glass wasn't from a car when I notice someone walking out the entrance to our apts downstairs (I live on the 3rd floor of a building with 5 separate entrance doors).  I stick my head out my kitchen window, see a drunk dude stumbling across the yard in front of our building walking away from our door and I noticed the sound of crushing glass as he's doing this.  Oh and he's screaming in drunken swedish all the while too.  Did I mean I don't fully understand spoken sober swedish?  So drunken swedish is way out of my ball park!  

Anyway.  So then I'm kind of freaking out.  I'm fairly positive a crime is taking place, the building next to us is dark, the only people I see outside the building are the ones involved in the scuffle and random drunk people stumbling in and out of shadows.  I'm home along as my boyfriend was at work.  So I'm like oh crap! Do I call the cops? Unsure of what is the appropriate response, I tried calling my boyfriend to tell him what happened and ask if I should call the cops.  Of course is work phone is busy, and his private cell is still in his truck while he must be making his delivery (he's a truck driver..wow lots of tangents huh?).  So I keep trying and trying to no avail.  All the while I keep an eye on whats going on out front.  The drunk dude in the white shirt (who I suspect is the culprit) was then sitting on the curb in front of the building across from us and a girl was with him trying to calm him down.  Then I see a taxi pull up about 10 ft from them, and I think oh good they are going home now.  But NOPE!  The guy then got up and started charging for our building and our entrance screaming!  His female friend was chasing him down and trying to stop him and pull him back while he's screaming (I think) "Magnus kom hit! Kom hit!" Translation: Magnus come here! Come here! 

So it becomes clear this little tiff isn't over and if I ever want peaceful sleep tonight I'm going to have to call the cops, with or without my boyfriends opinion.  Here you dial 112, which I did.  Thankfully the guy who answered spoke english, so I explained what was going on, then he transfers me to the police and I explain to them what's going on.  And about 30 secs after I hang up the phone I pop my head back out the window and see a cop is already talking to the drunk fella down stairs.  So I suspect someone else must have called before me.  

Long story short!  The drunk dude and his 2 female friends left in the cop car.  After that I went down stairs to see what the glass breaking noise was that I heard.  Part of me thought just maybe it was just a beer bottle.  WRONG!  All 3 glass panels of the front door to our apartment building were broken and laying on the floor inside the building.  Which means some tool (idiot person, not instrument) from the outside smashing in our door.  Wonderful!

Now, let me say this.  We don't live in a bad side of town.  Not that there are many of those here in our town.  Not in comparison to anywhere of mediocre interest in the US.  But anyway.  It's relatively calm and normal here.  Yes we have the drunk people walking home from the bar at 2 or 3 in the morning who like to sing as they walk along.  But not usually an issue with violence or anything to this degree.  

So here's the irony.  My boyfriend has lived in this building for like 10 years, and has never had an incident like this happen here before.  And in his 31 years of life, he's NEVER called 112.  I've been here 1.5 years and I beat him to it.  Lucky me.  lol.

So there's my excitement for the evening.  Hope everyone out there is have a safe and responsible time this weekend.  And people.  Please know your limits with alcohol and under that things made of glass, can break!