Archive for 'Culture'
When I fled the extreme summer in Sweden Posted by Tibor on Aug 15, 2018
We shouldn’t complain, should we? This has been the most amazing summer in Sweden as far as I can remember. We could bath so much and be outside all the time since the beginning of May. Winter? Bring it on! I feel loaded with vitamine-D But it’s also been super dry and Sweden has just…
The Swedish formal “you” – does it exist? Posted by Stephen Maconi on May 21, 2018
French has “vous”, German has “Sie”, and Spanish has “Usted”. Does Swedish have a formal “you”? Many Western foreigners in Sweden will tell you that for them, the Swedish language seems rather blunt. Unlike their Western European counterparts, Swedes today, for the most part, don’t use any formal word for “you”. Whereas the Germans have…
Sjöfartsmuséet – The Maritime Museum & Aquarium Posted by Tibor on Mar 5, 2018
One remarkable museum you should all visit with our without kids is the Maritime Museum of Gothenburg. The museum offers various programs for families with children all year long and have small but very impressive aquarium downstairs. The museum is open every day 10-17 o’clock and Wednesday until 20.00 o’clock except Mondays. The single ticket…
Just enough Swedish fika – the Swedish word lagom Posted by Stephen Maconi on Feb 20, 2018
The Swedish fika is a well-known phenomenon among Sweden-enthusiasts. Just as important is the word lagom. How are these severely Swedish concepts related? By this point, the art of the Swedish coffee break has reached far beyond the vast stretches of the oblong Scandinavian paradise that is Sweden. Its concept serves as a symbol for…
The “mellandagsrea” – end-of-year shopping in Sweden Posted by Stephen Maconi on Dec 29, 2017
‘Tis the season to be jolly, or ’twas – the Christmas season has now passed. Christmas in Sweden is full of calm – from the First of Advent to the celebration of Saint Lucia on the 13th of December, and on to the Christmas holiday itself. All in the peaceful darkness of the high latitudes…
Halloween’s viking past Posted by Stephen Maconi on Nov 1, 2017
Halloween is no traditional holiday in Swedish culture, but that is not to say it doesn’t have its share of Nordic roots. Halloween is said to have come to be when the vikings invading the British Isles came in contact with the Celts around the turn of the 9th century (800’s AD). The vikings brought…
A Nordic Union Posted by Tibor on Oct 18, 2017
Not so long ago there was a poll made by Nordisk Forum about a possible Nordic Federal state. (Nordisk Förbundsstat). Well, the poll was about which Nordic city should be the capital, to be exact. FNF is a group for everyone who is interested in the Nordics. The Nordic Forum is founded by the collaboration of…