How to ask for directions in Swedish Posted by Katja on Aug 24, 2012
More likely than not you will at some point have to ask for directions or be asked for them. At times like that who wouldn’t want a couple of good phrases up their sleeve? There are some basic phrases which will most likely help you in understanding what the other person is saying. In this…
Describing and asking where an object is in Swedish Posted by Katja on Aug 21, 2012
I can’t say how many times I’ve thought “had it been a snake it would have bitten me”, in other words, the object I was looking for was much closer than I thought. I thought I would share how to ask, in Swedish, where things are and of course equip you so you can answer…
IKEA Hotels Posted by Marcus Cederström on Aug 20, 2012
I quite like reading about IKEA. I even like writing about the company sometimes as well, everything from cultural differences to the food to its role abroad. Maybe it’s because IKEA, considered by some to be the epitome of Swedishness, is no longer headquartered in Sweden. In fact, the headquarters are in the Netherlands and…
How to small talk in Swedish Posted by Katja on Aug 14, 2012
Small talking is a very important thing in many cultures, maybe not so much in Sweden as in other places but still not to be underestimated. In Sweden you often try to start up a conversation by finding something in the surrounding area that you both have in common or can see etc. For example…
2012 Svenska OS Medaljer Posted by Marcus Cederström on Aug 13, 2012
The Olympics are over. It was a couple of weeks of some very incredible performances from athletes from around the world. But how’d it go in Sweden? There were 134 athletes competing in 20 different sports. Sweden managed to win eight medals total. They came home with one gold medal, four silver medals, and three…
Swedish Strong Verbs Posted by Marcus Cederström on Aug 10, 2012
Strong verbs are those verbs that don’t follow the rules. They’re the ones that are just a little bit different. Strong verbs are tricky in all kinds of languages. They feel like just rote memorization. Especially after having mastered the rules and patterns that guide so many of our verb forms. It’s no different in…
The Swedish midnight sun Posted by Katja on Aug 7, 2012
One of Sweden’s most wonderful aspects of nature is the midnight sun up in the north, close to and beyond the polar circle. Some people are fine with going to bed when it is still light, others become true night time people and don’t go to bed until 6 or 7 am. A lot of…