We would Love to share facts about Sweden ???????? Today it is time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday. The Swedish alphabet consists of 29 letters  A-Ö, and we have selected one word for each letter that somehow represents Sweden and Swedes, to better understand what life is like in Sweden. Come join us and learn more about our homeland Sweden.Thank you Swea Boston for the inspiration.

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Lets start with A as in Allemansrätten -The Freedom to Roam. 
Sweden’s right of public access is called ‘allemansrätten’, which gives everyone the right to enjoy Sweden’s outdoors, including the right to pick mushrooms, herbs and berries. The right also brings responsibilities – to treat flora and fauna and other people’s property with care. It can be summed up in the phrase ‘don’t disturb, don’t destroy’. – Credits Johan Willner/imagebank.sweden.se

 

Its time for  #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday and B as in Blåbär – One of Swedens most common forest berries. 

Swedish blueberries are actually a different species to the blueberries found in North America. In fact, the correct English name for the Swedish blueberry is bilberry, although everyone tends to just call them blueberries. Swedish blueberries grow wild and are easily found in the forest. They cover almost 17% of Swedens surface and are normally ready to pick in the end of july.

Swedish blueberries are more beneficial to health than North American once, containing higher amounts of vitamin C and vitamin D. They contain a hight source of antioxidants, good for maintaining a good eye health. They are also said to contain up to four times more anthocyanin, which is the substance that has been found to prevent cancer, diabetes and inflammation, and slow the signs of aging.

Swedish blueberries are sweet and savory, soft and very juicy. The berries pulp is red or purple and the coloring of the berry is very strong and stains everything it comes in contact with.  It´s a very versatile berry that can be used to make pie, jam, marmalade, wine, soup or eaten as they are, maybe with sugar and milk.

#Afunfact Humongous quantities of warm blueberry soup are consumed in one day when served along the track as an energy drink to the participants inVasaloppet, the world’s longest cross country ski race (90 km~56 miles). The race usually attracts about 16,000 contestants every year. Many skiers, especially the not-so-good skiers who often stop for a drink, reach the finish line with a purple chest. (That’s the reason why a beginner is called “ett blåbär” in Swedish.) Credits: Moa Karlberg/imagebank.sweden.se

 

Its Monday and time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday. C is for Campa. To go Camping is a great way to explore the countryside and spending time in nature is an essential part of the Swedish lifestyle. Sweden is a country made for outdoor adventures, with an extensive and varied coastline, it has one of Europe’s last remaining wilderness and a large number of national parks and trails. Sweden’s open space remains essentially untouched and as long as you cause no harm or disturbance, you are free to set up camp virtually anywhere you want, thanks to the Swedish Freedom to Roam.

Lindsten & Nilsson/imagebank.sweden.se

 

Monday again and #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday. D for Dalahäst, a very popular Swedish souvenir. The Dala horse is the most bought Swedish souvenir. It is a stylized wooden horse most commonly found in red with a typical folk art decoration called kurbits. The Dala horse has been made since the 1600’s in Dalarna and is still today mainly manufactured in a village called Nunäs outside of Mora in Dalarna. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna as well as Sweden in general. #swedishfunfacts The worlds largest concrete Dalahorse is found in Avesta, Sweden and is 13 m high and weigh almost 68 tons.The worlds largest Dala Horse mural, painted 2019, is found on a wall in Manhattan New York, painted by Shai Dahan.

#swea #sweakl #sweaasien #sweainternational #sweavärlden #visweorikl #svenskarivärlden #sweden #sharingsweden #Visitsweden #learnaboutsweden #swedishculture dalahäst #dalahorse #swedishfacts

 

Its time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwoordmondayand letter E as in Elbil, Electric cars are on the rise in Sweden, in 2017 Sweden ranked second after Norway in Europe on the number of new electric and hybrid electric cars sold. That number is growing rapidly, in parts thanks to encouragement and initiatives from the government, and in part thanks to the environmental consciousness of regular Swedes. Sweden has a goal of achieving a completely fossil fuel free fleet by 2030 and in order to achieve this, it has started trialling a series of projects to develop and test technologies that will enable the country to completely convert to electrical vehicles. Today the world’s first E-road, about 2 km long (1.2 miles)has opened on a public road outside Stockholm. It recharges the batteries of cars and trucks driving on it.

#swea #sweakl #sweainternational #sweavärdeln #sweaasien #visweorikl #svenskarivärlden #sharingsweden #visitsweden #swedishfacts #learnaboutsweden #elbil #electriccar #enviroment

 

It is Monday and it is time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday Today we reached I as in ishotellet – The ICE HOTEL. It is located in Jukkasjärvi, about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. When it was first built 1989, it was the worlds first ice hotel completed. It is constructed entirely from natural ice from Torne river and contains hotel rooms, a bar and art exhibitions. Every spring the hotel and accompanying art exhibition melts back into the Torne River. The following winter a new hotel with all-new artwork is built up again. Artists come from all over the world to help fill the walls, floors and ceilings of the hotel with unique and ephemeral designs. As of 2016, guests will be able to take part of the experience year-round, as parts of the hotel will stay open, cooled with solar power from the midnight sun. Quite often, you will be able to catch the natural phenomena of northern lights. Staying here you will truly get a unique hotel experience.

#swea #sweakl #sweainternational #sweavärlden #sweaasien #icehotel #jukkasjärvi #uniquehotelexperience #sharingsweden #learnaboutsweden

Equality is fundamental for Sweden. It is about everyone having the same rights, opportunities and obligations regardless of sexual orientation, gender, ethnic origin, religion, disability or age. Over the last decades, Sweden has taken important steps to ensure that LGBT people will enjoy the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Gender-neutral wedding laws (2009), adoption rights (2003), insemination rights for lesbians (2005), anti-discrimination act for sexual orientation added to the Swedish constitution (2011) are some of the laws that have been passed. Sweden is also one of the world leaders in gender quality. Employers are bound by law to promote equality among their employees. To encourage equality and shared responsibility in a household, parents are entitled to 480 days of shared, paid parental leave to allow both parents to keep their jobs and also spend time to bond with their children.

#swea #sweakl #sweainternational #sweaasien #sweavärlden #visweorikl #jämställdhet #equality #equalrights #genderequality

#learnaboutsweden #sharingsweden #sweden #swedishculture #swedishtradition #thisissweden Thank you #sweboston Image credit: Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se

It´s another Monday and time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday. We have now reached K as in Krona or Kronor in plural form and is the currency of Sweden. In English it is sometimes referred to as the Swedish Crown as crown means Krona in Swedish. Sweden is one of very few countries who despite being a member of the European Union that have not join the Eurozone and instead retained its national currency. Both the ISO code SEK and the currency sign Kr are both symbols and well known and used in different economic settings and currency markets. You find printed bank notes in values of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 kr and the different bank notes carry images of several famous Swedish personalities. The coin is available in 1, 2, 5 and 10 kr.

Today Sweden is considered one of the most cashless society on the planet and there is no need to carry cash in your pocket. Today over 80 % of all retail transactions are made electronically. The goal is that Sweden will go completely cashless by march 2023, this means cash will no longer be accepted as a means of payment in Sweden and the economy will go 100% digital.

Bild: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Today we have reached letter L as in Lagom Lagom is a uniquely Swedish term that doesn’t have an English equivalent. Lagom can be explained as enough, sufficient, moderate, balanced. It is means ”Not too much, Not too little, just right” There is a saying in Sweden -Lagom är bäst- The right amount is best or enough is good as a feast. This term not only has many applications but it represents the Swedish cultural and social ideals of equality and fairness. Lagom can be defines as a lifestyle that is all about balance, when to leave work (not too late or not too early) or how to decorate your home, how much food you put on your plate the weather and so on. It has origins in an old Viking phrase: laget om, or ’around the team’, for when a mug of mead was being passed around and there was just enough for everyone to get a sip – Lagom around the table.

Today it is the last Monday of 2019 and we have reached the letter M in our #swedishwordmonday and #whatintheworldissweden.

M is for Midnattssol which means midnight sun. The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at places north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible during the local midnight. It occurs around the time of the summer solstice (which is June 21 in the north and December 21 in the south) and provided that the weather is clear, the sun is visible for the full 24 hours every day. In the area of the poles, the sun rises once and sets once each year. During the six months when the sun is above the horizon it spends the days moving in circles around the observer, gradually spiralling higher and reaching its highest circuit in the sky at the summer solstice. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun does increase the closer one is towards the (north or south) pole. The season with midnight light in Swedish Lapland is around 100 days long. This is a great time to visit Sweden, specially the northern parts. You can play golf in the middle of the night, take a swim when you feel like or enjoy a late dinner in the sun. The Swedish summer and the midnight sun is a magic experience and for those who have never experienced the midnight sun before and wonder how they’ll ever manage to sleep, better make sure to have a room with dark curtains.

Photo credit: Thomas Utsi/imagebank.sweden.se

A new week and time for a new word in our #whatintheworldissweden series. We have now reached N. N is for Nobelpriset which is the Nobel prize, the most prestigious prize in the world. The Nobel Prize is the legacy of Sweden’s Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) A chemist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. Dynamite was his most known invention. When Nobel died, he held 355 patents in different countries and had made a fortune. In his last will singed 1895, Nobel declared that he wanted the bulk of his assets (more then SEK 31 million) to go to a fund and that the interest from that fund should be distributed as annual prizes to brilliant minds around the world. Every year on December 10th, Nobel Day, The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is held in the Stockholm Concert Hall, where the King of Sweden presents each laureate with a Nobel Prize medal and a Nobel Prize diploma. The Nobel Peace prize is awarded in Oslo Norway. The Nobel prize is currently SEK 9 million (around EUR 845,000) in each prize category. Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901, and economic sciences since 1968. Prize winning discoveries include X-rays, radioactivity and penicillin. Peace laureates include Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and the 14th Dalai Lama. Nobel laureates in literature include Doris Lessing and and Gabriel García Márquez. The total number of prize winners are 950 and out of those 54 have been women.

Image credit: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

It´s a new week and it´s time for a new Swedish word. We have now reached O in the Swedish alfabet and we want to tell you about offentlighetsprincipen which is the public access to information and secrecy act. Openness and transparency are vital parts of Swedish democracy and the ground-breaking principle of public access to information dates back to 1766 and is still one of the cornerstones of the Swedish Constitution.

The principle of public accesss to information means that the general public and the mass media have access to official records, which means that they have the opportunity to scrutinise the activities of government on all levels – national, regional and local. Transparency reduces the risk of power being abused. Civil servants and others who work for the government are also free to inform the media or outsiders. However, certain documents can be kept secret – for example if they involve matters of national security.

#swea #sweakl #sweainternational #sweavärlden #sweaasien #whatintheworldissweden #learnaboutsweden #sharingsweden #swedishword #offentlighetsprincipen #sweden

We have a new week and a new Swedish word, we have reached P as in Pippi Långstrump. Have you ever heard of Pippi Longstocking as she is called in English? If not, we will tell you a little bit about this unique little girl. The novel about Pippi is written by Astrid Lindgren a famous Swedish children´s book writer. The books about Pippi are some of her most beloved and widespread stories. The first book about Pippi came out in 1945 and was followed with many more books and movies. The first English-language edition appeared in 1950 and today they are translated into more then 75 different languages.

The books are about the free spirited Pippi and the two more-conventional children next door, Tommy and Annika. Pippi is red haired, freckled, unconventional and superhumanly strong – able to lift her horse one-handed. She is playful and unpredictable. She often makes fun of unreasonable adults, especially if they are pompous and condescending. She wears mismatched socks and lives by herself in an old house, Villa Villekulla—together with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse. Her mother died when she was a baby, and her father is lost at sea, but he left her with a suitcase full of gold coins, and she is cheerfully optimistic that he will return one day. Despite periodic attempts by village authorities to make her conform to cultural expectations of what a child’s life should be, Pippi happily lives free from social conventions.

Pippi can be seen around the world in tattoos, celebrity photographs, works of graffiti and on catwalks as a symbol of female strength, resilience, kindness, fairness and acceptance. Pippi have inspired astronauts and politicias to world famous artist like Madonna that once said “One of the things that helps me tell a story through music is to create a character. I have to have a muse, whether it’s Frida Kahlo, Martha Graham, Marlene Dietrich, or Pippi Longstocking”

We have a new week and it is Monday and #whatintheworldissweden. We have now reached the letter Q.

The letter Q is rare and not much used in todays modern Swedish language. Q was common in ordinary words before 1889, but have since then been replaced by the letter K since they have the same sound in Swedish.

The elderly Qvinna meaning woman, is today spelt Kvinna and Qvast is now spelt kvast meaning broom, another word is Qvarn, today we spell it Kvarn and it means mill.You do see the Q in certain surnames such as Bergqvist, Lindqvist or Holmquist.

Maybe you have heard of the big Swedish company Husqvarna, that specialize in lawn movers, sewing machines, chain saws and a lot more. We also have loanwords that retain Q, for example quilting, squash or queer or foreign geographic names like Qatar.

So we have Monday again and it is time for #whatintheworldissweden and #swedishwordmonday.

We have now reached R as in Runsten, Runestones in English. There are more runestones in Sweden than in any other country, only in Sweden you can find up to 2500. Many still stand where they were originally placed.

A runestone is a raised stone with a runic inscription, following a tradition that began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century. Most runestones date from the late Viking Age.

The main purpose of a runestone was to mark territory, to explain inheritance, to boast about constructions, to bring glory to dead kinsmen and to tell of important events. Virtually all the runestones from the late Viking Age make use of the same formula. The text tells in memory of whom the runestone is raised, who raised it, and often how the deceased and the one who raised the runestone are related to each other. Also, the inscription can tell the social status of the dead person, possible foreign voyage, place of death, and also a prayer.

Most runestones are found in Scandinavia but also in parts of the world visited by the Vikings.

Photo credits: Melker Dahlstrand imagebank Sweden

A new week and a new word.

We have now reached the letter S as in Stockholm. Stockholm is the capital city and most populous urban area of Sweden and is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden.

Stockholm, is often said to be one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, situated on Swedens east coast. It is built on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges on an extensive Baltic Sea archipelago. Stockholm is a cosmopolitan city with both classical and modern architecture, and a captivating Old Town. It is full beautiful buildings, lots of greenery, fresh air and the proximity to the water are distinctive traits of the city. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways, and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces. Maybe you have heard that Stockholm is called the Venice of the north. Today about 1,5 million people live in the urban area.

#funfacts Stockholm is one of the most crowded museum-cities in the world with around 100 museums, visited by millions of people every year. In 2010 Stockholm was granted European Green capital award for being the cleanest capital in the world. Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is one of the largest and best preserved medieval city centers in Europe, and one of the foremost attractions in Stockholm. This is where Stockholm was founded in 1252. 1912 Stockholm hosted the summer olympics.

We have a new week and a new word. We have now reached T as in Träskor, wooden clogs in English.

Swedes have a long history wearing clogs, the first clogs can be traced to the 1300´s. Initially the shoes were worn by those who needed protection from harsh weather and outdoor conditions. The shoes, which were especially popular in the south of Sweden, were made from blocks of wood, the most accessible and cheapest material available at the time.

Nowadays the most common model in Sweden is the one with soles made of wood and the uppers of leather.By the 70s, clogs moved from being the preserve of factory workers and farmers and assumed a far more fashionable reputation partly thanks to the Swedish super group, ABBA. Suddenly, clogs were unisex and seemingly everywhere. ABBA even released their own line of clogs and then, a song that translates to mean “The Clog People.”

You will still today find many companies that manufacture clogs in differents design, colors and shapes but you also find the companies that make the more traditional once that are handpainted with folklore pattern. The more you wear them the better them seem to look and don’t be surprise if you spot them on the fashion Runway. Do you own a pair of Swedish clogs?

The Sami are the indigenous people of the northern part of Scandinavia. The Sami country – known as Sápmi -is their own name for their traditional territory. About 20,000 Sami live in Sweden — with their own cultural heritage, language, flag, and parliament.

There is no census for the Sami, but the population is estimated at around 80,000 people, spread over four countries in an area that stretches from the northern part of Scandinavia to Russia’s Kola Peninsula. The original settlement was even larger, but the Sami were gradually forced to give up land, first to farmers starting in the 1650s and later to industries such as forestry and mining.

The Sami people have also been subjected to racial biology to have their religion, culture and language suppressed, yet the Sami culture and lifestyle have survived into modern society.

The Sami people have traditionally had reindeer herding as their livelihood. Today about 10 percent of the Sami are connected to reindeer herding, providing them with meat, fur, and transportation.

For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is nowadays legally reserved for only Sami people in the some regions of the Nordic countries. There is a lot of pride in the traditional clothing, handicraft and music, they also have a rich storytelling culture. If you travel to the northern part of Sweden don’t miss out visiting a Sami village to further explore their rich culture.

Image credit Lola Akinmade Åkerström/imagebank.sweden.se

It is time for #whatintheworldissweden and time for V as in Vattenkraft meaning water power or hydropower.

It is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes.

Since ancient times, hydropower from many kinds of watermills has been used as a renewable energy source for irrigation and operation of various mechanical devices, such as grist mills, saw mills, textile mills, dock cranes and ore mills.

In the late 19th century, hydropower became a source for generating electricity. Some consider hydropower as a means for economic development without adding carbon to the atmosphere. However dams can have significant negative social and environmental impacts.

Almost half of the electricity production in Sweden is supplied by hydropower. The rivers producing most power are Luleälv and Indalsälven.

The largest Swedish hydropower plant are in Norrland, the northernmost region of the nation. These important rivers are protected by the from further development.

Image credit Niclas Albinsson/Folio/imagebank.sweden.se

 

 

Its time for #whatintheworldissweden. We have now reached W for the Swedish Warship Vasa or Wasa, that was built between 1626 to 1628.

During her maiden voyage, after only a few min and 1300 m out from the harbor in Stockholm she sank to the bottom. 333 years later, 1961, she was rediscovered and salvaged with a largely intact hull.

Thousands of artifacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around Vasas hull by marine archaeologist. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drinks and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship herself have provided scholars with invaluable insights into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden.

After being discovered she was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet until 1988 and then moved permanently to the Vasa Museum in Djurgården, Stockholm.

The ship is one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions and has been seen by over 35 million visitors since 1961. Since her recovery, Vasa has become a widely recognised symbol of the Swedish “great power period”.

To learn more about the warship Vasa please visit vasamuseet.se.

Image credits to: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se

 

 

We have a new week and it is time to learn a little bit more about Sweden. We have now reached the letter X as in X2000. X2000 is Swedens first high speed tilting train also called X2, operated by SJ (government-owned passenger train operator) in Sweden.

It was introduced in in the market 1990 as a first class train only and 1995 second class tickets was introduced. Today it is Swedens most popular train. It runs between the major Swedish cities of Göteborg, Malmö and Stockholm. X2000-trains also run to Copenhagen i Denmark and Oslo in Norway.

In comparison to other high-speed trains, the X2000 is not particularly fast, it can reach a max speed of 200 km/h, but compared to regular train services, it cuts the journey time by about 10% which is enough to make it competitive with airlines on many routes.

During this year, 2020, SJ will launch an upgraded and fully modernised version of this train model.

 

It is a new week and we have now reached Y in #whatintheworldissweden and Y is for Yttrandefrihet- Freedom of Expression.

Freedom to express oneself in speech and writing is an important democratic right in Sweden. In Sweden, this freedom stems from the world’s first constitutionally protected freedom of the press legislation, the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act of 1766

In Sweden, you have the right to have an opinion on anything and say almost anything you want. You have the right to express yourself freely on the radio, TV and the Internet. The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression sets out these rights. It also describes what is not permitted, for example defaming or publicly insulting another person.

The Law has been extended alongside the development of new media. Examples of possible offences against the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression include films with elements of sexual violence or threats to the security of the country or society through the publication of something involving treason or espionage.

Image credit Janeric Henricsson/TT

 

 

We have reached Z in the Swedish alphabet in #whatintheworldissweden. Z is for Zlatan Ibrahimovic- Swedish professional fotballplayer who plays as a striker for A.C. Milan. He is considered one of the best strikers all time and is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career and has scored over 540 career goals.

Zlatan was born in Malmö in southern Sweden 1981 to a Bosnian Father who emigrated to Sweden 1977 and a Croatian Mother. He started playing football as a young boy and began his career in the local football club Malmö FF in 1999, only two year later he signed for Ajax. Since then Zlatan have been playing in many big famous fotboll clubs as a top scoring striker he have also been the captain of Swedens national football team and played in many world cups and championships.

In 2011 his autobiography “I am Zlatan” was released and is about his life and career.

#funfacts Zlatan is such a national hero in Sweden that his name has been added to the Swedish Dictionary as a verb! And the term ‘To Zlatan’ means to dominate or do something with extreme talent

 

We have a new week and we have now reached Å as in Återvinning. In English that is recycling. Waste management and recycling is a big part of the Swedish identity. The Swedish community is well educated in sorting garbage for recycling and the government has strong strategy for its collection and re-use to supply energy. Swedes commonly separate all rubbish in their homes and deposit it in separate containers according to type, such as metal, glass, plastic or food. In Sweden there is also recycling premium on almost all plastic bottles and cans which is refunded once returned to the store.

If you include burning waste to turn it into energy, more than 99 per cent of all household waste is recycled in one way or another. Only 1% of Swedens household waste is sent to landfills. This means the country is by far the best in the world when it comes to recycling and reusing waste, and have made great progress in its ‘recycling revolution’ over the past two decades. In fact, Sweden has gotten so good at waste management that other countries actually pay Sweden to take care of their trash and Sweden turn the trash into energy.

 

 

It is a new week and we have now reached Ä in our #whatintheworldissweden. Ä is for Älg which means moose. The moose is common all over Sweden, except for on Gotland. It is the largest deer animal in the world, 2 metres in height and weighing up to 400-500 kilograms

Sweden has a very large population with about 350,000 moose, that makes Sweden the country with the highest density in the world. There are good chances of getting to see moose in the wild, and there are both guided tours and special Moose parks for visitors interested in meeting the King of the Forest. The fact that the moose is very common and also a very large animal is also a great security problem on the Swedish roads. Warning signs are put up along extra frequent crossovers and, fences protect the main highways #swea #sweakl #sweainternational #sweaasien #sweavärlden #sweaglobal #visweorikl #learnaboutsweden #sharingsweden #moose

 

We have a new week and we have now reached the last letter in the Swedish alphabet, Ö which is island in English. From the far north in Swedish Lapland, wrapping around the coastline of the deep south, before stretching up the west coast, there are thousands of islands where you can get a taste of island life. In fact there are in total more then 221 000 islands in Sweden if you include all of the little rocky outcrops and sandy atolls. About 1000 of the total islands are inhabitat. No other country in the whole world have this many islands. Only the Stockholm archipelago consists of nearly 30 000 islands and parts of it are easily accessible through public transport. Well worth visiting if you are in Stockholm. image credit Per Pixel Petersson imagebank Sweden