Hej Hej Sweden!

Hello there, dear blogger world, this is a post from your fellow viking that will try to educate you about the country of Ikea and rotten fish. In the middle of putting together my IKEA furniture and combing my blond hair, I have been asked by Mr Mohamad to tell you a bit about my fantastic home country Sweden. First things first. Location:

Except for having a beautiful nature we are also one of the biggest exporters of music. You might have danced your way through the ABBA fever at some point in your life or maybe Swedish House Maffia. Or perhaps you shed a little tear while watching Pretty Woman for the 59th time to Roxettes “It must have been love..” And let’s not forget Ace of Base. Why are the Swedes so good at music? Perhaps because most of us speak English fluently from an early age. Maybe because we were all addicted to MTV at some point in our lives or because winters are so damn cold we have nothing else to do. But most probably it’s because our government has generously supported music in schools and other functions to encourage us all to keep diggin and dancin and singin.

Oh, why did this fashion die out? Please come back.

If you have seen the TV series “Vikings” you know that the history of Sweden is quiet violent. But if you are planning a trip to our northern parts of the world I can happily announce that we no longer sail around the world to fight and conquer. We come in peace and are one of few neutral countries in the world.

This is my daily viking outfit.

Do you like busy places and crowded cities? Then Sweden is not for you. The landmass of Sweden is about the same size as California but we are only 10 million people. This means that in certain parts of the country you can take a long walk without meeting a person. Great if you don’t like people. If you are slightly more social I would recommend the souther part of the country from our capital Stockholm and down.

On the south west part of the country where I am from you can see over to our fellow Scandinavians in Denmark. There is nothing like a warm (well…) summer night by the sea Öresund. At the most narrow point it’s only four kilometers (2,5 miles) in between the two countries. This makes it quiet interesting if you are one of the lucky people with you own boat. Öresund is actually one of the busiest waterways in the world. You better pay attention to your whereabouts if you sit in a little sail boat as you can suddenly meet a huge vessel on its way in to the Baltic Sea. I have myself used my fair share of swear words during a few of those incidents.

About the weather. Swedes love talking about the weather as we have brutal winters and summers … yeah the summers. They are short and sweet. In the north of Sweden we have midnight sun during the summer. That means that the sun doesn’t settle at any point of the day. Daylight is during May and June. That’s why a Swedish person is the best in the world at taking naps during the day. We just don’t have any issues to sleep during daylight. I just made that up actually. I’m a new mum and all I think about is sleep. Standing, sitting, singing…

Anyway, the winters are the opposite. Dark as a devils ass. That must be the reason why Sweden is among the countries that consumes the most coffee in the world. Apparently only Americans drinks more. They are also a tired bunch, I guess.

As negative as it might sound I would still recommend going up north for the winter. A visit to the worlds first Ice hotel should be on everyone’s bucket list. Yes, it’s cold and yes, you will question your sanity when you check in to your hotel room where even the bed is made out of ice, but it’s worth it. The snow makes the days lighter and the huskies are impatiently waiting for you to come and let them take you through the beautiful forest. They are so eager to run they even pee and poo while they are running. Quiet an accomplishment I must say. All of the dogs have grown up in families and are extremely friendly and cuddly. If it’s a clear night you might be lucky enough to see the aurora or the northern light.

Skype, Volvo, Spotify, dynamite.. are a few of the inventions from Sweden. When it comes to dynamite our own Alfred Nobel came up with that explosive stuff and we hand out all the nobel prizes every year to his legacy. All the Nobel prizes are being handed out in Sweden except for the peace price that is received in Norway.

Did I mention that Sweden is the best country in the world? Totally based on my own opinion but as I tell my husband every day,

Listen to me, I’m right!

This post was brought to you by the Swedish expat Miss A that lives the Middle East since six years and is currently calling Dubai her home away from home. You can find her blog here: https://hejhej.blog