Of Elks and Blondes...

Elks and blondes shape Sweden's image abroad

Published: 29 Jul 08 11:20 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/13336/

When foreigners think of Sweden they think of elks, royalty, the great outdoors and beautiful women, according to a new survey from VisitSweden.

VisitSweden (formerly the Swedish Travel & Tourism Council) asked a group of 1,000 British, German, French and Dutch people for their views on the country as a tourist destination.

Many thought of the cold, the snow, the winter and the high prices. Others answered: nature, countryside and the expansive forests. There was some variation across the nations however with every tenth Frenchman citing the beautiful women and every tenth German noting the (beautiful) elks and the royal family.

VisitSweden is jointly owned by the Swedish government and the tourism industry and is focused on marketing the country to overseas visitors and investors.

"We want to shift the focus of Sweden's image towards the exotic," said Thomas Brühl, VisitSweden CEO.

"The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi is a perfect example where the cold, winter and ice is used for something exotic."

While the French dream of blue-eyed blondes, the Dutch lend their thoughts to Sweden's profile for peace and freedom.

The Brits, in turn, think of Sweden as a clean country.

Germans, while admiring the magnificent nature from the windows of their caravans, also had time to admire the progressive and modern about Sweden, VisitSweden wrote in a press release.

"That the Germans associate Sweden with elk is probably because they, more than other tourist groups, drive through Sweden. We want to give them that extra spice to their journey and show them the new, exciting Sweden."

Visit Sweden's view of 'the new, exciting Sweden' is one of gastronomy, culture, fashion and design.

A view shared by Sweden's agriculture minister, Eskil Erlandsson who, The Local reported on July 22nd, aims to knock France off its gastronomic pedestal and establish Sweden "on the world map as a country of good food."

The Lowdown: Lucia

It's one of the most enduring Swedish winter traditions. The tradition of Lucia brings some much needed light into Sweden's winter darkness, James Savage writes.

My colleagues have told me to get in early on Wednesday for Lucia. Who is Lucia?

Lucia is, or was, St. Lucy, a Catholic saint martyred in Syracuse in 304 AD. In Sweden, she is celebrated in early morning ceremonies on December 13th. In schools and workplaces, a nominated girl or young woman will don a white dress and wear a wreath of candles on her head. The ceremony is usually accompanied by early morning servings of glögg (sweet mulled wine), lussekatter (St Lucy buns) and ginger snaps.

Why does Sweden go so big on Lucia?

Quite how St. Lucy worked her way into Swedish tradition is unclear, but December 13th was the shortest day of the year under the Julian calendar, which Sweden followed until the 18th century.

It is traditionally held that a maiden dressed in white robes and wearing a crown of candles brought food to starving villagers on the shore of Lake Vänern. Lucia also has links to a German tradition of girls dressing as 'Christ children', handing out Christmas presents.

Traditionally, Lucia processions would be held in the home, with daughters dressing up and bringing coffee to their parents. Now, the practice is widespread in workplaces and schools, and newspapers frequently run Lucia competitions for readers.

Is this just something for the girls?

Even in these days of sexual equality, the girls have pretty much got Lucia wrapped up. Still, men are now allowed walk-on parts as Lucia's acolytes, known as 'stjärngossar' or 'star boys'. They also wear the long white robes, but instead of the crowns they wear white, pointy hats.

Didn't I hear something about a song?

Indeed, the Lucia celebrations are accompanied by music, particularly the Neapolitan Song Santa Lucia, which has been given Swedish Lyrics which speak of St. Lucy bringing light in the darkness. It's haunting melody make it a firm favourite for many Swedes.

Sounds lovely, but I'm not keen on getting up early to attend one of these celebrations.

You could always watch it on TV - SVT always broadcasts a traditional Lucia celebration early on the morning of the 13th.

All sounds very pleasant

It is. There is a more raucous side, however, with Lucia night celebrated by high school pupils partying all night to celebrate the approach of the Christmas holidays.

We Are Marquette!

In the end, it seems as if Bob Wild was too much for me to stay away for more than six months, so I am returning to Marquette University for my senior year. Syddansk Universitet had its perks (like not doing anything for the entire semester), but I do value my MU education.

One final trip, to Amsterdam, and I'll be home. Have I made the right decision to come back?

On the Ball: Sesame Street Edition

T minus Kiel Days...

Das größte Segelsport-Ereignis der Welt, das größte Sommerfest im Norden Europas: Kiel heißt zur Kieler Woche Skipper und "Seh"-Leute aus aller Welt herzlich willkommen.

I have no idea what that means, but we were there, at Kieler Woche Skipper, or whatever it was. There was food from nearly every region of the world (Swedish food was oddly missing), so I settled for some Israeli, Turkish, and a Danish dessert. I did however enjoy watching Sebastian eat a nearly one meter long bratwurst from Poland, and Fabien managed to find the French Fry station (those French love their fries???)

Needless to say, there was plenty of food, for even the most exotic of eaters. Oh, and we were of course in Germany, so there was plenty of beer. All in all a great little city festival on the port.

This National Day sounds like a time of rejoicing, a day on which Swedes celebrate with age-old traditional rituals, probably involving raw fish and copious amounts of akvavit?

No, not really. 'Den sjätte juni' is hardly a date that trips off a Swedish tongue in the way that Quatorze Juillet does in French. Born on the Sixth of June will never have quite the same patriotic ring as Born on the Fourth of July.

In fact, Swedes didn't even get a day off for it until 2005. For most people, it's just a welcome day off in the early summer. Oh, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

But what exactly is it supposed to celebrate?

A more difficult question to answer than you might expect. Unlike other countries, which have anniversaries of independence or revolutions to commemorate, Sweden has never been occupied and has never got rid of its monarchy.

If you ask a Swede, they'll probably mumble something vague about Gustav Vasa.

The day does indeed coincide with the anniversary of Gustav Vasa's election as Sweden's king in 1523, marking the end of the union with Denmark and the start of a new period of closer unity within Sweden. This day was celebrated from the 19th century as a national day of commemoration.

June 6th was also the day in 1809 on which Sweden adopted a new constitution, something it did again on the same date in 1974. From the 1890s, the Skansen open air museum in Stockholm started organizing patriotic celebrations on June 6th. In 1916, the day became The Swedish Flag Day.

Who decided to make it into Sweden's National Day?

National Day was first recognized officially by the government in 1983, but it only became a public holiday in 2005, after years of debate. The official hope was that it would be a day of unity for the Swedish people. Others saw it as a sop to industry, who would now be able to squeeze more working days out of the masses in the name of patriotism.

I want to join in the celebrations - how should I do this in a typically Swedish way?

As Sweden's only really had two National Day holidays so far, there isn't much of a precedent. Dancing round Maypoles and eating raw fish is really reserved for Midsummer, later this month. Until it became a public holiday, the only visible signs of National Day were the flags flying in people's gardens and from buses and trams.

These days, the royals celebrate the day by taking a carriage procession from the Royal Palace in Stockholm to Skansen. The Swedish flag is raised and bouquets are given to the Queen and princesses.
Don't like the sound of that - what should I do instead?
Do what an SVT survey found that 81 percent of Swedes do - nothing at all. You, like them, can use the day to assemble Ikea furniture, lounge about in the sun or catch up on much-needed sleep. Let the celebrations begin!

What's better than a Swedish Beach?

Trick question... there is nothing better than a Swedish beach, but we did make a beach day trip yesterday to the North Sea.

Tönning, Germany... home to the largest continuous beach in Germany. Also home to the highest topless old lady per acre of beach ratio in the world.

Imagine you are lying on the beach, eyes closed, waves crashing as you take in the sun on a beautiful June afternoon. Just then, you open your eyes to reach for another sip of your coconut maitai. You shouldn't have done that. A German lady is staring you in the face. It gets worse, she's saying something in German. Oh, and she's topless.

I guess you can't blame her for being so friendly. Turns out she was just commenting on the weather.

Back Home (Sønderborg)

I have returned home after a week long jaunt with Sister Swede.

Malmö is simply amazing, but who am I to try and sell it? (oh yeah, I'm Swede In America!)

Ahhhh... now this is the life!


If I can't afford the Twisting Torso, these sweet Swedish designed flats will have to do...


Sunset in Malmo...

Link to the rest of Malmo.

Scottish Pub

Once upon a time, Sister Swede studied with a Dane at Watertown High School. The Dane loved Watertown so much, he returned for many summers to visit with his fellow Goslings. One summer the Dane stopped coming to Watertown... The people of Watertown were sad, and so Sister Swede met up with the Dane in Copehnagen.

(left to right: Dane, Awesome Pub Performer, Sister Swede)

Firsts and Seconds:To the homeland...

Guest Blogger: Sister Swede Reports

We are moments away from leaving Sonderborg for one more night in Copenhagen, then it's off to Sweden! Here are some photos I took while in Ben's "home" town.

Highlights of Sonderborg: Swimming in the Baltic, downtown, and Ben got another haircut!

Kobenhavn, Wonderful, Wonderful... Kobenhavn For Me!

Guest Writer: Sister Swede Reports...

I've had a great time in Denmark so far! Ben met me at the airport (he was early, I was late) and we headed out for our European adventure. After spending three days in Copenhagen, we made the trip to Sonderborg this afternoon. It is a beautiful city!

It's getting late (and Ben has an exam early tomorrow morning), so I'm going to keep this short. Here are the highlights from our first three days.

Day 1:

Tivoli, the main city square, the walking street, dinner in Nyhavn and back to Tivoli.

Day 2:

Lots of sightseeing! Highlights include royal gardens, the Little Mermaid, Nyhavn (again) and eating a Fransk hot dog!

Day 3:

The Carlsberg Brewery, getting a birds eye view of the city, Christiana and more Nyhavn!

Enjoy! More tomorrow...

Copenhagen contest called off

When I said the Scandinavian truce was to take a pause, the Danes just had to go and take it too far. Sweden took a 3-0 lead in the first 25 minutes, only to see their lead slowly chipped away by the Danes. In the 89th minute, Poulsen of Denmark took a cheap shot at Rosenberg, reminiscent of the Zindane head butt of the 2006 World Cup. The Dane received a direct red card for the kidney punch and the Swedes were awarded a penalty kick. After the call, all hell broke loose in Parken (the stadium in Copenhagen), and a disgruntled Dane charged the field on a mission and attempted to attack the referee. The ref called the match off, and the pitch was cleared as fans pelted the field with flares/debris. After deliberation, UEFA took away the goals of Denmark, and the final score will go in the books as 3-0 Sweden.

Needless to say, I can't wait to go to Copenhagen tomorrow to see what kind of destruction the Danes unleash in their drunken fury!

The Hand Holding is Over

Scandinavian cooperation takes a pause today, as Sverige takes on Danmark tonight in qualifying for the 2008 Euro Cup. Tickets are going for 500 Euro ($675 USD), so I'm going to sit this one out to join my Dansk rivals here in Sonderborg for a night of drinking and watching good 'ole fashioned Scandinavian football. I'm predicting a 2-1 Sverige victory.

This was the scene at the 2004 UEFA Euro Cup when Swedes and Danes swapped jerseys after a 2-2 draw ensured they both would move on... to the demise of Italy, who needed anything but a draw... there's nothing like Scandinavians working together!

Holy Hare Batman!

So apparently a rabbit isn't a rabbit here, but a European Hare. I snapped this pic a few weeks ago and I thought it was an ordinary rabbit hopping around like your average bunny. This afternoon I saw the same creature, different situation. Like a five year old girl chasing a boy on the playground, two of the 'lil foo-foo's came flying by chasing each other. Allegedly this little fella can reach speeds of 45 mph. Faster than the average hare! Take that Yogi Bear.

I'd Like, I'd Like to be Like Mike...

Apparently people still look up to the US as being a good model. Despite all the negative stuff going on in the last two terms few years, countries still want to be more like the US. The Danish prime minister's son has just wrote a book in favor of the US:

Henrik Fogh Rasmussen writes in his new book, 'American Conditions', that the Danish media paints an exaggerated picture of poverty, racism and uninsured patients in the US, and argues European leaders should instead use the US model to address this continent's own social problems.

Rasmussen has lived in the US for several years and has an American wife. In his 57-page book he challenges the many negative images of the US promoted by the media and says the Danish health care system is more apt to fail patients than the American.

'Seen in light of the huge demographic changes Europe is experiencing, European decision makers should take more inspiration from the market-based health care system in the US, instead of warning us about the "American conditions" in health care,' Rasmussen writes.

'The national health care systems in Europe are characterised by rigorous cost controls, where hospital administrators and doctors jealously guard their annual budgets. This means there is little place for experiments such as a wider use of preventive medicines, and it is the patients that this lack of creativity and resistance to new thinking ultimately affects.'

'The picture of the US as a society with widespread poverty and homelessness is wrong. The numbers clearly show that living standards for the poorest Americans are at the same level as the poorest people in Denmark and the rest of Europe.