Welcome to Sweden, since I’m a Swedish person I got some insight into the Swedish psyche and as well as living outside Sweden for 12 years gives me even more. You don’t realise it until you go back for holidays how weird sometimes you’re own kind is. I’m from a mid northern part of Sweden, small town with 28’000 people and they all say hello when I come home even if I don’t know them, can’t tell you how much this freaked me out after being in London for a couple of years where no one greets a stranger. You go to your neighbours frequently for ‘fika’ (cup of coffee and cookies), no calling needed beforehand, if you go over it’s custom to offer this. You break this and you’re not longer any swede.

Yes, we do have wonderfully gorgeous girls in Sweden, not all blondes but damn hot that’s for sure. Yes, we are nudists at heart, no one blinks to much if you are in the nudes in the sauna with both genders, it’s natural.

I love Sweden but also would never move back either, I’m too different now.

Some small facts:

A popular souvenir is the road sign for moose-crossing. Every year a huge number of these signs are stolen from Swedish roads.

Pippi Longstocking is the heroine in the most famous children’s books in Sweden. These books were written by Astrid Lindgren and are loved by children (and adults) all over the world. They have been translated into 76 languages.

When a Swede talks about “the system”, he’s not talking about beating the establishment; he’s talking about buying liquor. Our goverement has the monopoly on selling alchohol for consumption so no off-license here…

Carl von Linné was the first individual to successfully classify all the plants (and animals) of the world into different species and families.  He wrote the epoch-making book Systema Nature (The System of Nature) in 1735, which is still being used by botanists and zoologists today!

Every year, Swedes celebrate Midsummer (Midsommar) on the twenty-third of June. On this longest day, in many parts of Sweden the sun never sets.

Your coffee consumption exceeds 6 cups a day and coffee is too weak if there is less than 10 scoops per pot.

You know that “religious holiday” means “let’s get pissed.”

You say “I’m almost annoyed” when you’re as furious as humanly possible.

When someone asks you “Hi, how are you?” you actually take time out to explain how you are.

so from all us Skal ta’ mig faen (cheers)