Hej v, och hur mår du? Yeah looks like gobbledegook doesn’t it? Well it is in fact Swedish and I am half Swede. (Save the veg jokes please). Many of us Brits know little about what Sweden has to offer so I thought I’d share what I know and prove there’s more to Swedes than their meatballs!

Considering we’re part of the European Community (EU), it’s embarrassing what little we Brits seem to know about the rest of Europe. In fact, we are described in the latest addition of the Rough Guide to England as “insular, self-important and irritating”. That’s from a popular worldwide travel guide! Cheeky buggers. But I’m sure if they’d had room, they would have added “and the least likely to learn another language…aside from Americans.” This is bad news. It’s time we proved them wrong. I feel I’m at an advantage being half Swedish. I’ve been brought up with two languages and my mum and regular visits have given me an insight into another European country. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim to know a lot, but I’m all for helping put a stop to the rest of the world thinking us Brits are small minded. What better way to do that than by sharing my Swedalicious knowledge!

The basics…
Let’s start with the basics. Before checking the map, see if you can picture where Sweden is? Fair enough, a lot of you knew, and if not, hopefully you do now. Sweden is part of Scandinavia (Northern Europe) and sandwiched between Norway and Finland. It’s almost twice as big as the UK, but compared to the UK’s 60 million, they have more space with just 9.1million inhabitants. A lot of that space it taken up by beautiful tranquil lakes – for me one of the best things about Sweden. Summers are spent diving into any one of the lovely clear, clean waters. Winter transforms them to free ice rinks, when the ice is nice and thick.

Swedes…
Now let’s get on to the Swedish people. I’ve yet to discover how the Rough Guide describes Swedes. Although they aren’t all the blonde haired, blue eyed stereotype, I doubt there’ll ever be a shortage fitting that description. The main language is unsurprisingly Swedish, a Germanic language, similar to Norwegian, (which Swedes also find easy to understand) and Danish (a bit more gruff). Swedish isn’t the most beautiful sounding language, (as demonstrated by the Swedish chef in the Muppet show), but it’s definitely not the worst sounding either. English followsv, which is usually learnt in school and Finnish is popular too.

I would describe Swedes as fun, hard-working, aware, spiritual (rather than religious) and open minded. That open mindedness has somehow associated Swede with liking to be naked (or naturists) and liking a lot of hanky-panky. It’s true Sweden’s attitude towards sex is very liberal but it’s important to note it’s looked on as a healthy thing, not something to be obsessed over. As a result most Swedes have a tolerant attitude to homosexuality. The 1998 film Show me love, showed two female school friends falling for each another. The approach was heartfelt and honest rather than for effect (unlike a certain Russian schoolgirl pop sensation) and never caused a stir. Finally, despite being relaxed and regardless of what you hear, Swedes do not always walk around with their vegetables on show.

Famous exports…
So what about musical exports? Well there’s been plenty who’ve hit our shores, but not all have made it big time or stuck around. When it’s comes to recent Swedish music doing well in the UK, apart from blonde tomboy popstress, Robyn (With Every Heartbeat, Handle Me), who has actually been popular in Sweden for years, it’s usually all about Eurodance. September (Cry for you), Basshunter-(Now you’re Gone, All I ever wanted), maybe not to everyone’s thing, but they sure get a lot of us moving on the dance floor.

We rarely hear about Swedes that made it musically in previous years such as Roxette, Ace of Base, and the Cardigans, but there is one exception. Sweden’s equivalent to the Beatles started in 1972 and went on to sell over 370 million records, making them one of the biggest best-selling pop acts in history. The name of their band isn’t just an anagram of all its singers; it’s also the name of a fish company in Sweden. Got it yet? It’s ABBA of course! Such is their continuing hugeness; they recently inspired the musical and following film, Mama Mia. With fans such as Noel Gallagher and Primal Scream, nobody can say they haven’t influenced today’s music.

Other famous Swedes include Ingmar Bergman, regarded by many as the most influential film director of modern cinema, Greta Garbo, ranked the fifth greatest film star by the American Institute and Dolph Lundgren, Sweden’s equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger! And have you heard of Pippi Longstocking (AKA Pippi Långstrump)? The fictional redheaded lass was famous for her amazing strength and her ability to be rude and assertive towards pompous adults. Created by the famous writer Astrid Lindgren, Pippi first took on the world in a 1949 film debut and is still popular with children around the world today.

Swedalicious food…
I love the food in Sweden, especially the sweets which make my world go round. Their Cinnamon buns are to die for and in some places you can get them 20cm in diameter! In fact Swedes are big on the cinnamon flavour in stuff, which they do so well. Try the Pepparkakor biscuits from IKEA to sample it…oohh heaven. And in 1953 Sweden invented the utterly moreish crunchy nut butter bar know in the UK as the Dime bar and Daim in Sweden. These days you can get Dime ice-cream too. Am I making your mouth water yet? Of course I have to pay a little tribute to Swedish meatballs. Their succulent juicy meat tastes brilliant with a splash of Swedish gravy. Ok enough of causing tummy rumblings!

Business…
Now let’s talk business. What has Sweden given the world in terms of goods and services? Well…aside from Saab, Volvo and Sony Eriksson, some of the most successful companies in their fields, H&M is also a Swedish success I think most would agree on? Yep, the trendy, affordable, popular high street store would never be improving your wardrobe without the Swedes, who’ve definitely got style. At one point it was called Hennes (Hers). The M of H&M refers to Mauritz, who wanted to expand on his range to include men’s clothing, thus creating H&M! Good plan! And what about IKEA? You’ve seen the adverts and likely roamed around the funky showrooms and had meatballs in the café. The Swedes do like to make things practical and affordable for us don’t they? Where would British homes be without flat pack heaven? I’ll tell you where...back with dust collecting frilly flowery sofas, naff wall paper and dodgy ornaments.

All hail for Sweden!

Carefree Sweden
I love the fact that Sweden is such a clean country with fresh air and minimal pollution. Nowhere more so than my favourite place to relax, the archipelagos, a cluster of small Swedish islands. Almost every year I go to an island there. Life is so carefree that I can go off for a whole day and sleepover at my friend’s house without my parents knowing where or being worried. Everyone knows everyone on the island. It’s such a simple life with just one kiosk, no roads or cars and only a horse and carriage that sometimes picks people up to take to other islands. Exploring with friends is loads of fun too. We randomly rowing to other islands, jump off rocks into clear water or just sunbathing the whole day. Heaven!

By Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett