Sweden

Sweden is a vast country – one of the largest in Europe. The nation stretches from the barren and magnificent Lapland in the far north – often referred to as Europe's last wilderness – to the endless rich plains and rolling hills of Skåne in the south. This vastness gives an incredible diversity to the scenery, constantly changing from beautiful to breathtaking. The whole Swedish landscape shifts dramatically in tune with the four distinct seasons: a cold, crisp, white winter, a bright, fresh, colourful spring, an intense, wondrous summer and a brisk autumn ablaze with colour.


Stockholm

Stockholm is built across 14 islands and is often called the Venice of the North. With more foreign visitors than any other city in Scandinavia it is also considered to be the Capital of Scandinavia. Stockholm is situated at the point where the vast Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea and was built on this strategic spot in the mid 13th century, enabling the founder to tax merchant vessels going in and out of the lake.
As water covers one third of the city area, the maritime life is an important aspect of the city. There are plenty of bridges, marinas and locks. The water is so clean that you can drink it and catch salmon in the middle of the city. The climate is very much conditioned by the sea winds, so even the warmest summer day will be contingent upon the sea breeze finding its way into the city streets.


Getting there

Getting to Sweden is easier and less expensive than anytime before and there are lots of airlines to choose between. The low fare airlines frequently offer promotional fares as low as SEK 10 (one euro!). The flying time from northern Europe is typically 1 hour, from central, eastern and western Europe around 2 hours, and southern Europe 3 hours. Stockholm’s airports include Stockholm Arlanda which serves most major airlines (SAS, Lufthansa, AirFrance, etc.) and is located near Stockholm and easy to reach by direct train connection "Arlanda Express" (around 30 min) to Central Station; and Stockholm-Skavsta which serves cheaper flights and located quite a bit (about 100 km) outside of Stockholm, near the town of Nyköping.


Languages

Swedish; recognized minority languages: Sami (Lapp), Finnish, Meänkieli (Tornedalen Finnish), Yiddish, Romani Chib (a Gypsy language). Almost everyone in Sweden speaks both Swedish and English. A recent newspaper poll found that 80% of all Swedes spoke English as a second language. In Stockholm, it is closer to 100%. Teaching English starts in the third grade. Foreign-language television programs and films are subtitled, not dubbed.


Some phrases in Swedish

Hej  - Hello
Tack. – Thank you
På återseende. – Goodbye

Temperature

In October the average temperature in Sweden is 6 degrees celsius or 44 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average rainfall of 51 millimetres or 2 inches per month.

Time zone

Sweden, like Denmark, Norway and most of Europe, is on Central European Time, i.e. Greenwich Mean Time +1. This means that Sweden is 1 hour ahead of the UK, 6 hours ahead of the US east coast and 9 hours ahead of the Pacific coast.


Currency

The Swedish monetary unit is the Swedish Crown, abbreviated to SEK. One Swedish Crown is 100 öre.

Credit cards

You can withdraw cash from your Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or Cirrus card at any “Bankomat” or “Minuten” - ATM.

Lost cards:
American Express: Telephone; +46(0)8-729 00 95, (24.00 hours a day).
Diners Club: Telephone; +46(0)8-655 85 85, (24.00 hours a day.)
Euro Card: Telephone; +46(0)8-80 23 90, (24.00 hours a day).
Master Card: Telephone; +46(0)8-790 23 90, (24.00 hours a day).
VISA: Telephone; +46(0)8-790

Eating out

Sweden has attained an international reputation for culinary excellence in recent years and standards are high at all levels. Emphasis is placed on high-quality natural ingredients – notably fresh, pickled and smoked seafood (particularly herring, crayfish, salmon, eel) and game meats such as elk and reindeer. The famous Swedish smörgåsbord is rather less common these days, but most hotels offer a smörgåsbord-style breakfast. Today’s multicultural society has also resulted in a wide variety of ethnic restaurants and an exciting “crossover” style in which traditional Swedish dishes are reinvented with new foreign influences. You will also find all the usual fast-food outlets and pizzerias, and if you are after a good value, tasty snack, you’re never far from a hot-dog stand selling the popular “varmkorv” (from just SEK 10, which is about one euro). A three-course meal with wine would cost approximately SEK 300-700 (32 – 75 euros) in a medium-priced restaurant. A “Dagens rätt” (dish of the day) is available in most restaurants at lunchtime, which is served from about 11am to 2pm. It costs from about SEK 60-90 (6-10 Euros) for a main course (often with a choice), bread and butter, salad, soft drink and coffee. There are plenty of cafés and cafeterias for lighter snacks. Smoking is not permitted in restaurants or coffeeshops. 

Electricity

The voltage in Sweden is 220-230V AC, with a frequency of 50/60 Hz. The Swedish use the standard two pin plug.

Emergencies

Call 112 for all emergencies. For non – emergencies the telephone numbers can be found in the local telephone catalogue. The Fire department can be found in the green pages in the local telephone catalogue (Fire department=Brandstation), Hospitals and emergency rooms can be found in the blue pages (Hospital=Sjukhus, Emergency room=Akutintag) and the police can be found in the red pages in the local telephone catalogue (Police=Polis).