Things I Have Learned In Sweden

“You understand Teacher, don’t you, that when you have a mother who’s an angel and a father who is a cannibal king, and when you have sailed on the ocean all your whole life, then you don’t know just how to behave in school with all the apples and ibexes.” Astrid Lindgren Pippi Longstocking

There is no shortage of fast food in Sweden. The have the highest number of Mcdonalds per capita in all of Europe.

Ice hockey and soccer are Sweden’s main sports,

With 25% as a standard VAT, the Swedish VAT is among the highest in the world. Only Bhutan, Myanmar, Hungary and Djibouti have a higher one.

Since 1979 it’s forbidden to smack your children, which means that that they were the first country in the world with a law against flogging. Thirty five countries around the world have followed their example.

Candy is a big deal in Sweden. For years the country has placed among the top consumers of sweets per capita in the world. The reason is loose candy – a concept introduced in 1984, when the Swedish National Food Agency recommended the National Board of Health and Welfare to allow sugar-craving people to compose their own candy bags by freely picking and mixing from an assortment of items.

A traditional and famous dish of Sweden is Swedish meatballs, served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam.

Sweden has the second lowest population per square kilometer in all of Europe.

It is low on people, but there are about three hundred to four hundred thousand moose roaming freely in the woods of Sweden. Two thirds of the country is covered by forest.

Sweden has a huge music scene that does not involve ABBA. There are a lot of Swedish artists that are internationally popular now such as Zara Larsson, Avicii (R.I.P), Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Robyn, Måns Zelmerlöv,  Lykke Li. Roxette, Europe, Alcazar, and Ace of Base.

The first Ice Hotel of the world was built near the village of Jukkasjärvi, Sweden.

The world-famous discount furniture chain IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943.

The Swedish passport ranks number three among the world’s best passports. They can enter 124 countries without a Visa and 33 with one.

North Korea has a 2.7 billion Swedish Kroner debt involving the purchase of Volvo cars.

Happy Hour in Sweden is called “After Work.”

Fly safe,

JAZ