It’s (almost) the middle of May already. Time’s fun when you’re having flies, or rather, the other way round. The weather may not be very summery yet, or up North – not even very springy yet, but summer is already on everybody’s mind.
Yes, it’s time to plan your summer vacation, if you haven’t done so already. Where to go, when exactly to go, how much to spend and all those other pesky little details of your long-awaited summer break.
My friends and co-workers all seem to be discussing their semester (vacation) plans right now. Global crisis, or not, semester is sacred. After all, what are you going to do? Stay at home for four weeks in July? Nah, you gotta go somewhere.
True, many people are concerned about the economy and about whether or not they can actually afford their summer breaks. Some of my friends have downsized their normal plans. Instead of a trip to Thailand or another exotic destination, they choose more mundane places like Spain or Egypt. Those who normally would go to Spain or Egypt are opting for even more budget friendly choices like Turkey and Bulgaria. But few of the people I know say they will stay in Sweden during the summer. Why? All things considered, it’s cheaper to go abroad. And oh yeah, the weather’s better elsewhere, too.
But let’s pretend for a second that staying in Sweden this summer is your only option. Or that visiting Sweden this summer (for those of you in other countries) is your only option. In that case, where would you go? Which places would you like to visit? Where in Sweden have you visited already and what would like to recommend to others?
Anybody who’s been reading this blog for more than 5 minutes knows that I’m a huge fan of Lappland. My number one destination in Sweden is the Far North – Kiruna, Abisko, Jukkasjärvi and the whole Tornedalen (Torne Valley) area. There are no ancient castles there and no Viking huts. There are no gothic cathedrals and splendid art museums. Instead, there is plenty of nature, gorgeous views, different culture and midnight sun (after all, we are talking about summer here). If not for the mosquitoes, it would be an ideal adventure destination. The drive along the Torne river is, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous in Sweden.
A bit more south (if you’re in, let’s say, Pajala) there’s Luleå with its World Heritage listed Gammelstads kyrkstad (Gammelstad Church Town). Oh yes, and why is Luleå calling itself The Capital of Swedish Lapland? Just how many capitals does Lappland have? What about Lycksele’s claim to “Lapp Stockholm”?
So, now you know where I would like to spend my summer in Sweden. How about you? What are some of your favorite Swedish summer destinations?
PS. And just so there is no misunderstandings – it’s “Lappland” in Swedish, but “Lapland” in English.
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My favorite destination is Gotland. There is history, great food and nature! Take a week and thoroughly discover one part of the island. We visited in June 2008. Went to Roma, Visby and the Eastern Shore. I look forward to seeing the North next, then the South. There is so much to do! Do it “cheaply” by camping or staying in guest houses or spend more and stay in the Walled City (Visby). June was perfect…locals were prepared for visitors but the crowds had not arrived yet and we had the place to ourselves (with a few Germans).
If I get near Stockholm I always make a pilgrimage to Vasamuseet.
http://www.vasamuseet.se/
The following information was sent out in the Skandia #247 Vasa Order of America monthly news bulletin The information came from a news paper listed at the bottom of the article.
The Swedish Language
As you probably already know,
Swedish belongs to the northern
(Scandinavian) group of the
Germanic branch of the Indo-
European language family. It is
closely related to Danish and
Norwegian, and is spoken
predominantly in Sweden and in
parts of Finland. Like all Germanic
languages, Swedish originated from
Old Norse, which began to split into
Old West Norse (Norway and
Iceland) and Old East Norse
(Sweden and Denmark) in the 9th
century. In the 12th century, Swedish
and Danish emerged as distinct
languages. They became Old
Swedish and Old Danish in the 13th
century, both were heavily
influenced by Middle Low German,
the language of the region around the
Baltic and North Seas during the
medieval period. Early medieval
Swedish had a more complex
grammar than modern Swedish.
Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and
certain numerals were inflected in
four cases and three genders
(nominative, genitive, dative and
accusative), whereas today there are
only two (nominative and genitive).
The verb system was also more
complex: It included subjunctive and
imperative moods and verbs were
marked for person and number. By
the 16th century, the case and
gender systems of the colloquial
spoken language had been largely
reduced to the two cases and two
genders of modem Swedish, and
the verbs lost their conjugation.
Swedish is the de facto language
of Sweden, although is does not
have the status of an official
language. For native speakers of
English, Swedish is considered to
be a “Category I” language in
terms of difficulty, a category it
shares with Afrikaans, Danish,
Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian,
Portuguese, Romanian and
Spanish. According to the Foreign
Service Institute (FSI) the
approximate time to achieve
speaking and reading proficiency
in Swedish is 23-24 weeks with
575-600 hours in a class where the
student is approximately 40 years
old and has a good aptitude for
language study as well as
knowledge of several other foreign
languages. In “Category III” we
find languages which are
exceptionally difficult for native
English speakers: Arabic,
Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese
and Korean. For these languages
you need 88 weeks and 2200 class
hours to achieve proficiency.
Svenska – 1ätt som en plätt!
from Nordstjernan
I almost bought a roundtrip to Stockholm to visit my cousins in Sandviken this summer. Very inexpensive nowadays. But I have been invited on a Swedish Elk (Moose) hunt and that only happens in October. So I will have to wait. But years ago in Stockholm we were lost while driving on Strandvägen, looking for the Vasa Museum. We pulled to the side of the road, rolled down the car window and yelled at a Swede working on his boat, “How do you get to the Vasa?” Without even processing that we were Americans, he promptly answered, “Straight ahead a half mile, then right across the bridge, you can’t miss it!”. All delivered in a Midwestern American accent. I will never forget it.
So if you are going to Sweden as a non Swedish speaker, go with great confidence. It is a beautiful country with very friendly English speaking residents. At least that has been my experience.
TEST ONLY – DO NOT POST
I have yet to decide on which is my favorite place in Sweden to visit, but I think it will be the place of Villa Villekulla in Visby, Gotland. From what I’ve been told it still has the old village charm and the nature is so beautiful. Plus it’s a place that seems so nostalgic to my childhood, growing up never missing a “Pippi Longstockings” movie special on the TV. I know she is called “Pippi Långstrump” in Sweden, but I grew up with the American dubbed version. So when I watched the Swedish version, I was intrigued by the difference in Annika’s voice, it wasn’t “whiney” in Swedish as it was in the English version. I definitely enjoyed the Swedish version much better.
Where I would like to spend my summer in Sweden?? I would like to spend it anywhere in Sweden with Amanda Jenssen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N__Qgz2Qrhg
She also does a great version of an old Elvis song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlLb3bibES8
Now why couldn’t she have gone to that music contest instead of that opera brud.
If it didn’t work out with Amanda, I would like to tour Gripsholms slott (castle). I would go by boat from the dock near Stockholms stadshus (city hall).
http://www.royalcourt.se/royalcourt/theroyalpalaces/gripsholmcastle
David, Hallelujah.