How do Swedes survive?: director David Fincher
Published: 1 Dec 11 08:16 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/37670/20111201/
After spending last winter in rural Sweden recording the Hollywood version of "The girl with the dragon tattoo", director David Fincher was left baffled as to how Swedes survive the cold, dark months.
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"When the sun goes down at 2 in the afternoon, and the winds whip up and it's 30-below, you realize these people are made of heartier stuff," Fincher was quoted telling USA Today.
"And you think, 'My God, how do you survive this?'"
But Fincher admitted the characteristic landscape had added a lot to the movie.
"People don't live on top of each other in apartments," he told the paper.
"There's a house every mile and a half apart, and you're in 4 feet of ice. It's unbelievable. There's a reason this doesn't take place in Cleveland."
So to answer Fincher's question, The Local asked a few people on the town just how they go about surviving the Swedish winter:
Click to see their responses
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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And suicides? Sweden has about the same rate as Canada, US, Norway and other western countries. France excluded since people are killing themselves at a higher rate in that country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide_world_map_-_2009_Male.svg
This map is a better one. http://chartsbin.com/view/prm
Thing is winter isn't that long, the snow will be on the ground soon, making it lighter and in 3 weeks time the days start getting longer again away. Plus, with winter due any minute I'll be able to get out skiing! :)
How you view winter and other such things probably says more about your general outlook on life than wintering in Sweden.
simple, lot's of vodka and sex
'SeeK', yeah I've crossed lakes in winter, that I've swam in during summer, there is always something fun to do if you go looking for it.
But you do it daily in the summer, too.
Wow and the smog in California, all of my friends have moved out of California !!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
That promotes the production of melatonin in the epithelial cells where it can directly affect the brain, lifting your mood. If it is always at the same time of day, so much the better.
Per-Åke Hansson gave the second best answer.
Also giving good answers were Jeanette Mandl and Michaela Mark.
LOL... so true :)
Two things. 2009 and Wikipedia? Seriously?
Try 2010 WHO instead. Not that you will find the holy truth, BUT if you are going to quote in the name of statistics at least try to get serious.
Swedes survive the long cold and dark months on the top of the planet by watching lot of TV; drinking at weekends to death; wondering how grounded and smart, and clever, and …… (just count anything good in the world) they are; hold fast to their jobs as long as possible, but complaining about the tax as much as possible; believing that immigrants make them poor, but accepting immigrants in contrast to their believes, imagining that Sweden is the best country in the world (on the top of the planet) and don't understand why immigrants can't realize this simple fact that anybody knows it from the birth; and making miserable anybody, who doesn't act, believe, or fit with them.
Even in northern Sweden the winters are considerably warmer than in northern Minnesota. In mid winter northern Minnesota gets a couple hours more daylight than Sweden so that somewhat compensates for the colder temperatures.
Here you go;
http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide_rates/en/index.html
Sweden has about the same rate as Canada, US, Norway and other western countries. Anything else is a pure myth. Just made up stuff by people on this site spewing their hate towards Sweden and Swedes.
Not that Swedes do themselves any favours in public relations
As for whoever said Swedes have more sex:. You need to move with the times. Swedes have about as much sex as nuns.....
In Sweden, even when the sun is out, it feels like it's dusk or dawn for the entire day.
It is too cold!
It is colder somewhere else so they are not that hard!
Too much snow!
Much better snow somewhere else so why do they think they are so awesome?
It is what it is. Sweden is great, sweden is crap. Just like most places. If it is more crap than good for you- move. At least then Sweden will be a little less crap for the rest of us. Hehe! :D
Happy Yule everyone!
'When I visit LA, I wonder the same thing'.
I was in LA in March and was thinking along the same lines. Stockholm would be a cakewalk.
That "The girl with the dragon tattoo" remake of his really sux, and sux badly.
Nobody can replace Noomi and the rest of their cast.
http://static.periscopepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/5260743506_fb5f591e0b_b-480x345.jpg
Because those Swedes whose ethnicity has deep roots in Sweden are Nordic, and true Nordic people live with the cold weather as normally as they breathe.
What I cannot fathom is how people live with hot and humid weather.
That kind of weather is only fit for crocidiles and anacondas, et al, whereas land-dwelling creatures otherwise suffer.
There is no getting used-to hot and humid weather.
We were standing at our 40th story window [the entire building has nothing but glass windows floor to ceiling]. Early February. Lead grey skies. Blustery wind. 19 degrees F.
"People should not need to live like this." So said my co-worker from Puerto Rico. Suicidal would have been insufficient to capture the moment. Think Dante's Inferno with a whiff of hope. After thirteen years I crawled my way down to the North Georgia Mountains.
Summer is like Spring and Winter is like Fall.