The last couple of weeks has seen me commuting back and forth between Stockholm and Åre on the nightly sleeper train. You can say what you like about the age of the wagons and the cleanliness of the sleeping compartments, but as a concept the service is great. Jump on at Åre just before 7 pm, glass of wine in the buffet car and then catch up on a film on your PC; before being tossed off the train in Stockholm’s Central Station at 7am. Coming back the other way, you’re allowed to climb aboard at 9am (although the train doesn’t leave the station until just before midnight) and you wake up in Åre just after 8am.
One really strange aspect of train travel that harks back to communist times is “allmän väckning” or a wake up call for the whole train. I find it really worrying that big bror has to wake me up at a state appointed time. I almost leaped out of bed in my boxers to salute the flag and sing the national anthem. By the way, it’s a little known fact that no Swede’s actually know the second verse of the national anthem off by heart.
Allmän väckning got me thinking. Is there any other aspect of Swedish life that feels more like you live in Stalingrad than Stockholm? The obvious and well-trodden answer is the Swede’s alcohol policy, I’m not going to go there as we’ve already covered it; but when you think about it there are quite a few examples.
Everyone goes on holiday in July in Sweden, whether they have kids or not. Why oh why people don’t wait until the crowds have gone home and flights are cheaper in August or September – no, vi av been told zat vi ska go on ze holidazs in July and zat is vat vi do! It’s actually great to work in July as you will be alone in the office and every man and his dog are on holiday on the west coast – it is like a second paid-for holiday! Of course this coincides with school holidays, but I’m talking about pensioners, young couples without children and free sprits that are not bound by their children. Another example is the half-term holiday in February / March. This is set in stone for the next millennium. Of the top of my head its Malmö week 7, Gothenburg week 8, Stockholm week 9 (joy of joys) and northern Sweden week 10.
There is also a curious tradition of only demonstrating on May 1st, when the streets are filled with the middle-classes demonstrating about the topic of the day. Don’t you just love Sweden, we won’t make a fuss during the rest of the year but come May 1st, I’m going to hold my placard high!
Any other examples? Well yes – candy is only purchased on Saturdays, we still have national service in the military, certain cakes can only be baked at appointed times in the year and try finding spare ribs outside of the Christmas period.
yawn
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Is this blogger suggesting that planning, scheduling, co-ordinating and upholding cultural traditions are communist traits?
Are Christmas, Easter, Guy Fawkes/Bonfire night, Football, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Ramadan and the Queen’s Birthday also legacy of communist rule? All these oppressive events that forces us to behave/eat/drink/act in a prescribed way on a particular day of the year?
And is the blogger not aware that there has NEVER been any communists ruling the Kingdom of Sweden? Nor have they ever been close to seizing the power in the Kingdom. The communist party, now disguised as the lefties, has always been a very marginal and by the vast majority derided political party in the country. And have been dealt a cold shoulder by all the other political parties, for example excluded on in any discussions and consultations on the matter of, for example, foreign policy. Socialdemokraterna/Social Democrats included them, reluctantly, in their alliance in the last election in order to try to oust the current centre-right Government, but failed miserable. Political analysts have since concluded that one of the key reasons of the Social Democrat’s complete failure was exactly because they brought in the communists/lefties into their alliance, as that put off/scared the electorate – and have since kicked them out.
Seriously, not that you’d expect any higher quality news reporting or blogging at The Local, but if someone sets out to share a bit of insight and reflection on their expat experience in the Kingdom, some basic insights and knowledge should really be expected. Or is that too much to ask for? Or does this blogger have a political/hidden agenda of his own and hopes to exploit overseas readers that have little knowledge about the country, its history and traditions?
I’m baffled.
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I’m sure that fact that July has the longest days of the year and the best summer weather has nothing to do with people scheduling their holidays then.
And it’s Germans and French who pronounce “that” as “zat”. Swenglish would be “dat”. The “z” sound doesn’t even exist in Swedish!
Well-informed, indeed.
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Eager Beaver,
Why are you baffled. The Local is wholly a swedish news site written in english mainly by Swedes. They don’t promise quality and on that they certainly deliver. In UK comparisons it would be a cross between the express and the star.
Finding anything of insight and originality is a needle in a haystack job.
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It certainly isn’t. It’s owned and managed primarily by non-Swedes, mostly not able to speak the language – The Local is a misnomer. Thus, no suprise to the lack of insights on news reporting/blogging/commentary I guess.
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