Day 24 (30 June): Scandanavian culture
Before leaving Stockholm in the afternoon I took in a couple of more Museums: the History Musuem and the Scandanvian Museum, both of which were basically about Sacandavian history and culture and well designed. I also went on a tour of the city's amazing city hall and had a very autentic Swedish lunch (white fish with some kind of horseradish based sauce and potato shavings) with Tove before getting on my bus to the airport.
Upon arriving in London where I stayed for one night only, I helped Fabian celebrate accepting a new job offer and had some interesting conversations with his Russian roomate Alexi (who provided us with the best tasting Vodka I have ever had but apparently is sold only in Russia.)
Economic observations:
1) Brand conciousness seems to be low in Sweden although design conciousness seems high. No one seems to buy things because of their brand in Sweden but they do pay a lot of attention to how well they are designed.
2) Growth of cities at the loss of small towns and villages. This seems to be a trend everywhere, but is certainly true in Sweden. Tove's hometown, Umee, is the largest city in Northern Sweden at aprox. 100,000 people, yet she said everyone seems to be leaving there for Stockholm or another big city because that's where jobs are moving to. She said the same is true for villages near Umee, that people who live there
3) Vacation time. In Sweden having about 2 months off per year is normal and people take the time. Tove's family has three houses: one on a lake for the summer, one by the mountains for the winter, and their regular home. Apparently, this is quite typical in Sweden as people tend to vacation 'at home' rather than traveling abroad during long breaks.
4) Gap years. In Sweden a gap year is also normal, that is like is common in the UK and Australia, kids normally take a year off to travel or work in another country before heading to University. The only reason that I think this does not happen in the US is because formal education in the US cost so much more than it does in these other countries.
5) Baggage issues. I had the same baggage issues again with Ryan Air which still don't make any sense to me.
6) I thought it was strage that there was a direct flight from Stockholm's budget airline airport to Lahore, Pakıstan that leaves three times a week. How popular of a route can that be, especially for an airport with only 5 gates?
Upon arriving in London where I stayed for one night only, I helped Fabian celebrate accepting a new job offer and had some interesting conversations with his Russian roomate Alexi (who provided us with the best tasting Vodka I have ever had but apparently is sold only in Russia.)
Economic observations:
1) Brand conciousness seems to be low in Sweden although design conciousness seems high. No one seems to buy things because of their brand in Sweden but they do pay a lot of attention to how well they are designed.
2) Growth of cities at the loss of small towns and villages. This seems to be a trend everywhere, but is certainly true in Sweden. Tove's hometown, Umee, is the largest city in Northern Sweden at aprox. 100,000 people, yet she said everyone seems to be leaving there for Stockholm or another big city because that's where jobs are moving to. She said the same is true for villages near Umee, that people who live there
3) Vacation time. In Sweden having about 2 months off per year is normal and people take the time. Tove's family has three houses: one on a lake for the summer, one by the mountains for the winter, and their regular home. Apparently, this is quite typical in Sweden as people tend to vacation 'at home' rather than traveling abroad during long breaks.
4) Gap years. In Sweden a gap year is also normal, that is like is common in the UK and Australia, kids normally take a year off to travel or work in another country before heading to University. The only reason that I think this does not happen in the US is because formal education in the US cost so much more than it does in these other countries.
5) Baggage issues. I had the same baggage issues again with Ryan Air which still don't make any sense to me.
6) I thought it was strage that there was a direct flight from Stockholm's budget airline airport to Lahore, Pakıstan that leaves three times a week. How popular of a route can that be, especially for an airport with only 5 gates?
posted by Traveling Brian at 4:27 AM
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