Thomas 
Horsing around During the last few weeks, there have been findings of horsemeat in frozen food, labeled beef, in many European countries. This has upset a lot of people, created large headlines, and forced producers to withdraw large quantities of frozen and canned food, such as meatballs, sausages, meat pies, pasta sauces, lasagne, etc. Thousands … Read more
SwedishFreak’s condensed Swedish history continues today with the third episode; all and all there will be six episodes. With the beginning of the16th century, a new king ascended to the throne, founded the world’s longest cross-country ski race, defeated the Danes and dissolved the union with Denmark. In the next century, a powerful and resourceful … Read more
Melodifestivalen – The Song Contest If you are a Swedish mum or dad, you know what you’ll be doing between 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM, six Saturdays in a row, starting in February every year: you’ll be watching Melodifestivalen on TV. And three weeknights in May are also booked. What is Melodifestivalen? It’s a TV … Read more
Bloodshed, Intrigues And Oppression SwedishFreak’s condensed Swedish history continues today with the second of six episodes. This is medieval times between the 11th and 15th centuries, when a number of small kingdoms were united to form Sweden. Christianity arrived: there is the king who is hailed as a saint for performing a crusade, even though … Read more
Amazing Swedish History Swedish history is full of amazing stories. There’s the king who was killed by a pastry, the man who neutered horses with his teeth, the king who berated Adolf Hitler in his office,… Over the next few weeks, SwedishFreak will tell you everything you need to know about Swedish history, plus a … Read more
Holiday On Ice – The Real Thing Mid January. Light is returning: it’s dawning around 8:30 now, but even if the sun keeps shining the next seven hours, it doesn’t yet provide any warmth to my face. The foot deep snow we had before Christmas disappeared before New Year’s Eve, and the ground lies barren, … Read more
A Real Life Law Enforcer from Sweden Do you know who Dirty Harry is? Of course you do. But I bet that you have no idea who Revolver Harry was, even though he, in contrast to Dirty Harry, was a real living and highly remarkable person. Here’s a sample of his achievements: In the 1920’s: … Read more
This is the first known picture of a Swedish Lucia. It was painted in 1848 on Koberg Castle in Västergötland (today the residence of Princess Desirée, the king’s sister). The artist was lieutenant-colonel and count Fritz von Dardel, owner of the castle and aide-de-camp to king Karl XV. Von Dardel, who married one of the … Read more
If you are a Swedish woman with a husband and a family, on the morning on the 13thof December you will rise earlier than usual, leave the bedroom and quietly close the door. You’ll prepare a tray with candles, ginger bread, funny shaped saffron buns with raisins (lussebullar), and make a big pot of coffee. … Read more