Sweden

The Swedish Climate

Between the Powers of East and West By the middle of April, spring has usually arrived in the southern half of Sweden, garnishing roadsides with yellow sun-like flowers of tussilago (coltsfoot, Tussilago Farfara), filling meadows and clearings with vitsippor (wood anemones, Anemone Nemorosa), and spotlike occurences of the increasingly rare blåsippor (blue anemones, Anemone Hepatica). … Read more

drying clothes

Being Unreasonable: No Dryer for a Week

A dryer is something that I grew up with in California, and I didn’t ever imagine that one could go without it. How else would you dry your clothes? Well in Europe, and in Sweden, drying clothes one doesn’t necessarily use a drier. Usually you hang them to dry outside when the weather is nice, … Read more

Another Swedish Witch

A Swedish Easter

The Swedish word for Easter – Påsk – has it’s origin from the hebrew “Pesach” meaning “Passover”. In Sweden it is considered to be a christian holiday but have, in reality, become a mix of chirstian and old folklore traditions.An example of this is Easter budles of birchtwigs that we nowadays decorate with feathers of … Read more

“Nationalmuseum”

Letter from Stockholm…

In Stockholm, we are waiting for spring to arrive. It’s quite cold for being the second half of March and I think almost everybody is longing for the sun to warm our frozen limbs. Usually, we get some warmth when the sun starts to rise higher and higher on the sky moving towards midsummer. This … Read more

gripsholm

Swedish American Line

In 1963 my mother left her home in Sweden for the first time and traveled to the US aboard the Kungsholm, one of the elegant passenger ships of the Swedish American Line (SAL). Now, fifty years later, the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia has mounted an exhibit about the SAL. Last week my mom … Read more

Knapp

When Sweden Was A Superpower

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

islandskerries

Set in Stone

I’ve always loved rocks – even before I could say the word properly. When I was just over a year old, my Morfar visited from Sweden. There’s a picture of us – a man in a dark overcoat and a poof of white hair, and me, a rosy-cheeked toddler in white tights and a powder … Read more

Folke Filbyter II

Bloodshed, Intrigues And Oppression

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