Perhaps Sweden’s greatest export is its culture and its modernity. Swedish design, music, art and literature are admired the world over. That Sweden punches way above its weight, historically and in modern times, in terms of the impact of its culture around the globe is without doubt.Take Björn Borg’s tennis game: stoical, rock solid, with a single-minded attitude and never-say-die tilt. Perhaps descriptive of Swedes as people. But instead of analysing Swedes perhaps we should just enjoy and celebrate the sheer showbiz of ABBA, the functionality and aesthetic of Swedish design, the peace prize of dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and the Swedish folklore-inspired works of Astrid Lindgren. And much, much more. As Ingemar Stenmark, man-of-few-words skiing legend, replied to a sports commentator’s criticism of one of his performances: “Try it yourself”. So why don’t you try Sweden?
ABBA
Photo: Topfoto/Scanpix/imagebank.sweden.se
Henning Mankell’s ten crime fiction books, featuring Swedish detective Kurt Wallander, come alive in the alleyways, streets, eateries and watering holes of Ystad, Sweden’s southernmost town.
Södermalm, where most of the intrigue in the Millenium series takes place, used to be a blue-collar area of Stockholm and is one of fourteen islands that make up the capital city.
If you’d like to discover the Sweden of today, knowing something about its past is a good place to start. And what a past it is.
One of the biggest exporters of music in the world. The Hives, The Cardigans, Moneybrother, Soundtrack of Our Lives, Mando Diao, ABBA, Ace of Base, Roxette… the list never seems to end!
Castles, palaces, fortresses, estates, manor houses, country houses, mansions and other dwellings of bygone days. Sweden has all of them aplenty the length and breadth of the country, in all their various forms, functions and purposes.
When it comes to the stage, Stockholm has few equals in Northern Europe. The city is also known for it's wide variety of private theatres and often independent experimental stages.
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Suddenly appears in front of your eyes, after you come through the main entrance, a long and green hill, the sun rising and in the top a lonely granite cross as arms wide open, inviting you to leave... »
