9 October – 10 October
Some Swedish myths

Myth one: - Swedes are universally blond and gorgeous. Well perhaps we have been in the wrong places at the wrong times? Blond? - Not all that often. Gorgeous? Rarely. It has to be said that Norway seems to have retained far more of the Viking – Nordic stock than Sweden. Not that diversity in a population is a bad thing, but it can dilute what has traditionally been seen as the classic “Scandinavian look”.

Myth two: Sweden is expensive. Depends on the value of your currency! When we arrived, our AUD was worth 5.7 SEK. At that rate, Sweden was far cheaper than Norway and Denmark. Beer - the only real international comparison! - in Sweden, is about half Norway's prices. Most other costs, food, transport and entry fees seem much the same as at home. However, the financial crisis of the last week has driven our dollar down by 30% so things are a bit 'out of whack' at the moment.

Myth three: Sweden is all clean lines and design perfect like in an IKEA product promotion. Not at all. Grot and Grunge are just as “in” as in most other places in the world. The air is clean and the environment is probably far cleaner than most of Europe. But cities have the same degree of graffiti and grunge as anywhere else. Dress sense falls far short of chic. Trakky daks are not uncommon in the cities. Relaxed this may be, but haute couture it is not.
However, it is not all negative. Far from it!

The Scandinavians do great open air museums. Today we went to Skansen, the world's first open-air museum, opened in 1891. It is touted as Sweden in miniature as it contains sample houses, summer houses and farmsteads from all over Sweden. There is also a small zoo. Very well done. We have also been impressed by the museums and the old parts of towns. And the people have been so friendly and helpful to us poor mono-linguals. And let's not forget Gus, the very friendly bloke who has rented us this place, plus the very accommodating person who has supplied us with wireless internet for the the last four nights! in Sweden – whoever they may be?

We should also mention, and thank, Ikea which has been used by many of our rental landlords to furnish/supply our houses with everything from taps to toilet-paper holders. What would Scandinavia and the world be without the ORLAV shelving system or the MONIJEI throw rug?

We leave Stockholm tomorrow on one of our 'forced drives'. 700 kms at full motorway speed to Copenhagen.