As I have finally started to travel around a bit and begun to slowly feed my wolves of wanderlust, I thought it would be a good idea to capture my little naive experiences in the form of notes here. Starting off with the one that is most fresh in my mind and also the one that I have been looking forward to for a long time as almost everything I read, saw or heard of this country has been utterly fascinating. So here’s gist of what I discovered during my week long dive into the heart of Scandinavia in search for an answer to what is it that makes Sweden so fascinating?
The food? All the swe-dishes (clever pun, proud, no regrets) that I have tried till date have been so satisfyingly good. The flavour is long-lasting, the sauces are tingling and the sweets are unputdownable. I have had home-cooked food, street side hole-in-the-walls and the high end restaurants, and they were all so distinctively good that you just don’t want to talk to someone until you have finished your food.
That’s Semla, a dessert popular during February. That almond paste tho!
The surrounding? Almost everything that you see in Sweden can be captured and made into your desktop wallpaper. The views are truly breathtaking and it is wonderful to see a perfect harmony between ancient heritage, modern design and an unabashed love for being surrounded by nature. Their concern for the environment is also apparent in their stance on energy conservation and efforts to reduce carbon footprint.
That’s a frozen lake.
The culture? There are many aspects of Swedish culture that I find appealing, but perhaps one of the most interesting is the one they call Jantalagen, which is basically a mentality that discourages celebration of individual achievements and promotes community spirit. The effects of this can be seen in everything, from the way they dress to their office hierarchy.
I can in fact go on for quite a bit listing down several more fascinating facets: the importance given to health and fitness, the equality in society, the diminishing wealth gap, the free education and healthcare. But if I really take a moment and think about what is it in particular that makes Sweden truly great, that answer comes almost effortlessly.
It’s the people. It really is. Every Swedish person that I have met till date, without exception, has been nothing but incredibly kind to me. They are warm, welcoming and wildly refreshing as the winter winds. They are also very genuine. They don’t sugar coat things or throw false compliments, so every time they express concern it feels like they really care. They’re are nice to the point that you start to question whether they have ulterior motives, but then discover nothing but true innocence in their actions.
Sweden’s finest.
So yes, here’s to the people of Sweden for making me feel mysigt with their gestures and mumsfillibaba with their gastros. Tack så mycket.
Karthik
Feb 2016