Even in summer the weather can be gloomy. The day is long, very long, and sometimes it rains, even heavily. But oh what a beautiful city Stockholm is! Just imagine when the sun shines and it does, mind you. Ray Bugeja just spent five days there.
A huge billboard on the side of the road not far from Arlanda Airport carried a positive message: The future looks good. Somebody decided to touch it up and inserted the word “still” in brackets to make the message read: The future (still) looks good. That is a feeling many of the two million or so people who live in the Swedish capital must certainly agree with.
Titling the article North Star, The Economist recently reported that “unlike much of the rest of Europe, Sweden is roaring ahead”. Having been there – my first time, I have to confess to my shame – I cannot but agree.
Evidently, Sweden has a lot going its way. British holidaymakers have just voted Swedes as the best-looking people in the world, followed by those in Brazil in second place and the Italians in third. I must admit I am not too much in agreement about this.
To me Sweden is the country of Alfred Nobel, Abba, Bjorn Borg and, going back, quite a few years back, in fact, in my life, when still a teenager, a haven of stunningly exquisite girls. I saw none of them, though, but that may be the result of my age.
I find in Stockholm all that I ever thought Sweden represented: civic pride, discipline, organisation, cleanliness, safety awareness, good manners, academic achievement...
It was not always like that, though. Until 1940, or thereabouts, Sweden was what a guide described as an emigration country. But then things began to change for the better and foreigners started settling there, mainly coming from Finland but also from Latin America. Nowadays, the guide proudly proclaimed, Sweden is the most multicultural country in Europe.
“From an education point of view, though not necessarily financially, this is a very wealthy country,” the guide explained. Well, she may be wrong there because Sweden registered an annual growth rate of up to 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the number of people registering for work is on the decline, the Budget is registering a surplus this year and public debt is likely to go below 40 per cent of GDP.
Though welfare is generous, Sweden has been careful not to allow excesses. True, tax is high but so is income. Parents get the chance to be close to their children as they grow up and those who would like to study are incentivised. Indeed, so attractive are the incentives offered that many people opt to take up studies even when they retire and in Sweden the retirement age now stands at 67.
Swedes enjoy the outdoors
The high standard of living is there for everyone to see, across all age brackets. They work hard but evidently lay a lot of stress on quality leisure time. It is estimated that 80 per cent of Swedes own a summer house apart from their main residence.
One thing that strikes you in Stockholm, possibly across the whole of Sweden, is the way the Swedes enjoy the outdoors. I was there in late June when the weather is mild but it seems the Swedes do not mind spending time outside, come rain or shine... or snow. I could see with my own eyes infants running about in their warm raincoats and boots in the grounds of their kindergarten and in public parks, of which Stockholm has 38. We were assured by the guide that happens even in winter.
And it is obvious the Swedes consider the outdoors as an extension of their house as can be judged by the state of cleanliness. The guide noted that Stockholm is considered to be the cleanest capital in the world together with Reykjavik, in Iceland.
Stockholm is actually made up of 14 islands connected together via 57 bridges. The island of Stadsholmen, where the city was founded as a fortification in the 12th century, hosts Gamla stan, the old town, which is reputed to be Europe’s largest and best-preserved mediaeval city centre.
On the island of Djurgården lies Skansen, the most popular tourist destination in Sweden. The museum, founded in 1891, shows what life was like in Sweden in earlier times.
Also on Djurgården one finds the Vasa Museum where the 230-foot warship that should have been King Gustav Adolf’s pride, playing a major role in the Swedish Navy, can be admired in the knowledge that for 333 years she lay on the bottom of Stockholm harbour. She sank just minutes after her launch in 1628 and was salvaged in 1961. It is truly something to behold.
On one side of the city is the lake and on the other lies the Baltic Sea. It is said that, to prove how clean the lake is, during an official function, a senior member of the municipality – I am not sure whether it was actually the mayor – emptied the glass he was holding of its contents, whatever it was, and scooped water from the lake, drinking it. “This is how clean our lake is,” he proclaimed to applause.
Speaking of drink, a gadget in the driver’s cabin on all the coaches we boarded caught my eye and, unable to contain my curiosity, I asked about it and was told it is in fact a breathalyser. The driver has to blow in it before starting the engine and if s/he would have consumed alcohol beyond the legal limit the engine would simply not start! Transport Malta, please note.
Motor vehicles are as popular in Stockholm as boats in view of the many islands and that is why some people refer to it as the Venice of the North.
Boats of all shapes and sizes – including ferries and cruise ships (about eight luxury liners call there every day) – are part of the sights of Stockholm. It is possibly the same elsewhere in Sweden, which has about 1,600 kilometres of coastline and many islands, though I am not sure exactly how many. After all, it all depends on the definition of what makes an island.
Our guide told us there are about 32,000 islands, adding that Sweden kept rising 44 millimetres a year since the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago.
All this paints the country in three outstaning colours: The sea, the rivers and the lakes are the colour blue referred to in the heading. The green is, of course, the vegetation. Sweden’s thick forests consist of spruce, fir and pine trees and, in the south, one can also find beech, elm, maple, and oak trees.
The Falu red is the paint that gives so much character to cottages and timber structures scattered all over Sweden but mainly in the countryside and the central regions. They can be seen in the capital too.
Iron pigments are used to produce the calcamine paint, which is very effective in preserving wood. It got its name from a copper mine located in Falun, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the Dalarna region in central Sweden.
The sights in Stockholm are many and varied. Just to have a brief idea there are 70 museums and more than 100 art galleries.
The road to Stockholm
Scandinavian SAS and Ryanair operate flights to Stockholm.
Scandinavian SAS flies to Arlanda airport every Sunday and Thursday and Skavsta airport is served by Ryanair every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
A spokesman for SAS says the airline is pleased with the route, noting that Malta is becoming increasingly popular among Swedish and Scandinavian tourists.
The airline has noted that Stockholm is a very popular summer destination too, which Maltese travellers are discovering.
The author travelled to Stockholm as guest of Malta International Airport.