Category Archives: Social

Americans love Stockholm!

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Greetings, readers!  What a beautiful summer it’s been in Stockholm.  After a long and harsh winter, we have finally gotten our due.  Thank you, weather gods…

First up – I’ve updated my most popular blog post – the one about buying an apartment in Stockholm!  If you’re interested, take a look – the updates are at the bottom of the page: http://trulyswedish.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/buying-an-apartment-in-stockholm/

My college buddies Scott and Ty visisted me in Stockholm at the beginning of July.  They’ve never been to Stockholm before and I thought it was fitting that after six years of being here, it was time for them to visit.  Ty lives in Pasadena and works in Hollywood and Scott works at an accounting firm in Sacramento. Continue reading →

Making new friends and Swedish Midsummer

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What a spring so far!  I’ve been working hard in Stockholm but also did a decent bit of traveling around the world both for work and pleasure.  And of course, I’ve been enjoying every (warm) moment of the spring. I hope all of you have been enjoying the weather equally much I have been!

I thought this time around I’d post about two things: 1) a recent trip I took to the US, and 2) the Swedish midsummer festivities this year.  These two things, located on two different continents, really highlighted how Swedish I feel when I’m in the US and how American I feel when I’m in Sweden.

I recently traveled to California and Oregon for 3 wonderful weeks of vacation.  I went to the wedding of one of my oldest friends in San Diego, my sister’s medical school graduation in San Francisco, and visited my friends Josh and Kellee and their adorable son Judah in Portland, Oregon. Continue reading →

The Swedish solution to a Sober Grad Night

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Glad Midsommar!  I just got back from a beautiful wedding out in Ljusterö in the Stockholm archipelago.  My friends Tobias Björkgren and Caroline Åslund (now Björkgren also!) was married on June 22, 2012 under a may pole in front of all of their family and friends.

I hadn’t blogged in a while, so I figured it was high time for an update.  Today I will talk about an interesting thing that high school graduates do in Sweden to celebrate their successes.

For those of you who are American or are familiar with the high school graduation process in the US, you might recognize the term “Sober Grad Night.”  Continue reading →

Hot lunches and food stamps

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Today we had a visitor from our Amsterdam office.  He is planning to transfer to the Stockholm office in August 2011 so he wanted to come and check out the city, the office, his future colleagues, etc.

Kenneth in Amsterdam 2008

Kenneth in Amsterdam

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), Mother Nature decided to unleash a snowstorm on Stockholm today.

We took him to lunch and he asked a few questions about how the work culture was like in Stockholm.  It’s always nice to get new people in the office because it reminds me how I’ve become Truly Swedish – things that foreigners find interesting or curious don’t even faze me anymore.  The topic at lunch?  Hot lunches and rikskuponger, which I fondly call “food stamps.”

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Att fira jultid med glögg! / Celebrating Christmas with glögg!

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Ahhhhh… the Christmas season.  There is fresh snow on the ground, the air is fresh and crisp, and the wonderful smell of firewood burning in the fireplace lingers outside.  (By the way, that’s one of my favorite “smells” of this season!)  How best to celebrate this cozy season than with glögg, the Swedish version of mulled wine?  I was introduced to glögg my first year in Stockholm and have since thrown a glögg party every year, just like any truly Swedish person would do.

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Finland Ferry: The Verdict

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I’ve done it.  I’ve gone on the Finland cruise and survived. It was a #TrulySwedish experience, that’s for sure!

If you read my other post, then you would remember that Josh and Kellee were going on the cruise yesterday.  I left out a key fact that I and some other of Josh’s friends would also be going.  I left this out because it was meant to be a surprise for Josh, and who knows if he was going to read my blog post (he didn’t).  Anyway, I’m back and this is what I found.

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Finland Ferry: Myth or Truth?

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In Stockholm, there is a truly Swedish activity that everyone makes fun of – taking the ferry overnight to Finland.  Also known as the booze cruise, it’s an opportunity for the lone cougar to attack her young 25 year-old prey, or for the young male cub to pounce on a more mature tigress.  The possibilities are endless.  They’ve even done a reality TV show on the cruise.  Yep, this is the Tallink/Silja Line ferry to Finland.

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Why Swedes leave the last piece of fikabröd…

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Everyone does it.  You’re enjoying a great fika with your friends or colleagues and you keep eyeing that last piece of fikabröd.  You look at your friends, and they’re all busy in conversation but really, they’re thinking the same thing as you.  They all want it, but no one wants to reach for it.

Guest writer Karin Leman (@le_karin) discusses why it is #TrulySwedish to leave the last piece of fikabröd, but more interestingly, why we should all stop doing it!

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