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What comes to mind when you think of Sweden?

Posted by KtotheIMMY • 9/16/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: cultures, europe, expats, scandinavia, sweden, travel

As an American expat living and working in Sweden, I'm curious to know what first comes to mind when other people think of the Swedes. What comes to mind when YOU think of Sweden?

User Comments

9/16/08

blogonsmog

Blonds

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9/16/08

CrystalRaven

blonds

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9/16/08

jaffermaniar

Ikea

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9/16/08

poisonapplesauce

hot blond guys

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9/16/08

SweetViolet

snow

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9/16/08

carlgalloway

ABBA!!!

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9/16/08

carlgalloway

And "Sven from Sveedin"

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9/16/08

CrystalRaven

@carl lmaoooooooo!
oh I love ikea! and swedish meatballs!!!

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9/16/08

voodooKobra

For some reason I think of candy. Wait, that's Switzerland.

Uh, shit.

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9/16/08

WilDip

Singles.

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9/16/08

Arashmania

Most of my childhood actually! I was a huge fan of Sweden and loved Ingmar Bergman, Max von Sydow, writers Lars Gustafsson, Par Lagerkvist, Selma Lagerlof, the tennis-player Stefan Edberg, and I even tried to teach myself some Swedish!

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9/16/08

calais50

Shy people, blondes, vikings, snow, swedish fish, smorgasbord, tall people, social equality, socialism, high standard of living, hot mineral baths

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9/16/08

wehireu

Excellent technology, volvo, very well done alternative energy programs, blonds, beer, snow, cell phones, ikea furniture, forests with trees. I also think of depression a common problem there because of cold and winter.

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9/16/08

faithsju243

Tall blondes frolicking in piles of snow

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1. 9/16/08
  
  WilDip
  
  Heh.
9/16/08

aningeniousname

Ex England football manager Sven Goran "We did good first half, not so good second half" Erikkson.
So I'm afraid I only have Negative Swedish thoughts, which I guess is quite Swedish and the reason why they have such a high suicide rate.

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9/16/08

ernestlobo

Opeth... they're my favourite band and they come from Stockholm, Sweden
Then again, many great metal bands come from there.

And of course, Ikea...

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9/16/08

Manictastic

Surströmming which I never ate coz I think it looks nasty

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9/16/08

ThriftShopRomantic

Guitarist Ynwie Malmsteen?

Oh, and also my grandfather, who came from Sweden.

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1. 9/16/08
  
  aningeniousname
  
  Now you have said that I will always think of you with the same accent as the Frances Mcdormand character in Fargo.
2. 9/16/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Heh- well, you CAN-- except I'm from New Jersey. And we say things like "dawg" and "cawfee" instead of "ohhh yaaaa, surrree."
3. 9/16/08
  
  aningeniousname
  
  Oh yeah that New Jersey accent is the one all the Mafia have, is there a Swedish mafia? The coooostra noooostra ja!
4. 9/16/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Heh- I think we need to stop sharing U.S. TV programs with the rest of the world. Might be better for all of us, globally.
9/16/08

Sway

Death Metal

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9/16/08

Onlineguru

Beautiful Stockholm

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1. 9/17/08
  
  KtotheIMMY
  
  Indeed! I take it you've been here before
9/16/08

fated82

ikea and advance and safe...well that's the impression of sweden for me. Howwas it like?

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9/16/08

MidwestMom

I'm shocked! No one has said The Swedish Bikini Team or the Ice Hotel!

Shocked!

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1. 9/16/08
  
  legbamel
  
  I was just thinking that perhaps I'm the only one who remembers the Bikini Team. I'm glad I'm not the only one old enough.
9/16/08

WilDip

Beowulf!

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9/16/08

chrisso

Blonds, forests, nordic skiing, naturists, people who like to drink.

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9/16/08

bradhart

a really bad case of food poisoning on my last visit.

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9/16/08

MidwestMom

Bjorn Borg, with a wooden racket and that fantastic hair.

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9/16/08

RTBjr73

Swedish Porn...that's what comes to mind

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1. 9/16/08
  
  MidwestMom
  
  As I said, Bjorn Borg.
  
  (ha. just kidding.)
9/16/08

LGramlich

My childhood penpal, whose name I don't even remember anymore.

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9/16/08

Shiley

Jodi from Full House word association is how my mind works.

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9/16/08

lordiwanttobewhole

blondes & IKEA!

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9/16/08

freeatlast

Minnesota, ancestors, and ikea

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9/16/08

fstasu

My paternal Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Roxette, Europe, Ace of Base, Abba, amongst other great music that comes from there. But the first thing that comes to mind is, the land of the midnight sun.

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9/16/08

Theresa111

Blond haired babes, families and snow.

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9/16/08

ooozzzie

Visiting Stockholm, t'was good, but expensive!

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9/16/08

dosox

football...... i don't know much about sweden

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9/16/08

DVS

Fantastic ikea-shopping blonde birds with legs that go on forever. That....and Vikings.

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9/16/08

SanfordAndersson

My brother lived in Malmo for his senior year of high school. He taught me how to say some swears in Swedish. Also, I learned that Sweden is the...

• 2nd most developed country in the world for Information Communication and Technology.
(World Economic Forum 2006 Report)
• 2nd most green country in the world.
(Yale Environmental Performance 2006)
• 3rd most competitive country in the world.
(World Economic Forum Report 2006)
• 4th most innovative economy in the world.
(Innovation Report - Economist Intelligence Unit 2007)
• 5th best country in the world to live in.
(Human Development Index 2006)
• 7th happiest country in the world.
(Eurekalert Press Release 2006)
• 7th most peaceful and safest country in the world.
(Global Peace Index 2007)
• 10th most globalized country in the world.
(Foreign Policy Magazine 2006)
And last but most importantly,
• #1 most attractive country in the world.
(Traveler’s Digest 2006)

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1. 3/09/09
  
  thetravellerreturns
  
  also has the highest suicide rate in the worldand huge drinking problems.
9/16/08

DrowseyMonkey

Swiss Bank Accounts, the Alps ... the hills are alive with the sound of music.

Was that movie even in Sweden?

omg...that's switzerland isn't it?

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1. 9/16/08
  
  clioandme
  
  Austria
2. 9/16/08
  
  DrowseyMonkey
  
  Damn
  
  hahahaha!
  
  Even wrong on my second guess. So glad I came on here to show how little I know about the world.
9/16/08

clioandme

www.blogcatalog.com/user/csiunatc

(He argues a lot in support of McCain on the political boards here.)

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1. 9/16/08
  
  DrowseyMonkey
  
  lol...that's right he is from Sweden.
9/16/08

thefly

Hot Women

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9/16/08

ttiger

Swedish industrial/gothic metal band ; Deathstars
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly-jMFFjIbM
www.myspace.com/deathstars

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9/16/08

DrowseyMonkey

How about the sweedish chef from the Muppets.

I don't think this is making me look any smarter than my last comments tho.

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9/16/08

LoveIan

Fjords!
And moose.

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9/16/08

lulubelleb

blindingly bright blonde hair

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9/16/08

rmaxwell142

Swedish meatballs! (Yep, I'm hungry right now!)

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9/16/08

RMania

babes

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9/16/08

nursarahlam

definitely Ikea

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9/16/08

furniture27

blondes

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9/16/08

Sebastyne

First thing: "Swedes are gay." (Obviously not true. :D)

Second: "Shut up already." (I lived in Vaasa, Finland, a big portion of my life, and Swedish speaking people of the town sound very loud to a silent Finn. Of course they are Swedish speaking Finns, but that still pops to mind when speaking of Sweden.)

Third: "The damned last 3 seconds!" The Swedish national Ice Hockey team has an annoying habit of scoring as many goals as needed to beat Finns in the gold match of World Championships or Olympics, during the last 3 seconds of the game.

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9/16/08

mariamichelle

One of my best friends named jennifer from high school. She met a man from Sweden and has been living very happily there for over ten years.

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1. 9/17/08
  
  KtotheIMMY
  
  That's awesome! Where about in Sweden does she live?
9/16/08

dsriharsha

Mamma Mia!!

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9/16/08

marlyms

Ace of Base?

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9/17/08

Arcticulates

Mountains, skiing, fresh air, clean, neatness, Tall thin people, bright smiles with white teeth, straight blond hair. Blue eyes. Ice Hotel, Beautiful! Lutefisk, small coffee shops. Expansive land!

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9/17/08

PetLvr

I went to Sweden (rural and stockholm) back in l1996 and I really got a kick out of the gravel stones used in their cement and highway construction. That and the effectiveness of Public transit.

Before that, everybody from Sweden spoke Borq Borq Borq
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcufmQqovUQ

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1. 11/14/08
  
  PetLvr
  
  Actually, can't be sure - but this looks pretty close (road construction)
  twitpic.com/lp5g
9/17/08

ranist22

Snow, cleanliness, alcoholism (isn't it everywhere) natural surroundings and isolated old people(because of a terrible story told to me by somebody who had been there).

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1. 9/17/08
  
  KtotheIMMY
  
  Oooh please tell me the terrible story!!
2. 9/17/08
  
  ranist22
  
  It was a long while back so can't remember cities or the reason this person had for going. He said there were cities of old people just lingering on and nobody used to go and see them. He had gone there ( don't know why) and they didn't want him to leave because they were mad with loneliness. That image was so terrible, that for years I was haunted by the images of people living in comfort and with nobody to talk to.
3. 9/17/08
  
  KtotheIMMY
  
  Ahh well it isn't too far fetched that a place like that exists here. Much of Sweden is pretty uninhabited, so a city of old people out there in the islands and pine forests... well, it would be terrible but perhaps it's out there somewhere
9/17/08

tpvswp

Ericsson mobile phones. Now Sony-Ericsson, but when Ericsson was still Ericsson in the late 90s they made the best mobile phones on the market. Now I wouldn't want one even if they paid me to use one.

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9/17/08

funepets

Tennis - Borg, Willander, etc

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11/14/08

RenegadeFilmSnob

Tall blond people

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11/15/08

Bayho

When I think of Sweeden, I think of vacation (because that's where I want to go). I think of green, green fields, green grass, green moutains. I think of people in green clothing and clogs (not a bad thing), just what I've seen in cartoons and movies. I think of water and a very rustic lifestyle. I also think of cheese and wine. =)

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11/15/08

Hoeno

Instead of answering your question with something like ''Saunas'', I'd just like to say: High five for the fellow cat avatar! ^5 ...But, seriously, saunas.

~Lucy

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11/15/08

jackpayne

Socialism.

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1. 2/15/09
  
  maxisangry
  
  Yeah, but you probably think 'socialism' when someone says 'pogo stick' or 'icehouse.'
  
  Anyway, I had an uncle who used to think 'socialism' when people said those things. He never wore clothes either, and he lived in a big bucket.
12/31/08

marlyms

Abba!

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12/31/08

cjeffrey88

Will the police find my antics more humorous than their American counterparts.

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12/31/08

exit2013

Hair care products and fish.

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12/31/08

LynneaUrania

My name. Although "Linnea" is the preferred spelling there. The Linnea borealis is the national flower of Sweden. It's also called, "Twinflower."

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12/31/08

fczamora

nothing... never ben there anyway.. but its like a swede with a den LOL

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12/31/08

bsilvia

Ikea...

and... how could I get a license to live there?

S

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12/31/08

jeremylong

beautiful people,
blonds,
Ace of Base, Abba
sex

Happy New Year!

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2/15/09

SwasBoss

FIKA

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2/15/09

mikeeessongs

smörgåsbord!
i'm blond

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2/15/09

qelqoth

Wayne's World II.

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2/15/09

maxisangry

Has nobody said meatballs yet?

The funny thing is that I always end up asking that question, no matter what the subject.

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2/15/09

cooltool

The hot chicks , ohh they are so hot , as well as the other Scandinavian women .Scandinavia is pretty hot place but the women there can burn you with one sigh.
And death metal , ABBA , mobile phones , SAAB , VOLVO and the Vikings.
The yellow and blue colors , Erik Edman ect...

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2/15/09

Timmim

meatballs

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2/15/09

MrsBlog

IKEA, Roxette, Emil, Pippi, the charming melodic accent, barefoot walking on the grass, Størebæltsbroen, Bergman's films

p.s. I am Danish.

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2/15/09

UncleBeau

I think of baby vomit poured over warm garbage and splattered on the wall of human embryos and thumb tacks.

thenothingreport.blogspot.com

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1. 3/08/09
  
  kat822
  
  alrighty then
2/15/09

LaMirabelle

IKEA

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2/15/09

trimandtrendy

sorry to be blunt.....porn

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3/08/09

bsilvia

Erik the Viking, movie by Terry Jones

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3/09/09

txtface

Sensible systems... and blondes.

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3/09/09

IntoTheAzureSea

.......................Meat.....................balls..........................

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3/09/09

thetravellerreturns

My girlfriend. I'm going there on thursday.

www.richardsmalley.blogspot.com

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3/09/09

DonaldSwarbrick

SAABS and Ulrika Johnston

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9/08/09

khoustello

ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE TYPIST FROM T.V.A.M.WHO PUSHED A POXY BOOK OF HERS WITH A TITTALATING "STORY" ABOUT BEING" ASSAULTED" BY ANOTHER CELEBRITY.SHE KEPT THE NAME OUT OF THE BOOK KNOWING THERE WOULD BE A "SPECULATION FRENZY",WHICH WOULD GENERATE PUBLICITY AND THEREFORE SALES.
THIS UNTALENTED CELEB YOU SAY IS SWEDISH?WELL THE SOONER THIS WOMAN IS SERVED WITH A DEPORTATION ORDER THE BETTER.WHAT A PITY STAN THE MAN DIDNT SPEND MORE TIME TEACHING HER MANNERS IN THE BAR IN PARIS.

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