They are ordinary people but...

Sweden... Surely you all know this country, this beautiful country, but what exactly do you know about it? The most expensive country? One of the most “productive” countries in the world’s music life? One of the coldest countries? No light, almost always night? What are your associations with Sweden? The country which brought us such superstars as Greta Garbo, ABBA, Karlsson? The motherland of Volvo, Absolut Vodka, IKEA, Electrolux?

I’ve been to Sweden three times: twice in winter and once in summer. No doubt the best time to visit Sweden is summer, from May to late July, to be more exact. It can be unexpectedly warm at that time there, warmer than in Moscow. By the way, due to the Gulf Stream, the climate is quite mild, so in Stockholm, for instance, even in winter, it can be about zero, while in Malmo and Gothenburg it can be 5-7 degrees above zero. Though I must say that the Swedish themselves are not satisfied with such a climate: they say it’s too sleety. But maybe you enjoy autumn leaves, red, yellow, orange, green, shuddering in the wind? Then Sweden is the best country for you, too, for 54% of the territory is covered with woods.

But what about the Swedish character? Who are they, those so-productive-and-creative Swedes? I’ve been trying hard to discover it, and – don’t be surprised! – found out that they’re probably the most mysterious nation! This idea comes from their being not that talkative, so that the only fact about them which we can absolutely be sure of, is their being quite reserved and people, never deceiving the others. And why not? They don’t talk much, so they don’t have so many opportunities to express their feelings and to promise you “the sun and the stars”... And if they don’t promise, they don’t cheat!

Well, all I’m going to describe now, goes by my own experience (since Sweden is my dream country and I was lucky enough to get acquainted with quite many Swedes), so the following article can’t be taken as something serious and as something to rely upon. The subject of the Swedish character is rather controversial. As you know, so many men, so many minds.

Let’s assume it’s winter. Evening – let’s say 5 p.m. Quite dark outside already... What can a Swede do? Read? A good idea, but with the thought that the Swedish are one of the most reading nations, what are the chances that they haven’t read all the books up? Anyway, every morning during breakfast every Swede manages to read 3 (!) morning newspapers with the latest news. And I should say, I should never have thought that so much happens in the world every day! Actually, the papers are rather thick (some 30 pages) and very informative: in most newspapers you can find information on cultural, sport and political life. And, most important, you shouldn’t be afraid to buy an “extra” paper: there’ll be described absolutely different events in any of them!

But let’s get back to where we started. It’s evening, and they have just returned from work. If it’s not weekend yet, they are sure to look through the TV programme. They don’t watch anything interesting, as we see it, they watch everything connected with Sweden, no matter what it is: whether it is something about nature, or something from history, or something political – they won’t miss a chance to learn more about their motherland. Which says about their patriotic mood. A Swede can be absolutely uninterested in football, but if tonight the Swedes play against the Dutch, you won’t be able to drag him away from the TV set. He sticks to the TV screen and, waving the Swedish flags, shouts and cheers his team. By the way, most Swedes are very sports-oriented. Most of them are either former hockey players or, at least, hockey fans. But another prominent peculiarity of a Swede is his ability to watch TV programmes “no-one-knows-why”. It means, that every Saturday and Sunday they watch different shows, such as our “Russkoje loto” or “Sportloto”. Why? Well, it’s the greatest riddle for them, too! They agree that such shows give them really nothing, they are “meaningless”, especially with the thought that not so many Swedes try such things: they are too careful and can’t risk that much! Yet, they sit and stare at the screen thinking of nobody-knows-what. It’s not typical of the Swedish, thus being very odd: they always try to find sense in everything they do.

On weekends they have a wonderful opportunity to feel the best side of life. They go to pubs, night clubs, restaurants and so on. Dance, drink, have fun. They are capable to forget all the problems, and to rest.

But what if it’s summer? What should a Swede do then? Thousands of cafes which are open only in summer, welcome them with ice-cream and juice... It’s quite common among the Swedish to have lunch there. Especially if it’s a sunny day. Yes, if it’s sunny, nothing can keep them inside. Really, if a Swede stays at home, it is considered to be extremely strange, and he is looked at with great astonishment and mistrust: what could prevent him from going out in such a beautiful day? Perhaps it comes from the realization of the fact that it’s probably one of a few sunny days, and one shouldn’t miss an opportunity of catching sunshine! One shouldn’t breathe in the stuffy air of the flat (though many still can’t explain in what way the air in the room differs from that in the street).

So if you want to become part of the Swedish life, you should bear it in mind. Then certainly one more rule, which very often hurts us, Russian ladies. Though it’s commonly spread in whole Europe, still the Swedes have some special attitude towards it. They’ll never let you sit, say, in a bus. You can get very angry with them because of that, but please don’t: they’re too afraid to hurt you by letting you sit down. If a Swedish girl is offered a seat in a bus, she’ll get confused for she’ll be sure that you’ve found that something is wrong with her, that you see in her some defect which can’t let her stand the whole way. The same explanation can be given when you yourself will have to open the door to come in. Maybe not a very good one, but if a Swedish gentleman shows his “care” for a Swedish lady, i.e. lets her sit down or opens doors for her, he can be easily slapped in his face.

And the last but not the least rule. Don’t “touch” Swedes. They remain “closed” for you as long as they want it, and, as I noticed, they don’t hurry to open. They fight desperately not to let you in into their world. They are very kind and are always ready to help, but that doesn’t mean that they are your close friends and that their souls are open wide now. And this goes on. And on. And on. Until they are sure that you don’t mean to hurt them, that you’re not “dangerous” for them. And then they become the most devoted, the most faithful friends you could ever imagine. If they decide that you’re “worthy”, nothing can help you: they’ll give you support even if you don’t need it. They’ll give you their help even if you don’t ask them to. But you’ll never regret it. Once you deserved trust of a Swede, you’ll be followed and chased all your life. And be sure: they’ll never give you up, and will never betray you. But be ready to wait: the process of this their “realization”, in other words, the period for them to realize how precious you are, will take a long, long time.