Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When you can't find a bar in an out-of-the-way
place, head for the local hotel - but be prepared to
pay for the privilege. Bar
opening hours
are elastic,
and drinking-up time is generally some time after
midnight.
Smoking
is banned in all of Sweden's
restaurants, bars, cafés and nightclubs.
sitcoms. On all the channels, foreign programmes
are in their original language, which makes for easy
viewing; SVT1 and SVT2 show a lot of excellent BBC
documentaries and comedy programmes.
On the
radio
, you'll find pop and rock music on
P3 and classical music on P2 - all operated by state
broadcaster, Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio;
W
sr.se
for frequencies). You'll also find
news in English
courtesy of Radio Sweden (Swedish Radio's interna-
tional arm;
W
radiosweden.org) broadcast nationally
on P2, weekdays at 3pm. Its English-language
current affairs programmes about Sweden can be
heard weekdays in Stockholm on 89.6MHz FM, too,
and are also available as podcasts.
The media
Stockholm is the centre of the Swedish
media world. All national radio and
television stations are broadcast from
the capital, and the country's four main
daily newspapers are also based there.
However, every region or city also has its
own newspaper, for example Göteborgs-
posten in Gothenburg or Norrbottens
tidning in Lapland. In remote parts of the
country, particularly in the north, these
local media really come into their own; in
winter, people depend on them for
accurate and up-to-date information on
everything from local political machina-
tions to snow depths in the vicinity.
Festivals
Swedish festivals are for the most part
organized around the seasons. Most
celebrations are lively events, as Swedes
are great party people - once the beer
begins to flow. The highlight of the year
is the Midsummer festival, when the
whole country gets involved, and wild
parties last well into the early hours. The
date of Midsummer's Day varies from
year to year but is the Saturday closest to
the actual summer solstice.
Newspapers
Assuming you don't read Swedish, you can keep in
touch with world events by buying
English-
language newspapers
in the major towns and
cities, sometimes on the day of issue, more usually
the day after. Municipal libraries across the country
often have good selections of foreign broadsheets
but they can sometimes be a little out of date. The
main Swedish papers are
Dagens Nyheter
and
Svenska Dagbladet
and the tabloids,
Expressen
and
Aftonbladet.
You may also come across
Metro
, a free
newspaper available at train and tube stations,
which has lots of “what's on” information; its listings
are in Swedish only, but will be comprehensible
enough if you don't speak the language.
MAJOR FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
Valborgsmässoafton
(April 30). Walpurgis Night. One of the most
important festivals in Sweden, heralding the beginning of spring with
bonfires and songs.
Labour Day
(May 1). A none-too-thrilling marching day for the
workers' parties.
Swedish National Day
(June 6). In existence since 1983, though a
bit of a damp squib even though it's now a public holiday; worthy
speeches are delivered in the evening and the king often puts in an
appearance at Skansen in Stockholm.
Midsummer
(the Fri & Sat between June 20-26). The biggest and
best celebration anywhere in Sweden, with festivities centred around the
maypole, an old fertility symbol, which is erected at popular gatherings
across the country. The maypole is raised in June because it's often still
snowing in northern Sweden in May. There's much dancing and drinking
into the night - and severe hangovers the next morning.
Crayfish parties
(throughout Aug). Held in the August moonlight across
the country to say a wistful farewell to the short Swedish summer.
Competitions are often held to establish the season's best and tastiest crayfish.
Surströmming
(late Aug). In coastal areas of northern Sweden,
particularly along the High Coast, parties are held at which people eat
surströmming
(see p.263), a foul-smelling fermented Baltic herring
which is something of an acquired taste - though a quintessentially
Swedish experience.
TV and radio
Swedish TV
won't take up much space on your
postcards home. There are two state channels, SVT1
and SVT2, operated by Sveriges Television
(SVT ),
worth watching if only for the wooden in-vision
continuity announcers. TV3 is a pretty dire cable
station, and Sweden's only terrestrial commercial
station is the somewhat downmarket TV4. TV5 is a
cheesy cable channel available in most hotels that
seems to show nothing but a string of American
