Kingdom
Capital: Stockholm
Area: 441 000 km2
Population: 9,5 millions
Population density/km2: 22
Member of the EU since: 1995
National holiday: June 6th
National anthem: Du gamla du fria du fjallhoga Nord
- Sverige (Sweden) means the kingdom of the Svear (principle people occupying the country in 800 AD)
- Nobel was an industrialist who invented dynamite. He left his fortune to create the prize that bears his name.
- 20% of men take parental leave for the birth of ther child.
- In 1967, Swedish motorists changed overnight from driving on the left to driving on the right.
- Saint Lucia is celebrated on 13th December in Sweden and symbolises light. The girl chosen to represent her carries coffee, saffron rolls and cinnamon and ginger biscuits.
- The Swedes celebrate the summer solstice by dancing around a cross bedecked with garlands (Midsommar).
- Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Langstrump) is a much-loved children's character.
- More than one million Swedes are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.
ABBA, IKEA, Absolut Vodka, meatballs, little red cottages, Pippi Longstocking, Vikings and the midnight sun, thank Sweden for all of it. In terms of cities, check out Gothenburg, Uppsala and the capital Stockholm.
Hotel Woodpecker, Vasteras
The Woodpecker is less a hotel, more a glorified treehouse. It is 13m up an oak tree in the central park of Vasteras and consists of a single room with just a single bed (so it is a tight squeeze for couples). There is a kitchen and a veranda with a hammock. Thankfully, there is also a toilet because, once you are up, you won't be able to get down for some time, gusts climb to the room via a ladder which is removed at night and meals are served using a basket and pulley.
www.uhotw.com
