Stockholmies

What living in Sweden has taught me about the items sold at IKEA

Before moving to Sweden, I loved IKEA.  Sure it was gigantic and overwhelming in a lot of ways, but there also seemed to be some sort of order in it, some neat, well-organized spaces within it, lined and stacked that would make my things neat and well-organized.  Perhaps I'm letting my inner neurotic organizer show, but there it is.

Imagine my delight when I discovered a free bus in Stockholm to the biggest IKEA around, that on the way back dropped off only a few blocks from my apartment.  Maybe only Jody can understand the sheer joy here...and Dave, because it meant that I didn't need any help carrying things back home.  The shelves and layout were similar to the US IKEAs, and I was surprised to find that the textile patterns and options were nearly identical too.

Enough about how much I love IKEA or the Swedish interior design aesthetic (which extends far beyond IKEA); instead I want to share some insights...what I learned about IKEA by living in Stockholm.  Ever notice how the display areas in IKEA feel like miniature rooms?  Well, that's because apartments tend to be small and well-organized. We're currently apartment hunting and a one bedroom apartment in the city, at least what we've seen averages under 50 sq meters.  It's pretty close to many of the spaces that we've seen, but is definitely not true everywhere.  And on to some specifics...

Where are the fitted sheets and the king sized duvet covers?  Well, we haven't seen them here in Sweden.  The first thing we noticed in our apartment was that the bed was made with two single comforters. A past discussion thread on thelocal covered this.  As for fitted sheets, I haven't seen them.  The only thing that explains their absence in the US IKEAs is their absence here in Sweden.  I guess we're expected to sleep without pulling the sheet out from the nicely tucked in corners.

Back in San Diego and in Boston I purchased the big bag of tea lights and box of candles - there were so many and I wondered how on earth I would ever use them.  The candles, which tended to be white or cream, were sold by the few dozen and I never seemed to get through the full pack while living in the States.  Given how dark it gets here, candles are very important.  They light the entrances to storefronts and they line windows up and down the city blocks.  I purchased on bag of tealights thinking that I would, once again, never see the bottom of the bag...but the bottom is fast approaching.  Others have written about the necessity of candles in Sweden as well as the lit star hanging in the window.  

I remember seeing these at IKEA and wondering why they had so many of them.  These sorts of window decorations are standard here - window after window, twinkling either by flame or small bulb.  Once the winter really sets in, I will be sure to take photos.  In the meantime I will perfect my art of nighttime photography so as not to be taken in as a peeping tom. 

I am sure that there are plenty of IKEA things that I have forgotten to mention...send me your curiosities.

Sign-lations Week 8

Is this so bad that it's good?  Thoughts?  Interesting interpretations?

And the obsession continues...

The Local strikes again (1) and again (2).  And this is just two articles in the past week or two with the word penis in the headline.  A closer look at the text of various stories may uncover many more I missed (or perhaps not...though I'm a bit skeptical). 

For those wondering why I am writing this, see this previous post.

Since the earlier post I had some enlightening conversations with a fellow expat only to discover some interesting things about Denmark. 

Warning...NSFW:  The Danes have an interesting tactic to get people to slow down. 

Revisiting the grape doll

So, we still don't know what Sign-lations Week 6 represents, but I saw this last night in a local storefront.  No idea what this is, but inside the store they had some cute clothes (and no grapes).

Sign-lations Week 7

OK, so we had a very low turn-out last week with signlations #6, and frankly I was counting on you guys to help me figure out what this frightening traveling sign is.  I continue to see that thing around the neighborhood and don't know what it is.  Oh well, I guess for now I will go with Mark's interpretation...lots of grapes inside!

So this week's sign-lations is an advertisement we've seen all over bus stops.  Your job, for new readers, is to post a comment with your interpretation of the photo.  This one seems pretty obvious, so we're looking for creative, funny, or completely random interpretations.

Sign-lations Week 6

There's a little bit of background necessary here to explain why the photograph below is this week's sign-lations piece.  I noticed this large illustration long ago, in a different part of the neighborhood, leaning against a building's entrance.  When I left the house to take Zeke on his Sunday walk, I found that the sign had been moved across the street from our apartment.  I don't know if this thing travels, whether it's part of a collection, or what.   Thoughts?

Logistics, part 1

We've heard rumors about the great Swedish healthcare system, mostly from outside of Sweden. So when we moved here we were eager to learn what the system was like and whether the grass was simply just greener and all that. Figuring out where we fit into this system took a long time (and continues to be confusing) so we'll have to get back to healthcare later. 

One of the first things you have to do when you get to Sweden is register with the tax office where you are given a personnummer.  But simply coming to Sweden doesn't get you one of these numbers - you have to be here for at least one year (in other cases you are given a coordination number which has limited benefits, but allows you to open accounts and get an ID).  The identity number, which is similar to a social security number in the United States, is used for everything.  Having such a number makes it easier to open a bank account, get a cell phone, and get cable.  And not only is it helpful, at some places it is mandatory.  The interesting Big Brother aspect to it is that you not only use this number to get accounts but this number is your account number.  When we were opening our bank account the teller asked if I wanted to use my personnummer as my account number and I didn't know how to answer; In the US having your social security number out there like that would be a giant no-no.  So I asked if that was common and she assured me that nearly everyone uses their personnummer as their account number.  This turned out to be the case everywhere.

The identify number does more than just give you a way to open accounts and make it easier for the tax agency to track you, this number also entitles you to an amazing array of benefits.  With a personnummer we are entitled to use the health care system as the Swedish citizens do (this is very new information for us so we are still quite excited and a bit skeptical...we will report back after we try to go in for the first time).  But what about all of the other amazing social benefits that Sweden is known for such as parental leave, housing allowances, and so on?  Simply having a personnummer doesn't guarantee access to these benefits.  That is a more complicated system that we are trying to sort out now, and on Monday we will be heading to the Försäkringskassan (social insurance office) to figure out if the visiting researcher visa I am on makes us eligible for these amazing benefits.  What we have figured out is that if you are employed in Sweden, have a personnummer, and are paid salary (i.e. pay taxes) then you are eligible for these benefits.  It seems that postdocs, like me, are causing some confusion about how best to be classified in their system.  For a long time they were lumped with students, but recently there was a movement to change that, and in combination with the new visiting researcher visa, change their status for social benefits and so on.  If it sounds confusing, it is.

Sign-lations Week 5

They made me do it

Warning: The links and comments below may not be suitable for young children or people prone to blushing.  I hope that we haven't offended any readers (sorry parents).

I have been resisting the temptation to talk about some of the crazy news we read here, but this morning I just couldn't take it anymore.  Dave jokes that they forced my hand, but really they kind of did.

The Local is an online news source bringing Swedish news to English speakers.  In addition to your standard news articles, they have a great discussion section and notice board. Along with the news of politics, the economic crisis, and an extensive lifestyle and events section, they have some great one-liners tucked away in their text.

This morning's last straw which led to this post was from a story about a woman getting pulled over for drunk driving.  The really great thing about this post is the following line: 

"In pleading her case on the side of the road, the 56-year-old woman argued that her driving wasn’t affected because she’d been careful to keep one eye closed to prevent her from seeing double."

Not only does the local print these stories and include this sort of craziness, but this woman actually did this (probably, I guess, if we believe what they write).  In some cases the provocative headline draws you in (see here) but the story isn't nearly as suggestive or exciting.  Then you've got the crazy antics at sporting events, as evidenced here  (the pictures and headlines give you the entire story).  And, this little stroll down my morning coffee ritual memory lane wouldn't be complete without the riveting reports about an eighteenth century king's Superbad moment.  Perhaps, though, one of my favorite recent stories is about a clergyman's websurfing antics;  sure, the main story might draw you in, but there's a real doozie of a one-liner in there...can you find it?