Sweden is..? -

nice, rich, similar to Germany? FIlled with blond, tall and free-spoken people? Has nice cars but insurance is expensive?  

  • George and Sofia, he's Canadian, she's Greek and they live together in Toronto, Canada.

  • What do you know about Sweden?
    Swedish meatballs? Swedish fish? Or Ikea and Abba? Hanna Aqvilin asks people in New York City what they know about Sweden.

  • Nina and Marcus, tourists from Germany.

  • Dan Nelson from New York
    Sweden has nice cars but car insurance is expensive. The country has free social and health care and Swedes don't have to pay for their education. There're a lot of forests and lakes, and the streets are very clean.

  • Dan Nelson, born and raised in New York City, but his grandfather is Norwegian.

  • Bissum, recent New Yorker
    Sweden is similar to Germany - people are blond and tall. Europeans are very liberal and free-spoken. I have many European customers, they like to buy this one (he points at the painting which pictures the skyline by night). I'm just here in New York to earn money, and I'm looking forward to go back to Nepal in two years.

  • Anthony Viere, originally from Cape Verde, works with tourist attraction.

  • Said from New York
    Sweden is cold and has a lot of snow. You also eat weird stuff, like decomposed fish. I saw the news about the massacre in Norway, that is close to Sweden right? That's horrible! It's surreal that this is happening in Norway, a country that's so safe and have little to no security measures compared with the US.

  • Said, originally from Morocco, lives in Manhattan and works five days a week as a professional dog walker.

  • Anthony Viere, Dolph Lundgren fan
    I know Sweden has a good economy. It's the leading and richest country in Scandinavia, though Norway is the largest country. The Swedish football player Henke Larsson, he's also from Cape Verde like me. I also know the actor Dolph Lundgren, he's cool.

  • Alberto, a waiter at an Italian restaurant in Manhattan.

  • George and Sofia visiting from Canada
    George: Sweden is in Europe, they are good at hockey, even if we beat them all the time. I think Sweden and Canada have some similarities. Both have a successful social welfare system and good economy. The countries have many winter games and a lot of forests.
    Sofia: I like Sweden a lot, many tourists come to Rhodes, Mykonos and Crete. I don't know anyone from Greece who has been to Sweden. It's too far away and we tend not to go to cold places. Those Swedes I have met are polite, sometimes shy and quiet.

  • Bissum, moved to New York from Nepal two years ago. Bissum makes his living selling paintings in Central Park.

  • Marcus and Nina, visiting from Germany
    Marcus: You have big companies like Saab, Volvo and H&M. The capital is very beautiful and surrounded by canals. The landscape is nice, I have friends who used to go to Sweden during the summer.
    Nina: I know Sweden has a royal family, and arranged a famous wedding last year. Is it true that they are expecting a boy? The Swedish queen is famous in Germany, she grew up in a small village in southern Germany. I know this because the tabloids love to write about the Swedish royalties.

  • Mohammed from Bangladesh works every day, seven days a week, at a newsstand in New York City.

  • Alberto, working tables in Manhattan
    I have had guests from Sweden. They are very nice and always friendly and polite. They are always pleased with the food and never complain. Sweden seems like a peaceful country. I am from Italy so I know that Swedes like to travel to Italy as well. I think the Italian culture, food and nature attract.

  • Muhammed, New York
    My niece is living in Sweden, her husband works at a hospital in Stockholm. She says it's just dark two hours a day during the summer. That's amazing! I would love to go there but I don't think it will happen. I love my work here even if I never have time to travel.