Swedish Shorts

 

• Be nice!
  Doing good deeds is spreading throughout Sweden. Professor Stefan Einhorn has written a book about it, “Konsten att vara snäll” (The art of being nice). In these times of financial difficulties, there is positive news about Swedes who give more money to charity and do more voluntary work than before. “Research show that if you help somebody, chances are they will help you,” says Einhorn. Amelie Silfverstolpe, founder of Volontärbyrån, says she thinks younger people feel working with non-profit organizations is a way of life. “It’s about one’s identity,” she says. “You want others to see who you are. Many of our studies show that people who work with non-profits feel they get more back than what they give.” And professor Einhorn agrees: “Good deeds are contagious,” he says. “And it’s a survival instinct, too. It’s for the survival of humanity.” For more on the popular Stefan Einhorn, check out his website www.stefaneinhorn.com (you can read more there in both Swedish and English).

• Prince Silver.
  He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and now he has designed his own silver cutlery. Prince Carl Philip, who successfully designed a logo for Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Massachusetts, which won a competition, told people his interest in design deepened while he studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has now carried his interest further, and his silver cutlery will be launched later on this month.

• Paris, London, New York … Ullared?
  Yes, you heard it. Ullared is where things happen -­ at least for Danes. Strengthened by their currency, Danish shoppers are traveling the Öresund Bridge by the busload for bargains at Ullared in western Sweden, home to the huge Gekås discount department store. Each day four buses loaded with 75 Danes will make the 220 kilometer journey where Danes will use their crowns to their advantage. Currently 1 Danish krone is worth almost 1.5 Swedish kronor. The adventure will continue throughout March – that's 36 buses in all.

• Buy a castle – get a church.
  Buy one get one free. In this case buy a castle, and you’ll get a church thrown in at the same time. Bäckaskog Castle outside Kristianstad, over 800-years-old, is up for sale. The price? Some double digit million SEK. For that you get a beautiful castle with one hundred rooms, one of the prettiest of which is the red salon, and you get some exciting history as well. King Karl XV often lived at Bäckaskog Slott in the summer, and his amorous escapades were well known (local legend jokes that 2% of the local population is related to King Karl XV). The king’s bedroom has a hidden stairway leading to the kitchen, through which ladies were smuggled inside. King Karl XV had his own little room in the tower where he could sit alone, not to be bothered by his wife, Lovisa of the Netherlands. The property also has its own castle church, included in the price and perfect for weddings, it is said.