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| Guard at the Royal Palace |
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| The Cathedral Tower in the old city |
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| City center on the Riddarfjärden Bay |
February 23rd 2004, Monday.
The country is a constitutional monarchy. King Carl XVI Gustav is the monarch. But like the United Kingdom, the monarch really has no power. It’s in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Per pointed out the mall/store (NK… Nordic Company) where Anna Lindh was brutally murdered last year. By a nutcase. I believe she was the Foreign Minister, and he said Swedes were quite shock about her murder. It was akin to Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, being murdered.
According to Per’s mother, the new Foreign Minister isn’t as charismatic or well-liked as Anna Lindh.
Per pointed out the mall/store (NK… Nordic Company) where Anna Lindh was brutally murdered last year. By a nutcase. I believe she was the Foreign Minister, and he said Swedes were quite shock about her murder. It was akin to Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, being murdered.
According to Per’s mother, the new Foreign Minister isn’t as charismatic or well-liked as Anna Lindh.
Sweden is 15% minorities. Blacks are the smallest group among minorities. Greeks and Turks are well assimilated. Those from the Middle East, however, are not, in part because of their very different views on women.
Sweden is quite egalitarian. Here, it’s redundant to identify people as a feminist, because it’s a given that they are. Per said that gender equality here is way ahead of that of the US.
Apparently Sweden was quite the `studmuffin of Europe in the mid-teens centuries (most of the 17th century). It was always at war, and had control of the Scandinavian countries, including Norway and Finland, as well as parts of Russia, Germany, maybe even Poland.
Sweden was at war with Poland when that ill-fated, 1200-meter maiden voyage of the Vasa occurred. It sank on August 10th 1628. (More about the Vasa later.) But almost 300 years ago, Sweden apparently decided that it no longer wanted to keep fighting wars, and it really has stayed out of wars, unlike the US, which has fought a war nearly every decade since the early 1900s.
I asked Per, “What was Sweden doing in World Wars I and II?” It stayed neutral. It provided a safe haven for fleeing Jews.
"What happened to all the countries that it ruled?” Some it lost in battle. Some carved out independence, e.g., Norway, with which it remains on friendly terms.
The Diplomat and Esplanade are fancy hotels. If there were going to be any hotel in Stockholm that would have live music, just as the Ritz-Carlton does in Bahrain, it would be in these hotels. He didn’t know, for sure, but he was thinking of possible job opportunities for our Byelorussian trio.
There is a 20º C difference between northern and southern Sweden.
Sweden is populated with pine and birch trees.
Sweden is quite egalitarian. Here, it’s redundant to identify people as a feminist, because it’s a given that they are. Per said that gender equality here is way ahead of that of the US.
Apparently Sweden was quite the `studmuffin of Europe in the mid-teens centuries (most of the 17th century). It was always at war, and had control of the Scandinavian countries, including Norway and Finland, as well as parts of Russia, Germany, maybe even Poland.
Sweden was at war with Poland when that ill-fated, 1200-meter maiden voyage of the Vasa occurred. It sank on August 10th 1628. (More about the Vasa later.) But almost 300 years ago, Sweden apparently decided that it no longer wanted to keep fighting wars, and it really has stayed out of wars, unlike the US, which has fought a war nearly every decade since the early 1900s.
I asked Per, “What was Sweden doing in World Wars I and II?” It stayed neutral. It provided a safe haven for fleeing Jews.
"What happened to all the countries that it ruled?” Some it lost in battle. Some carved out independence, e.g., Norway, with which it remains on friendly terms.
The Diplomat and Esplanade are fancy hotels. If there were going to be any hotel in Stockholm that would have live music, just as the Ritz-Carlton does in Bahrain, it would be in these hotels. He didn’t know, for sure, but he was thinking of possible job opportunities for our Byelorussian trio.
There is a 20º C difference between northern and southern Sweden.
Sweden is populated with pine and birch trees.
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