That was the first time I have ever seen 1. A slice lemon on top of a Kanelbulle. 2. A person using a knife and fork for eating fika, or a "bulle" of any kind.
That lemon was wild to behold. A tourist eating with knife and fork is understandable though - although I've never seen it myself either. I'm more surprised seeing a japanese man being able to handle them.
@@johanpersson1114 Nah, if you're going to fika right, you should just do it whenever you have a break. Because not everyone can just drop their shit and go I can't work right now, I need to Fika... It doesn't work like that... Surgeon: Look at the time it's 10 o'clock, you know what that means, it's Fika time, wake up the patient he needs a Cinnamon roll and a hot cup of coffee... OR Nurse: But sir he's not stitched back together. Surgeon: Do I have to repeat myself! Only in your ridiculous lunacy would this be allowed to occur. The rest of us, take breaks when work allows it, and since most Swedes aren't living in Filthy Rich Stockholm, where the average rent is 4 times the national average.
I have never seen anyone eat rödbetssallad with such passion! Enjoy it on a sandwich with meatballs on it. Thats a holy duo of delish everyone needs in their life.
As a native I must say that I'm very impressed with the research you did about our local culture, you really tried a lot of authentic swedish stuff instead of only doing typical tourist activities. Looks like you got a great impression/idea of what Sweden is about!
Thank you :) Yeah I’ve done research as much as I could haha I really liked immersing myself in Swedish culture🇸🇪 Wanna go to countryside and Visby next time in winter ❄️
You are so considerate with a low tone of voice, respectful of other people in your surrounding. I see ppl filming and thinking they own the place all the time.... You edit well and make it nice to watch. Swedish and Japanese courtesy are so alike :) You have a new subscriber :) Thanks for visiting Sweden!
Haha yeah I didn’t want to be rude in public spaces, so I always try to be mindful and not bother others around me as much as possible when I film. Thank you for watching :)”
@@GeorgeJapan This is exactly the mentality that almost every Swede has, so you fit right in with your mindfulness. Unfortunately we are also famous for being non-confrontational, so these days when younger generations, tourists etc. are making a lot of noise in public spaces, we just clench our fists in our pockets and are quietly annoyed at them. We definitely appreciate people like you who remain respectful to their surroundings.
The bottle cap is like that because apparently the EU parliament thought that plastic bottle caps are a problem so severe they need to remain attached to the bottle. Nobody likes this design. You can bend it enough so it stays at a 180 degree angle, but it's hardly convenient. You can rip it off though with moderate force.
If one actually reads the documents on why it was implemented one realizes that it wasn't due to them "thinking" that caps are a problem, it turns out that the caps are one of the most littered single-use plastic products on beaches. Also the actual design is down to manufacturers and what we have right now is v1, most likely it will improve as time advances (already e.g Oatly have a much better cap).
Nanting intressant för dig, kolla up "pitch accent languages" svenskan hör dit, precis som vissa kinesiska dialekter och även japanska. Uttalet är viktigt i vart sprak. (befinner mig i utlandet utan svenskt tangentbord)
För att tillägga, därför är det inte rasisitkt om vi är daliga att första folk som pratar svenska med accent. Alla förstar att kinesiskan har problem med det bara pga hur spraket är uppbyggt, svenska är likadan med skillnaden att ingen vet det. "Languages that have been described as pitch-accent languages include: most dialects of Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Baltic languages, Ancient Greek, Vedic Sanskrit, Tlingit, Turkish, Japanese, Limburgish, Norwegian, Swedish of Sweden, Western Basque,[2] Yaqui,[3] certain dialects of Korean, Shanghainese,[4] and Livonian. Pitch-accent languages tend to fall into two categories: those with a single pitch-contour (for example, high, or high-low) on the accented syllable, such as Tokyo Japanese, Western Basque, or Persian; and those in which more than one pitch-contour can occur on the accented syllable, such as Punjabi, Swedish, or Serbo-Croatian. In this latter kind, the accented syllable is also often stressed another way."
"When juxtaposed with established tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese or Thai, the linguistic structure of Swedish reveals a stark contrast. Unlike these tonal languages, where a shift in tone can dramatically change a word’s meaning, Swedish employs pitch accent as a subtler mechanism for distinguishing between words. This distinctiveness does not rest on tone alone but incorporates it as part of a broader array of phonetic and prosodic features. In tonal languages, tone is a lexical cornerstone, with each syllable assigned a specific pitch pattern that is essential for its identification and meaning. This reliance on tone as a primary linguistic tool is absent in Swedish, where pitch accent, though influential, operates within a limited scope and does not bear the full weight of lexical differentiation. The Swedish language thus represents a unique case where pitch contributes to meaning without adhering to the strict, tone-based structure seen in many languages across Asia and Africa. This comparison illuminates the nuanced role that pitch plays in Swedish, marking it as a language that straddles the boundary between tonal and non-tonal linguistic systems, and showcasing the diversity of ways in which human languages utilize sound to convey meaning."
I belive this is the most well read tourist youtube video of Stockholm. So simple but elegant. I love it! Intrested to see other cities after knowing how genuine this video is.
There is an other big reason as of why there is a fee for toilets here and that is crimes and homeless people. When it was free to use everywhere, just like Japan, we did have issues with people dealing drugs in the toilets, assault, destruction of toilets, drug use and in some cases, not as common though, but happend, r*pe. The public toilets were a hotspot for a lot of crimes and sleeping homeless people. They had to take action to make issues less likely to happen while still keeping it available. So 10-15sek to use it, was the solution. It was not for nothing, it has helped a lot!
@@rickardsvensson7097 Depends on where you go, every single restaurant, bar, pub, museum, mall etc I've ever been to has always had free restrooms. Central stations however tends to ask for a 10:- fee.
I've heard many Japanese people pronounce Swedish words and they sound really good, and i have heard many Swedish people pronounce Japanese words and the Japanese people thought it sounded great. Our languages are no where near identical but maybe we have an easier time with it?
Both are pitch accent languages, so the tone of words can change as you speak them. So if you learn the other language it's easier for you to nail the pronounciation. An english speaker will struggle and sound very "flat" or monotone as they start to learn a pitch accent language.
When I started studying Japanese, the first thing I learned was the hiragana. And what struck me was that pretty much all of the sounds in the hiragana exists in the Swedish language as well. But it's not true in reverse. Swedish have way more vowels. Another thing Swedish and Japanese have in common is pitch accent.
There are a LOT of similarities between Japan and Sweden. We have the same basic mindset of not disturbing others, showing respect and doing our part for the communities we live in. Japan just takes it a step further, often to the detriment of their own personal health, sadly. I respect the japanese whole heartedly for their way of living and being and i hope they find a better way of dealing with the pressures of their amazing culture.
Oj !! Sweden look a beautifull country, I love all those water spots !! The gallery in metro line is amazing, the big boat in the museum is amazing too. Wira Bruk look beautifull, I love it's small village vibe, I wish to live in place like that 😁 A lot of great foods too !! I need to try those moose meatball 🤤🤤🤤. Greetings to all Swedish peoples who read that comment 🙂. Thanks for the video George, stay safe and take care ^^.
@@GeorgeJapan Maybe Visby can wait untill after Russia calms down. Because Gotland is a strategic advantage that they are keen on having if Sweden becomes a target.
@@R.W.89 If Sweden becomes a target from now on, then it'd mean a direct confrontation with NATO. Sure, Russia is hostile against NATO, but they haven't shown any willingness to get into a direct war against NATO as of yet. Lots of proxy wars though, including the situation in Ukraine, but proxy wars aren't really new. So Gotland can rest assured up until the moment when Russia decides to directly confront NATO, which would be an event on a global scale, so let's hope that day never comes.
The north of sweden are closer to those villages, i know. I kinda live in one up here, it's great. Few people, much nature and beautiful spots for sunsets. So i can recommend north of Sweden if comming here
@@biohazardashesit is a little extreme to start living in the northern part of the north if you're not used to 24h day in summer and 24h night in winter 😂, and that is besides the cold.
George, this was such an enjoyable video to watch! 🌟 Your excitement and curiosity during your first visit to Stockholm really shined through. I loved how you connected so many elements of Swedish culture with your own experiences and knowledge - like the fun fact about Kiki's Delivery Service being inspired by Stockholm and Visby! The way you explored the city, from trying moose meatballs to visiting historic sites like Gamla Stan and the Vasa Museum, really brought the charm of Stockholm to life. Your comparisons between Sweden and Japan, especially when it comes to things like work-life balance and eco-friendliness, were so great. And it was fun to see your reactions to little things like the pronunciation of IKEA or discovering "Kungsträdgården" sounds like "kindergarten" in English 😁 Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It's always interesting to see a new perspective on a place, and your positive energy and enthusiasm made this video a real treat. Can't wait to see where your travel to Oslo takes you! 😊✈
Thank you for watching😊 Glad you enjoyed watching this video. It’s always fun to find something new and something Japan doesn’t have. Travelling makes me so alive haha
As a Swede and a fan of almost everything Japanese, this video was a delight. I couldn't help but smiling all the way through it, thanks you, you've earned another subscriber.
Thank you George, great video. I have been on vacation on the island Öland twice and love the Swedish people and especially the health system at the time. My husband had a medical emergency with an overnight stay and they gave me a bed and food to be there with him. - I even had a moose appear right in front of the car and was lucky to step on the brake on time. If you collide with them there won't be much left of your roof. A local showed us some cars that were in a crash. -- And yes: The new bottle cap regulation is sucky, try and pour some milk in your coffee. Most of it ends up on the counter 😂.
On the milk carton, turn the cap until it is right at the top. You hear when it hits the right spot. It kind of stays there until you are finished. Then you just turn it around or just close the thing again. I drink a LOT of tea. XD
Paying for restrooms are not that common to be honest, it's only a thing in places where vandalism and other destructive behavior has been going on before.
I also thought the same. Even if a big part of the population lives in the Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö areas, there are so many small towns where life is very different (free toilets in malls for example 😂).
George, I really love watching all your videos. I've been a subscriber for a few years now. You are very fortunate to be able to travel the world. Japan, alot of the Asian countries, Alit of North America, South America, Europe, Scandinavia. So so fortunate, most of us only dream abd read of these places. Always stay safe and healthy my friend. 😘
Its amazing that you visited sweden as my home country stockholm is very beautiful but stockholm holds many museums of the medieval times id say if you visit sweden again go to gothenburg with liseberg as a famous amusement park in Gothenburg or go to any lovely place there, it's amazing with the swedish words from a non-swedish person, great pronounciation 10/10!
I absolutely love this video! I have not visited Scandinavia but you make it so enticing! Thank you so much for the experience, the knowledge and the wise sayings! Much love to you, George!❤
Thanks for sharing your experience! I was on youtube to find recommendations for my upcoming trip to Japan, when I stumbled upon this. Having lived in Stockholm for about 15 years (and in Sweden my whole life) it was really fun to see it from your perspective. 😊 ありがと ございます!
I live in Sweden and I have never seen public bathrooms have a charge in shopping malls. Usually in train stations and airports they will have a fee but I am guessing that's less for covering maintenance and more to lower traffic to the bathrooms.
As someone who moved to Stockholm from elsewhere in the EU. I sometimes forget how picturesque and beautiful the city is. I really do enjoy travelling across the waters every day to goto work. Its beautiful in the city in summer but even more beautiful in the countryside in the winter.
I'm so glad to see a japanese tourist blogging about Sweden. And btw, I don't think i know anyone that eats Rödbetssallad like a snack like you do. I have to give it a try. We usually have it as a side dish to different food. Like meatballs, ham, or just on top of a sandwich. I'm very happy you enjoyed your stay here.
What?! You went to my country? I knew you as the "easy peezy japaneasy" guy but here you are grabbing my attention and making ME excited about my own country! Great video bro!
Hi George the reason why the cap is stuck to the bottle is that we recycle bottles. When you buy the beverage you also pay a small added fee called pant that is for the bottle and when you recycle it you will get your money back. how much the pant is can be seen on your bottle or can. Often in the past the cap was thrown away and never got recycled that is why the cap is now attatched to the bottle so it will also get recycled and not end up in nature.
Just discovered this channel and I'm a Swede myself and must say, a really nice video! George has both charisma and seem to be a naturally talented guy!
Sweden has always fascinated people from Japan, which is nice because it's the reverse for us living here. I was fortunate to to visit Japan 19 years ago, which had been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. It didn't disappoint. I'm glad you are enjoying your trip and your pronunciation of the swedish phrases is pretty good. I met people in Japan I still talk about to whoever want to hear it, from the student that helped me to find an internet café my first night in Tokyo so that I could email my parents, to the Ryokan owner (who loved to learn new laguages) that told me I didn't have to pay to replace the tea set I accidentally broke, when trying to get a lamp higher so that I could read at night. Or the female guide that had been to Sweden as an exchange student and was going to go back there to attend the wedding of the daughter of the family she lived with. I went there during the month of September, but wish to return sometime during the month of April, just so that I can be there during the Sakura season.
Your videos never disappoint. Personally, I'd love to see that big ship in the museum. It must have taken long hours to make all those details that ship had.
You should try making a sandwich with meatballs and rödbetssallad. It's chef's kiss 😀 I really enjoyed your video about my country and I hope you get to come back and explore more parts of the country!
Thank you for watching :) That sounds like a perfect combination! I’ll definitely try that and explore different parts of Sweden like Visby next time🇸🇪
@@GeorgeJapan If you try it, add a few pickled cucumbers as well. In Sweden they're called "Smörgåsgurka" or "Gammaldags Gurka". You can get them in Japan as well in that strange place called Sweden Hills, (スウェーデンヒルズ) in Tōbetsu, Hokkaidō.
"Trocadero is an apple and orange flavored soda" I'm a native Sweden and I can hoenstly say I have never been able to figure out what Trocadera taste like, but this seems accurate! Had to google it now and yes their website says it's indeed a mix of apples and oranges! EDIT: And yes the lid is a new thing people love to hate on. Apparently it reduces plastic waste by a significant amount and it is now a new law that all similar lids must be attached, which means all soda bottles and even milk cartons. For the plastic bottles we also have "Pant" which means we pay a bit extra which is then returned to us when we go back to the store and return the bottles. It's not uncommon for kids (or homeless people) to go around looking for bottles that they can "panta", meaning they take it back to the store, get a recepipt for store credits and they can then use that money in the store to buy food or candy. If the lids cannot easily be removed it is more likely that the lid will follow back when the bottle is returned as "pant" so I guess it is more environmental. That doesn't stop a lot of people from hating on it though, myself included...
I have to say, George-these videos are the perfect combination of interesting content and you just being engaging. (You seem like a genuinely nice guy, which counts for a lot.) Keep going!
hi, iraqi immigrant that currently lives in sweden here, i love that you actually try and pronounce the swedish words, even if you didn't get it right, just keep practicing. :D also, if you come down to Skåne, you'll find a very different culture: glass blowing is one of them. and it's exactly what it sounds like. to clarify, glass blowing involves you, or whoever is making glass, to blow into a hot pipe, and basically making it into glass. also, in swedish, glass is the swedish word for ice cream. :) again, your swedish is amazing. :)
Dogs are actually not allowed in most places in Sweden either due to allergies. On busses they must go inside from the back entrance and sit in a special spot. The lid on bottles are attached so people wont throw it away and litter all around, animals eat them or get into water.
10:41 _Rödbetssallad_ is, of course, classic creamy beet salad made from fine Gotland* beets. (“Gotland? Got beets!”) Perfect on a meatball sandwich. Import it to Japan, George! *Gotland is Sweden’s largest island, situated between Sweden and Latvia.
"As of July 3, the European Union (EU) has mandated that caps on PET bottles and Tetra Pak cartons must stay attached even after being unscrewed, aiming to reduce plastic waste in the environment. Consumers and the industry alike must adjust to this change" It's a bit annoying yes
@@laluba3603 no. No one "accidentally" dropped caps all over the place, and if you intentionally want to throw it away, you can still do that, meaning it solved nothing.
Hey, George, what really gets me going regarding coding or studies is chocolate. Also coffee. That really pumps me up. Especially those with lots of cocoa percentage. I didn't know that countries with higher chocolate consumption had many Nobel Prize winners. Wow! It seems that people who eat chocolate are on the right track then ;-) Sweden looks so wonderful. I've heard about a possible megaquake in Japan. I hope and pray that doesn't happen. We also had a sad weekend in Brazil with a plane crash, where all the passengers died. 62 in total. My heart goes out to all those who lost their loved ones. It was really sad to see the plane falling down. I don't like bringing sad news, but that's part of life. The world is so crazy right now. I just can't go without feeling that for those. Thanks for all the awesome videos, George. Até mais. ;) 👍
My favorite thing about Stockholm when I went is it is relatively less expensive compared to the other Nordic capitals (especially Oslo and Copenhagen).
Hayao Miyazaki visited Sweden because he wanted to do Pippi Longstocking. The author, Astrid Lindgren said no, silly cow. So, as you said, Miyazaki used a lot of what he saw in Sweden in Kiki and he also incorporated quite a few Swedish names and words in the wonderful movie. One of the first things you see is a shop that says "Krantz Herrmode". Krantz was the owner and "herrmode" means mens fashion. You will see hese Swedish wors everywhere in the movie, even the flower boxes says "Skivor, which means records. In the old town there were a lot of record shops. The bakery, Gütiokipänjä, is not Swedish though.
My man, a classic Rödbetssallad is really easy to make at home, and tastes even better than storebought. 500g - Sliced Pickled Beetroot, dice small. 1 - Red Apple, dice small. 1 - Red Onion, dice or slice small. 1.5 dl - Mayonnaise 1 dl - Crème Fraîche 1 tsp - Dijon Mustard Black Pepper & Salt to taste. Let it sit in fridge, the longer the better. Enjoy on bread too, if you have not, works REALLY good on bread with coldmeatballs, try it!
Rödbetssallad is a bit strong eating it straight from the container. It goes great with some plain bread. Sweden have really many condiments like Rödbetssallad. Dare try other kinds and you will discover a world of "pålägg"!
@@GeorgeJapan Oh how cool George replied me! :D Just wanna say a baguette bread with Rödbetssallad, meatballs and greens is a classic on-the-go meal in Sweden.
Sweden and Finland have many similarities because Finland belonged to Sweden for many hundreds of years until we lost it in a war against the Russian in 1809.
@@bullfidde Hur tänker du? Finland fanns inte innan det var en del av Sverige. Det var sen svensk provins med visst självstyre. Som sedan blev ryskt för att så småningom bli självständigt.
Cinnamonrolls are Swedish. Ikea food sucks. The quality of Ikea food as gone down a lot. You should try Semla at some point. As for the lids, EU has decreed that all lids must be easy to find and thus attached to the bottle. It's to reduce littering. Everyone hates them. They're so annoying to get back on the bottle and they poke your face when drinking. Try röbetssallad with meatballs. Your mind will be blown. Glad you enjoyed my hometown. Come back anytime!
Thank you for watching! Oh I missed Semla :( Robetsallad with meatballs sounds like the best duo ever. I’ll definitely come back here again and try it and Semla :)
Regarding dogs in stores. What you've come across is the very swedish (and japanese) custom of not reacting to weird people doing weird things like bringing furry allergens into public spaces. It's really not a thing. It's just that people avoid confrontations.
I disagree with that, I don't have a dog but I definitely don't react to people bringing them to malls, some restaurants accept them, others don't. On public transport none bats an eye, though they need to be at the back.
the soda lids can be broken off halfway, so it's easier to drink with the lid attached. just twist it away from the bottle until one of the sides attached to the cap breaks. they made it like that to stop people from throwing the caps in nature.
I visited Uppsala Sweden pre pandemic and was amazed at its beauty and the gothic church and castle! Highly recommend visiting that place next time you're in Sweden
Wow you really described and captured my homeland perfectly. You also woke alot of good memories since i used to go to Stockholm with my grandfather every year as a kid and visit all the museums with him. Thanks for bringing some smiles to my face :)
The fastened lid on the soda is a new EU law dictating that (most) liquid containers shall have a lid connected to the container to reduce unnecessary littering. I think it came into effect earlier this year. It reminds of the old cans in the 80's where you pulled a tab off the can to open it, instead of the current mechanism where you press the tab into the can.
So cool that you mentioned the fact that the inspiration for "Kikis delivery service" was taken from Mr Hayao Miyazakis travels in Scandinavia, in perticular Stockholm and Visby. When I first saw this movie I was not aware of this but something caught my attention and I rewinded it over and over and saw the look and even street names copied from Stockholm Old Town. I investigated a bit more about it and found ot that he is in fact a big supporter of Swedish (or Nordic culture as a whole). I saw this and Miyazaki rose even further in my appreciation after this. He is an absolute master in the art of animated movies. Brilliant.
If you visit Visby in Gotland, you really should visit during "medeltidsveckan" or "medieval week". It adds an even greater atmosphere to the already old and beautiful buildings (and wall) there.
I love Sweden! Btw, the bottle cap thing is recent. The cap is stuck on the bottle to prevent littering. In many countries, bottles can be returned to stores for a small fee.
This is the case in Sweden, you get ~10 cents or 1 krona for each bottle that you return. So 1 krona is added to each bottle when you buy soda or similar.
8:11 Those bottle caps are a fairly recent thing and they're so you don't drop or lose the cap. Possibly also something to do with reducing plastic litter and thereby being more eco-friendly.
