Posted on 05/21/2009 5:59:12 AM PDT by WesternCulture
The Swedish Tourist Association (STF) has launched the search for a suitable person to fill "Sweden's most Swedish job". Among the applicants is an Englishman who by his own admission is unlikely to win as he has recently turned fifty and "butchers the Swedish language".
STF has launched the campaign to search for a fortunate soul to travel the length and breadth of Sweden during the summer months and "experience the best, eat the best and try the best" that the Scandinavian country has to offer.
The competition is inspired by an Australian game show to find suitable applicants to fill the post of the so-called "best job in the world". The Local reported in March that a young Swede had applied for the post that had captured the imagination of people across the globe.
The shoe is now firmly on the other foot as one of the people that have submitted an application for the STF position is a middle-aged Englishman with a limited command of Swedish but a keen desire to experience more of what Sweden has to offer.
Nixon said he had learned a lot about Sweden and seen much of the country by travelling around with his Swedish wife, to whom he has been married for 25 years.
"I have seen a lot but know that I have much more to see. Sweden has a lot to offer the tourist," Gothenburg resident John Nixon told The Local on Tuesday afternoon.
Having recently turned fifty John Nixon told The Local that he probably does not fit the profile that STF are looking for but he applied nevertheless and is not particularly impressed by the competition.
"Maybe I am trying to overcome the creeping feeling of having one foot in the grave. I don't think I'll get it but I think they will like my pitch and perhaps consider me for something else."
Nixon said that the last time he had checked only 12 people had forwarded their names, and submitted a video, to apply for the job.
"I thought that there would be hundreds applying. It would nice if STF got a lot more applications to give them something to choose from," he told The Local.
"There are only a couple I would go for apart from me," he joked.
The closing date for applications is May 27th and the job is scheduled to begin on June 6th. The winning applicant will then be sent off on a two month odyssey around Sweden.
The winning candidate will be accompanied by 'a sidekkick called Filip' who will "document the trip, help you to keep your spirits up and eat ice cream with you". Accommodation is free but transport arrangements are left to the applicant's imagination.
Even if being Swedish makes me partial, I think it’s fair to say Sweden has a lot to offer as a tourist nation.
If you fancy moonshine and driving around in pick-ups tooting a shotgun and hunting moose, go to Norrland (the northern part).
If you are a fan of multi-culturalism, go to Malmö in the southern part. The area of Rosengård in Malmö is the pride of Scandinavia in this sense.
If you are an American, well off, Liberal Europhile, but find the wine lists of French upscale restaurants a bit to long, a visit at the restaurant of Operakällaren (’The Opera Cellar’) in Stockholm would probably satisfy you.
The wine list of Operakällaren (divide the prices by 7 to get the appr. price in USD):
http://www.eng.operakallaren.se/mag/eng.operakallaren.se/files/Vinlistan%20090514.pdf
No worse than:
'Kenyan running the US'
The Swedish Bikini Team
STF has launched the campaign to search for a fortunate soul to travel the length and breadth of Sweden during the summer months and "experience the best, eat the best and try the best" that the Scandinavian country has to offer.
Didn't make the cut
I been ta Sweden and it’s an OK place, but hardly on the top of my “must see” destinations. Gammelstad (old part of Stockholm), the Wasa restoration are OK, but there’s not much interesting outside of that. imho.
Also, only visit in July or August.
“I been ta Sweden and it’s an OK place, but hardly on the top of my “must see” destinations.”
- Judging from that statement, I feel inclined to believe you are not a PC Liberal.
Sweden of today probably gives any PC visitor the comforting impression that ideas like the nannystate and multiculturalism are great landmarks in the history of human achievement.
People who care for things like stunning, ancient monuments should go to Italy, Greece or travel around in India etc a bit. However, there definitely are other sorts of tourists.
The typical Swedophile is an Englishman/American/a German who has lost in the intrinsic values his own nation (eternally) is in possession of and somehow, without really understanding what Sweden is or how Sweden got where it is today, believes that his country would benefit from trying to be “more like Sweden”.
I don’t hate such people, but I am suspicious towards people who are not true patriots.
Sweden is, per capita, home to a larger number of internationally successful companies than any other comparable corner of the Earth. It is home to a native population that is extremely, nay, exceptionally, gifted in the department of work ethics, organization and innovation. Therefore, Sweden is far richer than most other countries, many would even say most other industrialized nations.
Most any societal concept will seem to function well when you got the economy to back it up, but that does not necessarily mean that other societies would benefit from trying to imitate those concepts.
Things like multiculturalism seem to work well in Sweden. Rosengård, Malmö is evidence Sweden is not unique from a European perspective, but in general, Swedes and non-Western immigrants to Sweden get along rather well.
But anyhow, are there things real human beings could appreciate about Sweden?
I guess so, but like you said above, one should visit in July and August (often, May and June are very nice too).
But is Stockholm the most interesting thing in Sweden to an “average” tourist? Hardly. I’m not from Skåne/Scania, but the first thing any tourist ought to do the first he sets his feet on Swedish soil is to rent a nice Volvo and drive around in Scania/Skåne!
My part of Sweden can’t but Skåne is incredible and extremely drivable.
Some images (from Österlen, the south eastern part of the region):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTty2EF12c4
This is how some of the richest people in Sweden live. I’d take any of these palaces over whatever Venice, Provence and the Loire Valley has on offer:
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_%C3%B6ver_slott_och_herres%C3%A4ten_i_Sk%C3%A5ne
If you believe in things like making reality of your inner dreams, promise yourself to one day pay a visit to this Ängelholm car manufacturer:
But Stockholm is pretty nice too..
Correction:
I meant “..has lost FAITH in the intrinsic..”
Ursäkta/Sorry!
“Granted, Sweden is an extremely pleasant place, if you can ignore the weather and the ludicrous times of sunrise and sunset most of the year.”
- Firstly, Sorry if I’m making the impression of trying to argue with you, I’m not.
Anyhow, you’re right, we do have weather where I live.
Vivaldi found the four seasons inspirational.
I do too.
White Christmases, autumn landscapes painted in every thinkable color, eternal midsummer nights and the magic of nature’s rebirth during the Scandinavian spring ain’t too bad.
Few people even over here would claim our climate to be perfect, but there are solutions to everything.
Never try and ignore problems, do something about them:)
For instance, if you feel you can’t sleep very well because the midnight sun tends to invade your bedroom, go buy some decent curtains and refrain from partying all night. Even if Sweden is Sweden so to say, you don’t always have to go along with the program.
If you feel depressed because of the long, dark, Nordic November/December days, do some Christmas shopping or go abroad. Some years ago, I went to Naples, Italy, in early December. 70 degrees fahrenheit! A traditional pizza costs €1 and trying to communicate in Italian, using the stuff you’ve learnt by self teaching CD courses is great fun.
I’m not saying Sweden is the best place in which to live.
The US is, probably, a better place for a foreign newcomer than Sweden is. My impression is that being a foreigner from another “civilized” nation seldom is fun here in Sweden in the long run, even if certain people from Spain, Japan, Canada, the US etc have managed to acclimatize very well.
Skål and best of regards from Volvo Land to Bay State!
Please, I didn’t take your points as argumentative or unduly defensive and on the whole I agree with you. As for climate, you will notice, however, that historically no group of people ever got together to construct a long boat and take it on the open seas to invade Scandinavia.
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