Lapp Gate

A picture from Björkliden a few weeks ago. See the mountains forming a "U" in the background? They are called The Lapp Gate, and is one of the most famous sights in the Swedish mountains.

Facts about Sweden

Some things you perhaps didn't know about Sweden.

• In the wintertime is it very dark here. The sun gets up at 9 am, and down at 3 pm. But on the other hand it is very light in the summertime. Then the sun rises at 4 am and sets at 11 pm. In the northern parts of Sweden the sun is shining all day and night in the summertime, and in the wintertime it is more or less dark the whole day. This is because Sweden is so close to the North Pole. Look at a map to see how far north we are and compare to where you live! The climate is OK because there's warm water from the south flowing up in the sea near Sweden and Scandinavia.


• The first inhabitants of Sweden were the Lapps. Some of them still live in Lappland and other northern districts of Sweden. Their traditional way of life includes breeding reindeer in the mountains.


• A handicraft we do here is a sort of mug, inspired by the lapps. We call it "kåsa". You can see a picture of a "kåsa" here. Elsa made it in school.


• More handicraft: Do you use wooden butter spreaders? We do. Here's a picture.


• In every Swedish home there's at least one cheese slicer. We've understood that they are not common outside of Scandinavia. The one in the picture is made of reindeer horn.


• In the end of June is when we have the longest and lightest days. That's when we celebrate Midsummer evening. People leave the cities if possible and meet for parties in summer houses in the country side. We eat fresh boiled potatoes and different kinds of herring, meatballs and for dessert lots of strawberries. The Swedish strawberries are said to be extra sweet, as they get so many hours of light every day.


• We don't have the Swedish Fish candy here! We didn't know what it was before we saw it in the U.S. last summer.