Notes From Sweden

Greetings. Just in case you aren't able to visit Sweden anytime soon I thought you might enjoy a few observations about life here.

First, everyone here seems to have an iPhone. Well maybe not everyone, but Swedes are the highest per capita owners of iPhones in the entire world with over 1.0 million sold here to date in a country of 9.3 million people…with an additional 50,000 new owners each month. In fact, Swedes are not only really into having the coolest phones, technology and applications, they are also at the forefront of "simplifying" their lives by using their mobile devices. This includes using their cell phones instead of tickets on buses and trains.

Second, everyone seems to drive a station wagon, or "combi" as the Swedes call them. Our unofficial survey indicated that roughly 75 percent of the vehicles on the road are station wagons with Volvos at the top of the list. These vehicles remain very practical in a place where many households have only one car and the average family has 1.9 children. Not that there aren't a growing number of SUVs on the road, but they are clearly not the vehicle of choice. It is also interesting to note that public transportation goes almost everywhere and reaches almost every small village and resident in this relatively large (geographically that is) country–even villages with fewer than 100 people.

Third, the Swedish economy seems to be doing quite well even in the face of the world's current economic crisis. This is particularly interesting given the country's unique mix of capitalism and government support for social welfare that includes free education all the way from primary school through university, universal healthcare and eldercare and a wide range of other "benefits" that would be shocking to most Americans.

Fourth, a lot of people here smoke or use other tobacco products even though health and fitness is a strong cultural value and this is one of the most highly-educated nations on earth. And, while a very large percentage of the population ride bicycles regularly, very few people wear helmets. It does help that most cities have dedicated bike paths that protect riders from all of the station wagons on the road.

Fifth, there is another very interesting connection between Sweden and Minnesota that I only discovered this summer. Now we all know that many residents of Minnesota trace their family trees to Sweden and other Nordic countries. But if you tune to 94.9 on the radio here along the west coast of Sweden you can listen to Minnesota Public Radio. Which was almost a "Twilight Zone-esque" experience.