Tag: stockholm

NATO – an extraordinary day in Sweden’s history

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

So Sweden is now an official member of NATO, the military defense alliance.

As the 32nd country to join the alliance, Sweden will be protected under Article 5 – the ultimate guarantee of allie’s freedom and security.

To the outside world, this might not be that significant. But for Sweden, March 7th 2024 is a day that will be recorded as one of the most momentous in history.

By becoming a member of NATO, Sweden ends over 200 years of official non alignment. This neutrality stretched back to the Napoleonic wars.

Sweden joining NATO was inconceivable just over two years ago, and the Swedish population had little appetite to join a military alliance.

The country remained neutral in both World Wars but when Russian troops began marching toward Kyiv in February 2022, Sweden – and neighbour Finland – became alert to the threat Moscow could pose to nearby countries outside the alliance.

And everything changed.

Finland joined NATO in April 2023, and Sweden, after lots of head-butting with Turkey and Hungary, formally joined yesterday.

It is currently unknown how the membership will affect the lives of Swedes. Hopefully, not noticeably.

But it was very apparent on Tuesday when two American bomb planes, B52 and B1B, flew at a low altitude over central Stockholm – that things have changed in this formally-neutral country in the north.

Advent Calendar – Dec 10: Nobeldagen

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Window number 10. Today’s word is ‘Nobeldagen‘ which translates as ‘Nobel Day’.

Nobel Day is not actually anything to do with Christmas. However, it is a traditional part of the lead up to Christmas. Every year on 10 December, since 1901, the Nobel Prizes are awarded. The date commemorates the death of Alfred Nobel in 1896.

Nobel prizes are awarded in the 6 categories of Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine or Physiology, Economics and Peace. All prizes are awarded in Stockholm, except the peace prize which is awarded in Oslo. Laureates receive a gold medal, a diploma and 10 million Swedish crowns.

Most laureates are happy to accept their prize and the accolade. However, Jean Paul Satre famously declined the Literature Prize in 1964, claiming he did not want to be institutionalized.

In 1974 he was joined by Le Duc Tbo who refused to accept the Peace Prize for his work to end the Vietnam War, saying ‘peace has not yet been established.’

In 1935, German journalist Carl von Ossietzky – a vocal critic of Hitler- won the Peace Prize. This led Hitler to bar all Germans from accepting a Nobel Prize. Three German laureates were subsequently forced to decline their awards. However, they later were presented with their diplomas and medals.

With celebratory lectures, conversations, ceremonies and concerts, Nobel Day culminates with a banquet in the Stockholm City Hall. The banquet lasts about 3 and a half hours and is televised. It is an extremely grand and formal occasion. Everything from the porcelain to the floral arrangements to the dresses, the entertainment and the menu are under scrutiny for the tv viewers.

The guests include not only the Nobel laureates and their families, but also Swedish royals and aristocrats, politicians, ministers, celebrities and other notable people. Even though there are 1300 guests, is virtually impossible for ordinary folk to get an invitation to the banquet. We have to enjoy it from afar, via the screens in our living rooms.

However exclusive the whole thing might be, it is still a welcome splash of glamour in the dark approach to Christmas. Stockholmers are also treated to the light festival called Nobel Lights, which takes place around the city.

Why does Sweden still need Pride?

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

This week is Stockholm Pride. It culminates on Saturday with a huge parade. The event celebrates 25 years this year, and some people question if it is still needed or relevant.

The answer, unfortunately, is more than ever.

But we’ll come to that later.

Currently there are 73 Pride festivals in Sweden during the year. From Arctic Pride way up in the north to Malmö Pride in the south, it is possible to celebrate throughout the year.

This indicates that many Swedes seem to have embraced the concept of Pride with open arms. There is, of course, a commercial benefit but the main reason seems to be that LGBT+ Pride resonates well with the societal Swedish values of equality, tolerance and acceptance.

However, like everything, it has its opponents.

Sweden’s current conservative government is in power, solely with the support of a right-wing populistic party. This party has consistently attacked LGBT people and the Pride movement. For example, this week, one of their politicians tweeted that Pride legitimizes pedophilia.

It is comments like this that plant the seeds of aggressive counter demonstrations, homophobic, anti-Pride propaganda and personal physical attacks. LGBT+ people are still regularly abused, discriminated against and attacked in Sweden. And if we lift our eyes to the broader world, we see examples of LGBT + rights being restricted or removed, and same sex relations being criminalized and punishable with the death penalty.

This is why Pride is still needed, not only as a celebration, but as a political manifestation of human rights.

If you’d like to know where a Pride is near you, go to http://www.svenskapride.se which collects all the Swedish events in one place.

Is Sweden Islamophobic?

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

More than 90,000 articles have been written about the Koran burning in Stockholm that occurred last week. Many of these articles are declaring Sweden as Islamophobic. The action has led to international public protests, storming of embassies, burning of the Swedish flag, and condemnation from everyone from Turkey’s Erdogan to the Pope.

So, is this true? Is liberal-minded, egalitarian Sweden, in fact Islamophobic? Like everything the answer lies in your definition, and perspective.

It all boils down to understanding Swedish freedom of speech. In Sweden, you are allowed to publicly comment on, demonstrate against and criticize anything.

Influential powers such as the royal family, industry giants or organized religions cannot legally stop or influence this.

In Sweden, you are free to follow any religion you want. Likewise you are free to criticize any religion you want. That is the basis of democracy in Sweden.

With this understanding, you can see how the burning of any religious scripture is allowed and not, per se, limited only to the Koran.

So you have to separate the law from ethics. This is why the Swedish government condemns the action but at the same time defends self expression.

That said, there are other laws in Sweden that restrict public speech. For example, if it is considered hate speech, or incitement to violence, or against the interests of national security.

In the case of the recent Koran burning, outside a mosque on the first day of Eid, and with today’s political instability, one can seriously question the police’s choice to allow a such a demonstration to occur. Personally, I think it shows a poor sense of judgement and disregard for public safety and national security. But it wasn’t illegal, and fully in line with freedom of speech.

So, is Sweden islamophobic? From this one action, no. If you want to burn a bible or the tora, you can. Is Sweden Islamophobic in other regards? Maybe. Were the actions of the individual demonstrator islamophobic? Maybe, although he himself is Muslim. He claims his action to be politically motivated.

Time will tell what the outcome is of this. The man who carried out the act is currently living under police security, and amongst other things is being charged with starting a fire during a fire ban.

Terror on the streets of Stockholm 

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

5 years ago today, Sweden experienced a hateful terrorist attack. Today, flowers have been placed along the city street where it occurred. My thoughts go to those who were murdered, and their families and friends.

If you would like to read my post from that attack 5 years ago – here it is again….

At 2.30pm yesterday, a masked man stole a delivery truck from outside of a restaurant. The delivery man tried to stop the thief by standing in front of his truck.  However, the thief pushed over the driver, picked up speed and proceeded to drive zig zag down Stockholm’s main pedestrian shopping street, ploughing into people as he went. The truck’s final destination was one of Sweden’s largest department stores, into which it smashed in a billowing cloud of smoke. 

Like everybody else I was really shaken up by this act of violence.  I, and my nearest and dearest, were all in safety and my phone rang and beeped frenetically as we contacted and reassured each other. 

Stories reached me about friends being locked into their offices or hiding out in shops and restaurants. The streets were awash with armed police, and the whole city was shut down within 20 minutes – trains, buses and the underground were all stopped and roads were cordoned off as residents and tourists were rapidly ushered out of the city center. 

In the midst of the chaos, Stockholmers reached out to each other in support. People opened their homes to provide sanctuary to each other, cafes provided food and beverages, social media was flooded with people offering to help and offering protection. In this emergency, love prevailed – which was moving and heart-warming. I myself was in a gym, and the doors were locked. The staff went straight to action providing us with support and offering food and drink and unscheduled training classes for those who wanted a distraction. 

The latest news at time of writing this blog is that 4 people and 1 dog were killed, and 15 seriously injured. The driver has been arrested.  Another person is in custody believed to have some connection to the driver. Border control has been tightened up and there are still disturbances in local traffic. 

Stockholm now joins the long line of cities such as London, Berlin, St Petersburg, Paris and Nice, who have suffered under terrorist attack. 

No matter who is responsible for this act of violence, be it an organisation or an individual, we must never give into them.  The nature of terrorism is to spread fear by using intentionally indiscriminate acts of violence. It’s its indiscriminate approach that makes it difficult to predict and we are often powerless to influence it. Therefore we should do what we do best – not bow down to it but stand up and keep going. It is by living our lives in our open, democratic societies that we win.

I sincerely hope that Stockholm does not become a fearful, suspicious, closed city. This place that I love is a target because of its freedom and that is a freedom we should protect by continuing to live our lives. 

Terror will never win. It is designed to exploit our human fear. It is the ultimate act of intimidation. We must not let it win. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Yesterday, we showed love to each other. Let’s continue to do that. We do not need more hate. 

We must prevail. 

Advent Calendar – Dec 9: Julbelysning

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Every day, I will open a window containing a Swedish word that has something to do with Christmas and the festive season.

Today’s word is ‘Julbelysning‘ which translates as ‘Christmas lights’.

Like others around the world, Sweden’s cities and towns install public Christmas lights this time of the year. These decorations illuminate the dark December days and are an important part of building up the Christmas cheer at an otherwise miserable time of the year.

Currently Stockholm is populated with twinkling elk, reindeer, pine cones, angels, stars and fir trees. The same applies to Gothenburg, where there is also a giant red love heart on Lejontrappan. In Malmö, 1000,000 lights have been switched on and a festival called Vinter i City (Winter in the City) lasts for a month up to Christmas. More information on http://www.ilovegoteborg.se and http://www.malmo.se

Since 1996, on Skeppsbron in Stockholm, the city’s largest Christmas tree has been positioned. An enormous, impressive tree that towers over the buildings of the Old Town and spreads its light over the harbour. The tree in actual fact isn’t a real tree – it is constructed over a central pole with branches attached to it. In doing so, the tree is pleasingly symmetrical.

If you’d like to walk around and see the lights in Stockholm, the city has produced a map which you can find on http://www.stockholmsjul.se

This week is also Nobel week in Stockholm and a light festival called Nobel Lights is taking place. Monuments and buildings around the city are decorated and transformed with projected light shows. More information on http://www.nobelweeklights.se

My book on Sweden – the Essential Guide!

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

My book is doing really well, which I’m very proud of. You can buy it on Amazon, Bokus, Akademibokhandeln and Adlibris amongst other online stores. Sweden, by Neil Shipley, published by Kuperard 2021.

I still have a few copies left, so if you’d like to buy a signed copy, just let me know!

60 years ago – a momentous Swedish event

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

On this day, 60 years ago in 1961, something amazing happened in Stockholm’s harbour. This event would cast the Swedish people back 333 years and come to change the face of tourism in Scandinavia.

In 1626, a grand battleship was commissioned by King Gustav II Adolf. He was expanding his realm into the Baltic and wanted a battleship that would be beautiful, awe inspiring and armed to the teeth. When she was completed she was richly decorated, with bronze cannons and was one of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world. He called the ship the Vasa, after his grandfather.

However beautiful she was, the flagship Vasa was dangerously unstable, with too much weight in the upper structure of the hull. Despite her obvious lack of stability, she was sent on her maiden voyage in 1628, and after only a couple of minutes afloat, she sank to the bottom of the harbour. The King was of course livid, and after a long process, blame fell upon the ship’s designer Henrik Hybertsson. As he had been dead for a year, he couldn’t defend himself, and instead became a historic scapegoat. King Gustav II Adolf himself died 4 years later at the Battle of Lützen.

The Vasa’s bronze canons were salvaged in the 1700’s after which she was forgotten, left to her watery grave. But then, in 1956, her exact location was identified and 5 years later, on April 25th, she was raised to the surface.

The Vasa ship is the only 1600’s galleon in the world that has been salvaged in such good condition. The cold, dark, brackish waters of the Baltic meant that the wood did not rot, and the ship’s huge hull was almost completely preserved. Today, the fully-restored ship and its other contents, are displayed in an enormous museum in central Stockholm. It is the world’s best preserved 17th century ship and Scandinavia’s most visited museum. On the roof of the museum, the masts indicate how high the ship was on its day of launch.

When traveling is allowed again, and museums are reopened, you must visit Stockholm. When you’re here, your top cultural priority should be the Vasa Museum. You will be blown away by the sheer dimension of this boat and you too will be thrown back to a time when Sweden was a great military power to be reckoned with.

For more information, go to http://www.vasamuseet.se

Infidelity, despair and revenge – Swedish style

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

They say that revenge is best served cold, and nothing is colder than what the ‘Cuckold of Skeppsbron’ did in Stockholm.

As you walk along the road of Skeppsbron, you have the harbour and Baltic Sea on one side, and the historical houses of the Old Town on the other. When you approach number 44, take a look above the door and you’ll see a stone face sporting an exaggerated expression of despair. And below the grimace, if you look carefully, you’ll spot a carving of a vulva.

Legend has it that the face belongs to a wealthy merchant called Carl Smitt, who owned the building. He discovered that his wife had been cheating on him. In revenge, he had her genitalia sculpted and mounted on the wall, so that all the world would know her betrayal. Above her privates, he installed his own tormented face.

Wanting to add to her shame, he had the sculpture of his face designed so that on rainy days, the water would fall from his eyes like tears, splashing his wife’s genitalia below.

So revenge isn’t just best served cold. It’s also served in stone and lasts over many centuries.

The legendary philosopher who died in Sweden

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Yesterday, I learned something I didn’t know. Every day, as they say, is a school day. I learned that the iconic French philosopher, scientist and mathematician René Descartes died, and was buried, in Stockholm.

When I studied philosophy at university, I was fascinated by Descartes. Said to be the father of modern Western philosophy, his list of notable ideas is long. Radically, Descartes shifted the debate from God to Man by asking ‘of what can I be certain?’ rather than ‘what is true?’ The latter question relies on belief in an external authority, whereas Descartes instead relied on the judgement of the individual. This was an extreme, and dangerous, thought as it emancipated the individual from religious doctrine and equipped mankind with autonomous reasoning.

This controversial thought sparked the Age of Enlightenment – the fascinating intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. How we reason today in the western world is profoundly based on this period – our embrace of doubt and our attitudes towards pursuit of happiness, sovereignty of reason, search for liberty, progress and secularism are all based on Descartes initial ponderings. On top of this, his scientific and mathematical theories later inspired the works of Leibniz and Newton.

Perhaps his most known legacy is a famous quote. In his ‘Discourse on the Method’, he wrote ‘je pense, donc je suis’. This appeared later in the Latin form it is today famous for – ‘cogito, ergo sum’ – ‘I think, therefore I am’. As Descartes explained it, “we cannot doubt of our existence while we doubt.” He was the father of doubt – challenging the blind faith that was the norm of his time.

Descartes was active when Queen Christina was the ruler in Sweden. Intrigued by his philosophies, she invited him to visit her in Stockholm. The idea was that Descartes would organise a new scientific academy in Sweden and tutor the Queen in science, philosophy and love.

Descartes moved to the Swedish capital in the middle of winter, and lived in a cold and draughty building near the palace. It became clear after a couple of visits that he and Queen Christina did not like each other, and on February 11 1650, Descartes died from pneumonia. Another theory is, however, that he was poisoned by a Catholic missionary who opposed his controversial views.

He was buried in the cemetery of Adolf Fredrik’s Church in Stockholm, where there is today a memorial to him. In 1666, his corpse was transferred to France and his skull is on display in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.

It was surprising to learn that this giant of intellectual thinking died in Sweden. It makes me wonder what other non-Swedish, internationally-noted people spent their last days in this frozen country of the north. If you know of any, please share your insights with me and the rest of the readers.