Scandinavia and the Baltics - Part 7 - Summary of Sweden

This is a summary of our observations on Sweden and specifically Stockholm. 

As we always say, 4 days do not an expert make, but these are our own personal observations and reflections, which may contain hints that will make your trip a bit easier to plan. 

1. We found the Swedish people that we met on the street to be friendly and courteous, but somewhat reserved. In other words, they did not go out of their way be welcoming but if asked, were more that eager to help. A number of times, people saw us looking at our map or iPhone and came over offering to help give us directions. 

2. Almost everyone we spoke to spoke English perfectly. The signs, though, were all in Swedish. Even in some of the touristic places, there was no written English. 

3. In general, people were dressed stylishly. We saw more men in suits or dress shirts than in t-shirts. We saw more women in skirts and dresses than in pants or jeans. 

4. There was much more modest dress than one would see in North America or in Israel; very little shorts or sleeveless, perhaps because of the colder climate, although when we were there, the temperatures were more like summer in Canada. We saw virtually no grunge. 

5. The catchphrase that all four of us had after a couple of days in Sweden was “the people here are all slim, tall, leggy, blonde and beautiful”. The men and the women!

6. Sweden is quiet. That is a funny way to describe a country, but we found it quiet ....the people in the streets, on the subways, in shoppes, were all quiet and reserved. Not to the same extent as in Japan, but quiet nevertheless.

7. The majority of the buildings were old and well preserved, well maintained. And while the outside was clearly old, the insides were modernized to a very high standard.

8. The sidewalks were well maintained even though they were formed with paving stones, nothing was uneven, nothing out of place. And when something needed repair, that area was roped off as the renovations proceeded. When buildings were being refaced or new buildings erected, there was a gauze barrier so that the repairs were cut off from view or perhaps to ensure that no debris fall into the path of passersby. 

Our only word of caution here is that in the Old Town of Gamla Stan, in order to preserve the authenticity of the place, they have retained the early cobblestone streets. And these are really cobblestones that are hard to walk on unless you are wearing very comfortable thick soled shoes...still well maintained but harder on the feet. 

9. There are very clear markings of car lanes and bicycle lanes. There are pedestrian crossings everywhere. And even though there are traffic lights, cars seem to always give way for pedestrians. If you look like you are waiting to cross the road, an oncoming car will slow down and yield to you so that you pass unhindered. Almost no one uses their horn.

But when it comes to cyclists of all types, they believe that they are king. So if you are trying to cross the road and you have to cross over a cyclists’ lane, be careful...they will not yield. 

10. There are signs everywhere about conservation, the green movement and the need to recycle. Clearly the Swedes are into conservation; many of the cars were electric and there are government subsidies if you purchase an electric car. We even had a ride in an Uber Tesla....very smooth and comfortable ride.

11. We for the first time saw the emergence of a cashless society in Sweden. There were a number of places, even tourist spots that would no longer take cash. Imagine not having a credit card and coming to a museum that refused your payment because it was cash? Well, we experienced it and even experienced it in a small coffee shop in Vaxholm. Credit is king!

12. As we have done in many cities we took advantage of the Free Walking Tour. There are 4 tour companies in Stockholm offering the free walking tour. We chose ours by the Trip Advisor reviews. It was great and if you are pleased, you simply leave a tip for the guide. Our tour took us through the Old City Gamla Stan. 

13. You really have to be lucky with the weather and we certainly were. In early September in Sweden and Finland, you can experience cold weather, but we had absolutely beautiful weather, perfect for walking and touring. Our only cloudy cool day was the afternoon in Vaxholm but otherwise it was perfect. 

14. Scooters and Segway - when your feet begin to ache from all that walking, you have a number of options as to how to tour the city or to get from place to place. 

We took a Segway tour of the new part of Stockholm and in two and a half hours we covered a lot of ground with little wear and tear on our legs. This was our second Segway experience and it is either a result of experience or improvements in the machine, but it was easier the second time around. We will certainly consider doing this again in other cities. Not sure if Irving has the same feeling.....

The other emerging mode of transit that seems to have taken off in Stockholm is the electric scooter. Similar to the way the city bike system works, where you can pickup a bike in one place using an app and returning it to another place closer to your destination, the scooter system has one advantage or disadvantage. With the scooter, there are no depots (the advantage).  You pick one up whenever you see one, and drop it off whenever you are finished with it, sometimes in the middle of a sidewalk or a pedestrian walkway (that’s the disadvantage). 

These are available in many cities, including Tel Aviv, and other cities, Toronto included, are considering their introduction but are hesitant as there are no established rules of the road yet for the scooter; can you use them on sidewalks?....or only in bike lanes? In Stockholm where you have bike lanes everywhere, their introduction has been seamless. In Toronto, they will introduce it limited to the Distillery District and if it works there, will expand its use to other areas of the city. 

15. We felt very safe in Stockholm. From a personal safety standpoint and Jewishly. There are signs everywhere warning about pickpockets and took the precautions that everyone should take in any big city. But we never felt threatened or feared for our safety anywhere. 

I (David) brought a hat with me because we were warned that wearing a kippa was dangerous. But I wore a kippa everywhere and never once felt that my safety was being compromised. We received conflicting comments by members of the Jewish community. Most men leaving shul took off their kippot. Many said that “one does not wear a kippah in the open in Sweden”. But others told us that as long as we were in the central part of the city, where tourists hang out, we should feel safe and a kippah would not be dangerous. 

Some of the women in shul on Shabbat told Ruchama and Fran about their children being harassed in their schools because they were Jewish and those women said that they would not want their children to wear kippot or a Magen David for fear of being harassed. 

Not sure what is right but BH we were safe. 

16. Kosher list & app - in preparing for this trip, I downloaded the Swedish Kosher List. As you know, like most European countries, there are few items with a kosher symbol on the product. And so you have to rely on the list. The list consists of those few items that are actually under Hashgacha and the many more items that the local rabbinate has determined onbe kosher without actual supervision. 

Closer to the actual date of departure, I was in touch with the local Orthodox Rabbi, Amram Maccabi, who informed us that there was now a kosher app, which when downloaded on your device, could scan the bar codes of products and let you know the status of the product. 

When we arrived, we tried it out on a number of products that we knew to be kosher and the app did not work. 

When I met the rabbi in shul on Friday, he informed me that he was the one to develop the app and that the app had been down for the past three days but was now back online. The app has 3000 barcodes thus far. Great concept. 

17. The Swedish community with its Orthodox rabbi has also four options for eating out. 

There is a cafe in the JCC, called the Bajit, which is generally open all day till 6 pm (check first), where you can have a light dairy meal. We went the first night we were there and enjoyed our meal. 

The Bajit Cafe is under the hashgacha of the Rav. The other three options (Vegan Schmegan, Herman’s and FLFL) are all vegan or vegetarian options and do not have active hashgacha; the Rav has checked all the ingredients and processes and has indicated the few ingredients that might present a problem. As a result, before going to any of these eateries, one should check the kosher list to see the exclusions. All three are owned by Jews and/or have Jewish chefs and as such the issue of bishul akum is addressed. 

There is also a kosher caterer in town who will cater all your food needs and deliver them to your hotel, and then there is the ever present Chabad which offers Shabbat meals. 

There is also a line of kosher supervised Mediterranean salads called BABA Foods, widely available, as well as a variety of kosher breads and crisp crackers like WASA, and a large variety of kosher herring and smoked salmon. Bottom line, you will not go hungry in Stockholm. 

18. Stockholm is expensive. Everything from taxis to food costs to admission costs to souvenirs was expensive. But the beauty of the city and easy access to everything should still make this a city worth visiting. 

19. And finally some words about Jewish life in Stockholm. Our impression of the community is that this is a community that is very proud of their Swedish roots and their Jewish history but is also a community that sees itself under constant threat. One community member told me that ten years ago, there were 17000 Jews in Sweden and 40000 Muslims; today there are less than 17000 Jews and 400,000 Muslims. There have been many anti Semitic incidents in Malmo which has a huge Muslim population and many less incidents in Stockholm. As a result of the anti Semitic attacks, every aspect of Jewish life is contained unfortunately within a fortress. 

In order for a visitor to enter into any of the synagogues or the Jewish Centre, one needs to pre register by email with copies of formal identity. 

There is a large Jewish school in Stockholm but because it relies on Government funding, it must accept non-Jews and is afraid to allocate more than one hour a week to Jewish prayer for fear of losing its funding. So while elderly locals are comfortable at leading the services in the synagogue, the fear is that the younger generation will not be able to continue with those same traditions and level of familiarity of the prayers and modes of observance. 

Estimates of the Jewish population of Stockholm itself are around 14000 (it is impossible to know exact numbers of Jews as the census in Sweden forbids ethnic registration), but only 4500 are registered with the formal Jewish community. 

Swedish Jews have strong ties to Israel and many have made Aliyah. Will this continue? Will the community survive? Impossible to know, but history has shown that when the Jewish education is weak, the community can begin to see the writing on the wall. 

20. Our conclusion after 4 and a half days in Sweden was that this is a place worth visiting. We fully enjoyed our visit there and now we are off to Helsinki Finland. 

More to come....Shabbat Shalom

Fran and David