Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [262]
The clear northern light and glare from water, ice and snow may require use of a UV filter (or skylight filter) and a lens shade. ISO 100 film is sufficient for most purposes. In winter, most cameras don’t work below −20°C. Lonely Planet’s Travel Photography, by Richard I’Anson, contains some handy hints.
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POST
Since 2002, the Swedish postal service Posten (020-23 22 21; www.posten.se) has been radically reorganised: in a cost-cutting bid, it closed its regular post offices and instead opened up a network of around 3000 counter services in shops, petrol stations and supermarkets across the country. Look for the yellow post symbol on a pale blue background, which indicates that postal facilities are offered.
Most Swedes now buy their stamps and post letters while going about their grocery shopping. If your postal requirements are more complicated (such as posting a heavy parcel), ask at the local tourist office – package services are offered at certain office-supply stores, as well as places like Mailboxes Etc.
Postal Rates
Mailing letters or postcards weighing up to 20g within Sweden costs Skr5.50; it’s Skr11 to elsewhere in Europe and beyond. The ekonomibrev (economy post) option for within Sweden takes longer to reach its destination and costs marginally less (Skr5). Airmail will take a week to reach most parts of North America, perhaps a little longer to Australia and New Zealand.
At the time of writing, a package weighing 2kg costs Skr282.50 by airmail within Europe and Skr305 outside Europe.
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SHOPPING
In Sweden, there’s no shortage of the gorgeous furniture and interior design for which the country is famous. Head to DesignTorget (www.designtorget.se), which showcases the work (usually quite affordable) of established and new designers. There are branches in Stockholm, Täby, Göteborg and Malmö.
Souvenirs, handicrafts and quality Swedish products in glass, wood, amber, pewter or silver are relatively expensive, but tend to be a lot cheaper when bought directly from the manufacturer; some places will organise shipping for you. The best souvenirs include glassware (such as bowls, jugs, vases and ornaments) from Glasriket, Swedish painted wooden horses from Dalarna (see boxed text), wooden toys, and jewel-lery made from amber and silver. Some foodstuffs, such as hjortronsylt (cloudberry jam) and sill (pickled herring), are also well worth taking home. Sale prices in shops are advertised with the word rea; for discounts or special offers look for lågpris, extrapris, rabatt or fynd.
Handicrafts carrying the round token Svensk slöjd, or the hammer and shuttle emblem, are endorsed by Svenska Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund, the national handicrafts organisation whose symbol is found on affiliated handicraft shops. Look out for signs reading hemslöjd, indicating handicraft sales outlets.
If you’re interested in Sami handicrafts, look for the Duodji label (a round, coloured, authenticity token) and, if possible, go to a Sami village and make your purchase there. Be careful of some town shops that may have fakes on the shelves. Some typical Sami handcrafts include ornately carved sheath knives, cups, bowls, textiles and jewellery. Reindeer bone, wood (birch), reindeer hide and tin are commonly used materials.
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FLATPACK FURNITURE TAKES OVER THE WORLD
If you’re a few billion dollars poorer than you’d like to be, the Ikea success story is one that you should study closely. From humble beginnings selling pens, watches and nylon stockings from a shed in Älmhult, Småland, Ikea’s creator-god Ingvar Kamprad has turned himself into one of the world’s richest men. He was No 7 in Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of the world’s billionaires, with a personal fortune of around US$31 billion