Denmark, Norway and Sweden get universal praise for their way of life, but some things about Scandinavia strike outsiders as peculiar.
Credit:Those used to cultures in which loud conversation, chit-chattiness and friendly argument are the norm will be disconcerted in Scandinavia, where public exuberance, lively debate and inconsequential polite conversation are considered unnecessary. Check out Scandinavian plays and films, which feature characters saying nothing while bottling up their emotions. Scandinavians happily sit in silence – they have quiet carriages on trains.
No Aussie will understand how Scandinavians survive months of freezing winter with barely a glimmer of daylight with only open sandwiches and herring for sustenance. Pundits put it down to hygge, the concept of Scandinavian cosiness and rustic simplicity. But can a few candles on windowsills replace the sun? Will drinking coffee while wearing knitted socks make up for dreadful weather? Even Scandinavians don’t think hygge is enough: they survive winter by holidaying in the Mediterranean.
Every time someone publishes a list of the world’s happiest countries, up pop Sweden, Norway and Denmark. And yet if you travel to Scandinavia, don’t expect to encounter cheerful, chirpy people in the manner of Mexicans or Filipinos, or energetic party types always looking for fun. Scandinavian philosophers are glum, Scandinavian novels depressing and ridden with alcoholic detectives, movies invariably noir, and the media full of doom and gloom. Something doesn’t add up.
Alcohol culture in Scandinavia is odd to an Aussie. Having a drink with colleagues after work isn’t common, nor is enjoying a glass of wine or beer at home. Drinking alcohol is firmly associated with weekends, parties, apres-ski revelry and festivals such as Christmas – in other words a group event and seldom an individual indulgence. In any case, you’ll be almost teetotal as a visitor, since the price of alcohol is alarming – almost twice the European average.
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