Eurodan in English

Arlanda flygplats

It's been nearly a week now that I've been in Sweden. First I went to Gothenburg and celebrated New Year with Henrik and his friends, and then I flew over the Stockholm and just sort of had fun really.

And what fun it was.

I can't think of a more perfect place for me to live than Stockholm. If only the European Commission could decide to relocate there.

And why is Stockholm so wonderful? It's down to all kinds of factors, big and small. I've always liked the Germanic half of Europe, and Sweden combines that Germanicness with a kind of effortless glamour which is rarely tacky. The place is beautifully modern and efficient, yet most of this is provided by public funds. There is a real sense of fair play and taking ones time to do things well, a sort of "three cheers for the winners but three cheers for the losers as well" mentality.

It's a world away from the frenetic capitalist buzz which surrounds London, or the filthy, Eastern-bloc decrepitude of Brussels.

There are little things as well. The language is just beautiful and very easy to learn. They have excellent publicly funded TV and radio. It can get blisteringly cold, but rarely too hot. It's a beautiful, big country, with not many people. They're good at technology; things work and come on time. They're also great designers and understand how important the built environment is. You can dance on a boat in Stockholm's harbour to Eurovision music until the early hours and then go out on deck and watch the sun rise over the world's most beautiful capital city. They have Midsommar. And Eva Dahlgren. And emancipation for women. And queers.

I could go on, and on. But you get it. I don't want to leave. But the flight's about to board. Vi ses, Sverige!

Posted by Eurodan at January 5, 2005 7:09 AM