Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow

It’s the time of year for Serbian tales of vampires, the Babaroga and Nikola Tesla! Jelena fills us in on this, plus we discuss the Swedish birthday song and ‘Swedish problems’.

Luis, who grew up in Spain, talks a bit about his birth country Costa Rica (watch out for alligators), swimming at Saltsjöbaden (fun to swim in, hard to say) and expat superpowers!

Sarah, from Wisconson, just wants a Target, good BBQ and affordable chocolate chips. Is that really too much to ask?

Today we chat with Nicole, from Massachusetts, about the terror of grocery shopping in another language, tricks for not having to speak, recycling and Cinnamon Bun day!

Pinar, from Turkey, joins us on this week’s episode when we talk about superstitions, air raid sirens and chain restaurants that might or might not be Turkish.

Olga, from Ukraine, talks about Ukrainian vs. Swedish cafe culture, getting to know your neighbors through fake traditions, and the beauty of rules, among other things.

We talk with author Patrick Hamilton Walsh about his travels, how he found himself in Sweden, and his new book “Forgive Me, Sister.”

We’re back for Season 2 with a recap of our Swedish and not-so Swedish summers. We discuss scuba diving with the metric system, the advantages of bathing caps and co-ed summer camps.

You may have noticed the large number of crawfish napkins, plates, hats and lamps in every store lately. Well, on this summer edition of Swedes Explain, Tobias fills us in on the mysteries of the Swedish crawfish party.

Today’s Swede, Jorun, tells us about the popular tourist destination of Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea.