Day #149 - Copenhagen to Sweden

The lake in Alingsas -- a little like northern Minnesota (with moose as well)

Great beach

The perfect Lake House

A look out from the balcony of my little cottage

Tuesday, August 10th

I'm currently sitting at a McDonalds in a small town in Sweden called Alingsas. I'm waiting for this extremely kind Swedish family to pick me up.

So, the money thing (both conversions and overall cost) has been on my mind. I just talked with a couple guys on the train and they had told me how Norway and Denmark are 2 of the most expensive countries in the world. I had to do some searching on this.

According to the 2010 City Mayors Report, the most expensive cities in the world are (I'll only list Europe and US):

(4) Moscow, Russia

(5) Geneva, Switz

(8) Zurich, Switz

(10) Copenhagen, Denmark

(11) Oslo, Norway

(15) Milan, Itlay

(17) London, England

(17) Paris, France

(22) Bern, Switzerland

(26) Rome, Italy

(27) NY City

(28) Vienna, Austria

(30) St. Petersburg, Russia

(31) Helsinki, Finland

(35) Amsterdam, Netherlands

(37) Bratislava, Slovakia

(40) Athens, Greece

(42) Dublin, Ireland

(44) Istanbul, Turkey

(47) Prague, Czech Republic

(49) Barcelona, Spain

(50) Frankfurt, Germany

I think this list is fascinating. It says alot. I haven't researched this topic at all until today and I couldn't agree more with it. I felt things in Switzerland were crazy expensive - now I see why. I felt like Copenhagen was outrageous - now I see why. Before the end of my trip, I'm hoping to have visited every single city listed above. It's going to be interesting to see if my take-away is consistent with the results shown.

You could make alot of assumptions from this list. Only 1 city in the US (NYCity) is in the top 50. Switzerland and the Nordic countries are extremely expensive. I'm looking forward to travelling in Germany - Berlin, Munich or Hamburg did not make the list. A city missing is Stockholm - I wonder why. I can tell you just from the cost at McDonalds right now - a family of 3 bought dinners in front of me. Remember how it cost roughly $15/meal in Copenhagen. Here, it was about $9-10. If that says anything - you can see maybe why Swedish cities would not be on the list. But why is Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki in the Top 50 -- but not Stockholm --- inquiring minds want to know?

When folks from Europe come to the US - it must be like kids in a candy store. They have to be throwing money around like it's playtime. It would be the equivalent of us going to Kilimanjaro, Africa. The guys on the train also said that people make more on average in the Nordic countries. I'm assuming this would need to be true - just to survive in the economy.

Good stuff - I'm just fitting things together.

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LATER

I was picked up by Jan at McDonalds at 5:45pm. We drove back to their lake house where I met his wife Ulla, and his 2 sons - Henrik and Staffan. What a tremendously nice and friendly family. I felt right at home. They live the summer months on this beautiful lake - the look and feel is very similar to northern Minnesota in my eyes.

We shared some stories and had a great dinner. It all reminds me just how small the world really is sometimes. I worked with a fanatastic lady in Minnesota, who opened her home up to Jan many years ago as an exchange student, and now I'm here visiting them through this connection. Additionally, their son Henrik will be coming to the states within the next month as an exchange student himself. Hopefully I can hook him up with some contacts on my end. The circle keeps going around. As Jan stated, you just keep 'Paying it Forward' and things may just come back in your favor one day. Outstanding!

After dinner, we had more conversations. I've come to realize how little I know about today's popular music or even the popular TV shows. I generally watch sports if I watch TV, sometimes the occasional reality show (Amazing Race) or some reruns of the half-hour sitcoms of the past. I'm a huge fan of music and listen to everything - but am not so great on the new pop groups. I learned that most music in Sweden is performed in English. This dffers from many of the southern European countries. Staffan and Henrik are huge golf fans. We talked alot about the British Open and St. Andrews. Why I didn't realize Annnika Sorenstam was from Sweden - I don't know. It was fun to hear about Jan and Ulla's travels to Hawaii and New Zealand. I can listen to travel tales all night - it provides insite into areas and places that maybe I'll get to one day. By the end of the night, I was convinced that Sweden is more similar to the US then I could have ever imagined. Really, when it comes down to it, most people in the world are very similar - it's just the little differences that make us unique.

We called it an evening about 11pm. I stayed in their 'guest house' - a small little cottage right by their place. How great would it be too have a place like this?

Here's to a great first day in Sweden and a big "Thank You" for the hospitality of my new friends.