Sverige musings ... !!

Ok ... Sverige stands for Sweden ...

Its been close to 2 weeks since I have been here and I thought its a good time to write about some of the stuff that I have observed over here.

The day I landed at Copenhagen (I know its in Denmark but it's a stone's throw from Malmo), the instructions (both written and oral) were so precise that I did not feel like a newbie. I didnt spend a lot of time for a train ticket from Copenhagen to Malmo. There were 3 different platforms, each catering to different regions. There was one dedicated platform for Malmo and there were lifts to take passengers to the platform from the airport. The ticketing system specified that there would be a discount if the number of people are more than 1. This was fruitful :P

Before every station, there were clear announcements as to which is the next station and the duration for which the train would halt at that station. This was very helpful since we had lots of baggage with us and it calmed us down a lot when we knew that Malmo is the last station and the train would stay there for close to 15 minutes.

The sunrise and sunset were some of the initial shocks. It was 5 pm when we reached Malmo and it was pitch dark. The sun doesnt rise till around 0830. So it was like going to office in the dark and coming back also in the dark.

The pedestrians have their way most of the time here. The vehicles would stop if they see anyone crossing or even when they feel that someone is approaching the zebra. So now I am used to walk right past the road. If I do the same in India ... I would be killed ... in a very bad way :P. People who are driving bring along lots of stuff with them for TP in case they have to stop if people are crossing. For example ... sandwiches, newspapers, etc.

There are also buttons at each crossing for pedestrians that speeds up the Green signal. Divine.

People here are very reserved and stick to their groups if they have one. Buses are twice our size and its pin drop silence inside. This is very weird for us Indians. We love to make friends with strangers. People dont like strangers saying Hi to their kids :(

There is a digital status board at each bus stop with route information and the due time for each bus. Additionally, there is an asterisk for each bus on this board which denotes that the bus is close by. And the bus will stop at the designated place and not an inch further or behind. There are buttons available to every passenger which can be used to inform the driver that you want to get down at the next stop. If there is no1 who presses this button and the driver finds that there is no1 who is waiting to board the bus either, then he will not stop.

Sweden is a child centric country and people value their families a lot. Its common to find people coming to office during odd hours like 3 am or 5 am and leave by noon to be with their families. Parents pick up and drop their kids to school everyday. Both parents are entitled to leaves when the baby is to be born. Both parents can work at 80% workload till the child is 8 years old. Both parents are entitled to sick leave if their kids are sick. Locals feel homesick in office ... :P

People love their weekends ... in the sense that they stay at home. The streets are deserted during weekends. Most of the stuff is automated ... but thats expected in this part of the world. People talk more about going to a different country during their free time rather than some place in their own country :P

The local currency is Kronor. One Euro is around 10 Kronors so that translates into 1 Kronor = 6.5 Rupees ... most of the grocery here is quite affordable ...

30 eggs are for 25 Kronors, Onions are 5 Kronors for a kg, Potatoes are 8 Kronors for a kg, Tomatoes are 4 Kronors for a kg, a Bread packet containing around 30 slices is for 10 Kronors, boneless Chicken is 75 Kronors for a kg, a lite of Milk costs 10 Kronors, a litre of cooking oil is for 17 Kronors, etc.

If you convert it to Indian currency, it may seem expensive but as a percentage of the salary it is quite affordable ...

Well ... thats most of what I have observed over here ... I am sure there is more to come ...

Cheers ... !!