Sweden

When you think of ABBA you mean Sweden, or when you think of Sweden you mean ABBA. In addition to this Roxette, Europe, Alcazar,Ace of Base, Rednex, Eagle Eye Cherry and many more music groups, songwriters and producers are of Swedish origins.

Sweden is a Scandinavian nation with thousands of coastal islands and inland lakes, actually 95 700 lakes in the country along with vast boreal forests and glaciated mountains. 2/3 of the total country’s land area is covered by forest with a total area of 280 650km2. Its principal cities, eastern capital Stockholm and southwestern Gothenburg and Malmö, are all coastal. Stockholm is built on 14 islands. But I will tell you more when postcard from Stockholm will come across.

There are many things that amazes me about this country, but one is for sure the best of them all. And is that in Sweden only 1% of waste ends up in landfill with 50% being recycled or composted and 49% being incinerated for energy. This may sound like great news, but it has caused one big problem: there’s not enough waste left to keep the incinerators running. So, Sweden has come up with a novel solution. They import waste from Norway and the UK to keep the lights on. And as a double bonus, the countries actually pay Sweden to take their waste away! Briliant, right?

During the Christmas period, Swedish people drink Julmust, which is a fermented, though alcohol-free, malt drink similar to root beer. 45 million litres are consumed in December, then disappears from shelves for a few months when it reappears at Easter as Påskmust – the same drink in a different bottle. Outside of these times the drink is almost impossible to obtain.