Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sweden

How do I get my package that's been "Inbound Into Customs" in NY for 12+ days?

gemmy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:37:48 -0800

My perfectly boring package from Sweden has been listed as "Inbound Into Customs" since September 4. How can I find out what the problem is? Can I get it cleared somehow? I purchased some Swedish foods (some soft thinbread, a tube of cheese, a box of pearl sugar, a container of baking molasses, and two bags of licorice candy) from an online retailer - a mom & pop type shop that I've used successfully several times before. They shipped the package from Sweden on September 2, and the USPS tracking tool shows it arriving in New York on September 4. Since then, however, the package status has been "Inbound Into Customs" with no further updates. (Compare with my last three orders from them, which got to me in 4-5 days.)

I asked the store if they knew what was up - they say that they have never had this happen before, and their local post office doesn't know why it's been delayed so long. I talked to my postman and to a clerk at my post office, and neither of them had any suggestions or insights. Searching online for others in the same situation, my case seems a bit odd because a) it's taking more than 4-5 days to clear customs, b) the package doesn't contain even possible contraband of any kind, and c) it doesn't contain enough of anything to make them suspect that it's for re-sale.

I'm extra pissed about the whole thing because the bread and cheese would have been fine after five or six days in transit, but will be stale/spoiled now. And I craved it so...

Have you had this happen to you, and if so how did it turn out? Will they send me some sort of form to explain what happened to my package, and if so when? Can I find out what the problem is? Can I get it cleared somehow by explaining the contents? Any idea why this very boring package would be stuck in customs so long? Any help would be appreciated.

Gothenburg - Sweden travel tips

biffa — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:15:26 -0800

Suggestions for things to do, places to visit/stay/eat and general tips from Gothenburg to Stockholm. We'll be hiring a car and taking 8 days to get from Gotherburg to Stcokholm in early September, any tips appreciated. We're reasonably active and open to ideas for outdoor activites. Visits to cultural and historical sites, natural phenomenon are of interest. Out of the ordinary accomodation would also be of interest.

Sweden Filter: Telenor and SMS to US, and a little more

hipersons — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:41:25 -0800

1. Why won't my sms's go through 2. Any way to permanently change all my numbers to have a +1 in the front? 3. Help with roaming charges I just arrived in Sweden and got a Telenor card for my unlocked iPhone. I can sms people in Sweden just fine, but my sms to numbers in France will fail without telling me, and my sms to number in the USA will fail before its even sent out even if I put the +1 in front of the numbers.

Also, is there an easy way with google/iPhone to auto put +1 in front of all my US numbers without me doing it manually? I know t does it for calls, but I want to permanently update the numbers.

Finally, if someone can help me figure out on the Telenor site what happens if I make calls or use the internet with my prepaid card in other countries in Europe, that would be great. I don't speak Swedish, eep!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.

December — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:35:38 -0800

How much would it cost me to buy two secondhand bikes near Stockholm, Sweden? And where would I buy them? Just something decent enough to ride around the city, but not overly nice enough to be theft-worthy (one for a man, one for a woman). Thanks!

He ain't heavy, he's my single speed.

monocultured — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:56:06 -0800

I've bought a frankenstein bicycle and want to fix it up. Need help with identification and suggestions. Long story short, I've been asking around here in Gothenburg about what kind of bike it might be and suggestions for repairs, but I haven't gotten much in way of answers. There are pictures of the bike and some details on the Swedish forum happymtb if you'd care to take a look.

I got new crank wedges the other day, and the repair guy loosed the bottom bracket while at it, since it was too tight and the cranks didn't rotate freely. Well, the bottom bracket was prolly wound that tight since it's old and busted up inside - one of the pedals now pulsate and skip ever so slightly on each revolution, and there's a creaking noise on the gear side of the bracket.

So, it looks like I have to disassemble and repair or replace the bottom bracket. In order to do that I'd have to know what kind of tools I require, what type of bracket it is, what kind of wear and tear to look for, etc.

Part of the problem is that I know too little about the mechanics to ask the right questions. Pointing at the bike and drawling "it's brokened" isn't winning me any friends in the bike community here.

Here is a picture of the bottom bracket. FWIW the pedals are French, (Stamped with "Moillard C×Ↄ France" – althought it's hard to make out) and might help with identification. (Some people have suggested that this is of French make, perhaps a Peugeot or some such, but most certainly it's a cheap 70's or 80's road bike that's been remade into a single speed.)

An image of me throwing good money after bad might come to mind, but I don't want to give up on this thing; I reccon that I'll have to score used parts for this project, but if I can learn something while at it it might be worth it. Or will this all end in tears?

I know enough not to say, "Bork bork bork!"

WidgetAlley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:43:11 -0800

I am going to be studying in Sweden for five months! What do I need to know to make it as beneficial an experience as possible? I am a 21 year-old female third-year student who will be studying sociology and geography at Mid-Sweden University for five months come August, on the Sundsvall campus. Needless to say, I am extremely excited and want to make this as awesome as possible. What do I need to know to survive and have a great time? What is the big thing you wish someone had told you before you went to Sweden? General Sweden-related advice and Sundsvall-specific recommendations are both more than welcome!

Laptop stores in Sweden?

hoobichu — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:56:27 -0800

Does anyone know about some online laptop stores based in Sweden? Or do you know of any way to figure out what netbook laptops are on the market in Swedish stores, so I can do the research in advance? My friend is traveling to Sweden in the next few days, and his laptop died while in Africa. He doesn't have Internet access so he needs me to do the research for buying a new netbook in Sweden.

If someone can give me any information on what the computer market is like over there, like what brands are available and what kinds of stores there are, that would help. If there are Swedish online stores, that would help as well.

Also, both my friend and I are Canadian and don't speak any Swedish.

Swedish road trip

Lynx — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:02:41 -0800

What's not to miss on a road trip from Germany to Uppsala, Sweden? Also, if we decide not to drive all the way in one day, where would be great to stay a night? End of March a friend of mine and I will drive from Kiel in Germany to Uppsala. Option one is doing that trip in just one day, which would not leave too much time for stops to look at things, and those should not be too far off the highway.
Option two is taking one night stopover somewhere half the way. I would love camping on the shore of a nice, tranquil lake in the woods, but that my be a little cold in the Swedish March. Some kind of hostel or hotel would also be ok, if not expensive.
Any great tips for that trip?

need help with an itinerary from helsinki to stockholm

helios — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:00:43 -0800

I'm flying to Helsinki in April, and flying back (either from Stockholm or Helsinki) 10 days later. I would like to know if my itinerary through northern Finland/Sweden is reasonable.. I only have 10 days, but I'd really like to travel north through Tampere, Oulu, Rovaniemi, and then south along the eastern coast of Sweden until I reach Stockholm. I'd like to spend 1-2 days in Helsinki and Stockholm, and then decide where to spend the rest of my time as I go along.

There are two options that I know of:

1) I could rent a car and drive the entire way, deciding where to spend time as I go. Then I'd take a ferry back to Helsinki on the last day of my trip to return the car. Is this feasible? Is it a drivable route in mid-april? How hard is it to take a ferry to Helsinki with a car? Finally, would there be any other potential issues with driving?

2) I could instead rely on public transportation. I would imagine that I'd be taking a combination of buses and trains. In this case, I'd just fly back directly from Stockholm. I'm thinking that this is possibly more difficult and risky, but might be more fun..

I should mention that I have an extremely high tolerance for lengthy travel in a train/bus/car (I find it enjoyable, in fact) but of course I still want to have time to enjoy the places I'm staying.

Are either of these options feasible? And if so, does anyone have any feedback that might help me decide which to do?

Thanks!

Sweet Hawaii, here is my money!

monocultured — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:47:39 -0800

What to buy while in Hawaii? (Maui & Oahu) My mom is spending Christmas & New years eve in Hawaii with her boyfriend (manfriend? They're over 50 after all) and she's asked me if there's anything I'd like bought and brought back.

Since the US is comparatively cheap on electronics, I figure that might be an option (I live in Sweden - land of expensive thingies) but can't for the life of me figure out what to get where.

I'm thinking maybe a Wacom tablet, e-ink reader or an extra SATA-drive or two. Suggestions? Addresses to cheapo stores? What should not be missed shopping-wise when on the islands? Good bookstore maybe? (heavy, but one or two pockets books might be nice) Is there a webpage that lists offers and such for the islands?

Basically, what would you get if you were going to Maui and Oahu, and is there anything worth to bring back to Europe/Sweden besides souvenirs and trinkets?

Sorry for being unspecific, but last time I went to the states I ended up getting a load of second hand clothes and mp3-player and half a library, and trying to come up with something specific beforehand is difficult.

Unidentified Coats of Arms on a 16th C. Map

RedReplicant — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:21:04 -0800

Curious coats of arms on a 16th century map-- can you help with identification and significance? I'm working on a conference paper about the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus (1539). Here's a link to a reasonable scan of the map.

I've identified most of the coats of arms on the map, but there are a few that have eluded me. The Moscow coat of arms, for instance, on the right over Ivan the Terrible ("Great King of the Moscovites")-- the man on horseback with a bow and arrow appears in a couple of Russian coats of arms, but I haven't been able to find this one in a specifically Moscovian context. Normally their coat is St. George, who has a spear (quite a different connotation from bow and arrows).

Secondly, the coat of arms of Norway appears over the Faroe Islands (Olaus has labeled them "Orcad"). Faroe was historically attached to Denmark, not Norway. And interestingly enough, the coat of arms is reversed. I speculate that Olaus believes this property ought to be Norway's, but I have no historical basis for that. Any information would be appreciated!

One somewhat unrelated item: I've been unable to decipher the latin inscription on the king of Gothia (he is fictional; Gothia was a province of Sweden at this time). The other kings all have religious inscriptions or descriptions of their greatness.

I'd write up more of these items to Olaus' imagination, but his other map details are almost always based on some kind of historical sources. I'd really appreciate any information or light shed upon this wonderful map, even if it's not specific to my questions.

Laptop Repair in Lund or Malmö

rossination — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:32:33 -0800

Calling all Swedish mefites! Laptop repair for an American Dell in either Lund or Malmö, Sweden? My girlfriend is studying at Lund and just recently had a wine-spilled-on-laptop crisis (I've read the other AskMes on this; she has the battery out and it's drying).

Is there anywhere she could take her (American Dell) laptop to try to salvage it or at least pull data off of the hard drive?

Any additional information on computer repair in Lund and/or laptop spills would be welcome.

Screw Chevy Chase

Christ, what an asshole — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:03:51 -0800

I'm looking for underrated, obscure European vacation stops. A couple friends and I are going to Europe for a month (Nov/Dec), and we plan on doing the whole Eurorail/hostel thing across several countries. 1/3rd of the destination stops are for my choosing, and while I know they'll be making the saturated, obvious choices like Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, etc., I'd like to spice things up with places that don't automatically spring to mind but offer the same level (if not more) of awe. Ideally, cities that aren't automatic tourist stops where most everyone speaks English and there's a McDonald's on every corner (but also not so far out of the way from mid-Europe like some hole-in-the-wall, Eastern-European Caspian city).

What sort of places have you visited that you would recommend?

The Swedish Chef Would Answer This In Two Shakes

A Long and Troublesome Lameness — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:52:29 -0800

Which Nordic country should I visit? I would like to visit a Nordic country (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Finland). They interest me equally. Which one do you recommend for: (1) Americans; (2) traveling with a three-year-old; (3) with no significant knowledge of the local languages; and (4) who will spend most but not all of their time in that country's largest city?

Aside from all being great places to live...

StrikeTheViol — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:58:28 -0800

I'd like to know more about social, cultural and economic differences between Scandinavian countries. I've seen this and have a few acquaintances that introduced me to national stereotypes, but I'm sure it gets more complex. How does life really vary across Scandinavia?

One night in Stockholm

kall — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:58:51 -0800

Help me spend a night (and a Day) in Stockholm. A few friends an me (17-20) are going to fly to stockholm tomorow (the flight ticket was nearly free). We have the Night and the following day. We were not planning to sleep, so we haven't booked anything.
I'm looking for your recomondations for the night and for the day.
I'm looking for a place in the town, where a lot of nice bars are in a walkable place, and where you can have a lot of fun for the whole night. Also recomondations for clubs are welcome (do you have to be 18 to go to one in sweden?, do they care?).
After not sleeping we would need a place to hang out a bit, like a nice park or something. (good breakfest recomondations are also welcome).

And what shall we do the next day?

Uppsala travel

about_time — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:22:16 -0800

What to do in and around Uppsala/Stockholm, Sweden as a tourist? A friend and I are going to be in Uppsala, Sweden (close to Stockholm) a week from now for about 5 days. We're looking for recommendations for things to do and eat in the area. We're not looking for high-end entertainment, more like local color. Any particularly Swedish eateries or particular dishes you can recommend (vegequarian a plus! though one of us eats all things)? Also, any bike rental shop recommendations? We'd love to learn more about Sweden's progressive environmental policies (#3 in the Environmental Performance Index!). Any good hikes, train rides, fjords... ? We can afford to rent a car if it is worth it, but we can't change our hotel reservations from Uppsala.

Thanks!

Mobile data transfer up north

uncle harold — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:07:35 -0800

Mobile Internet access options in Scandinavia? For a foreigner, preferably no long term contract. I'll be in Scandinavia this summer for about 2 months and will need regular and spontaneous Internet access. The time will be mostly spent in Norway, with maybe 2 weeks in Sweden.

I know mobile services are very advanced and cheap in all of Scandinavia. But are there local carriers that offer short term contracts (no one or two year obligations)? Pay by call or volume based options? Available to non-residents without a local bank account or credit card?

Thanks!

Name That Tea!

ckolderup — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:42:12 -0800

I'd like to buy more of a specific type of tea that my fiancée really likes, but since she obtained it abroad we don't know what the name of the type of tea is. It's a bit of a longshot, but can someone help try to identify it? When my fiancée was studying abroad in Uppsala, Sweden, she went to a shop that sells coffees and teas called Bönor & Blad underneath a café named Storken. While at the shop, she purchased a type of tea that she really liked. The tea is labeled "champagne;" the leaves are very dark brown and it had little shreds of yellow and blue petals in it. She says it "smells a little like strawberry, but not enough for that to be its primary flavor."

That's, uh, about all we have. I can try to provide more details if there are other important questions to be asked. Thanks!

Everyone knows the monkey, but the monkey knows no one.

Anything — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:26:27 -0800

Proverb origins? Everyone knows the monkey, but the monkey knows no one. It's used in Finnish (Kaikki tuntevat apinan, mutta apina ei tunne ketään). Some claim it originates here, but I have my doubts. I've tried googling various forms in English, but I get few results. Some of those seem to be from Baltic or Russian people. I think I also saw a Swede there. Have you heard it in these or any other languages? How frequently? Do you have knowledge or good guesses of its origins?

Stockholm to Aarhus - Train or Plane?

divabat — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:49:20 -0800

Would it be cheaper to get to Aarhus (Denmark) from Stockholm (Sweden) by budget air or by train? I'm going to Europe next week - I'll be in Stockholm from the 2nd to 4th of November, then in Aarhus from 5th to 7th, then back to Stockholm to fly home.

I've tried looking up train fares, but I've only found information for the Eurail multicountry passes, which are exorbitant and unnecessary (as they're meant for more frequent travel). The prices for budget air sound great, but as I haven't managed to get individual train ticket prices, I can't make a fair comparison.

How much does a return trip from Stockholm to Aarhus cost? Is it better to fly or go on a train (overnight?)? Which is safer? I'm a 22-year-old Asian female travelling alone.

(also, any Mefites willing to host me in Stockholm? :P)

Can I buy a temporary SIM in Sweden?

Touchstone — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 02:34:39 -0800

Going on holiday to Sweden tomorrow, and I've lost my mobile. What are my options? I'm off on holiday to Stockholm tomorrow, and somehow, in the course of last night, I lost my phone. It would be really useful to have a phone for the holiday. I still have a couple of old handsets around, so I was thinking that I would get a sim. I'm coming from the UK.

1. Are UK handsets useable in sweden. I presume they are, GSM and so forth, but worth checking.
2. Is it possible to buy a sim card in Stockholm, and how much would this cost.
3. Is there a economical way of buying a temporary sim card here in london which would work in Sweden.

Thanks for any help.

How do I call my wife in Sweden, Copenhagen, and Hungary while she visits for two weeks?

seinfeld — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 08:54:51 -0800

How do I call my wife in Sweden, Copenhagen, and Hungary while she visits for two weeks? I'm in the US and she will not have a cell phone or a computer. It's probably best if I call the hotels, but is jajah or skype my best bet? Anyone have other suggestions? How about via calling card so I don't have to be around a computer.. Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated.

Things to do in Gothenburg when you're dead.

methylsalicylate — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:53:41 -0800

Due to the fantastic folks at KLM, I have a six-plus-hour layover in Gothenburg, Sweden, on the afternoon of Thursday, June 14th. I already know how to get into town from the airport. The question is, what would be the best way to spend a few hours in the city? Free and not requiring additional transport preferred. I will be returning to Gothenburg and staying in Nya Varvet the next week, so would like to spend the layover time in the center of the city. I like art, music, vegetarian food, and sitting around in parks.

ObReciprocalAdvice: Fly SAS next time.

looking for a sweater style

freddymetz — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:35:53 -0800

Looking for a style, it includes sleeveless sweater vest over a white shirt with black trousers or tight jeans and I think a studded belt. Im looking for the name if one exists or some pics that will help me find the clothes to buy. We recently had swedish exchange students here and one of them had it and I remember seeing a swedish band clothed like that too so I think its a swedish trend