Exploring SWEDEN as a RUSSIAN | Malmö to Stockholm by train, Swedish traditions & Russian folklore!

Exploring SWEDEN as a RUSSIAN | Malmö to Stockholm by train, Swedish traditions & Russian folklore!

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I've just took a 40 minutes bus ride, and  I'm already in another country. So in Sweden,   I'm going to visit not only the capital  but also the city of Malmo, where I am now. So in this video, we will walk  around Malmo and Stockholm,   learn about local traditions with my Swedish  friend, go to an ethnographic museum,   and even find something that  reminds me of Russia. Let's go!

If you watched my previous video about Denmark,  you know how I got here. So I took a Flixbus from   Copenhagen to Malmo, and for some people, it is  just a daily commute, like 40 minutes. But here,   there are two different countries, and they are  connected by this bridge that was mentioned in   the famous series where two police departments of  both countries had to investigate a crime because   it was committed exactly in the middle of the  bridge. So I heard about this only from the   show, but now I personally was on that bridge.

The idea of this bridge is very interesting, so I  decided to Google a picture of how it looks from   above. So here is the picture of the bridge.  It looks so cool! So this must be Denmark,   and here it goes over to this... Wait, is  this Sweden? Like, I thought it would be   bigger! So if my final point was Malmo,  it's probably somewhere here, and then   I will take a train to Stockholm. Probably this  is Stockholm, so I will go like this. But, like,   I'm confused—where is IKEA? Where did they film  the Midsommar movie? Wow, you live, you learn. I   really didn't know. Am I on an island? But how  did they manage to fit all these facilities,   all the cities, in such a small place? Wow, that's  some impressive Nordic city planning. I'm shocked!

I was going to go to a park, but now I'm actually  walking in the middle of a cemetery. It is my   first time seeing a place like this in the  city center. So it's adjacent to the big   park. In Russia, you would never see cemeteries  in a normal place where people walk. Usually,   in Russia, a graveyard is a place outside of the  city. Gravestones are different—they are larger,   and there are these big plastic wreaths, and just  a different color and style of monuments. Here,   I feel that it's okay to walk  here; I feel that it is normal   when a cemetery is located in a park  where people relax. But in Russia,  

it would be like... a cemetery would  be a very uncomfortable place to be. What a nice river! So here, I'm walking  in a park, it's called Slottsparken,   although it was quite hard to figure out  its name on Google Maps because there is   another park called Kungsparken, and it's  just one big continuous park. And it seems   that there's some big celebration.  I wonder, what is the fest for? Wow, I found myself amidst some big celebration.  Is it the Midsummer Festival? Are they going to   sacrifice someone to the gods? Sorry,  but I will be making a reference to   this movie throughout the whole video.  And there are some interesting things,  

and there are many kids' activities like  fencing competitions and so on. Very cool! On my way to the train station, I discovered  myself in some very big festival again,   and there was a food part with so many  different dishes. But I took a big combo   from Ethiopian cuisine, which  was good but too big for me. So this is my train, and it's considered a  fancy option because it is a high-speed train,   and it will take me to Stockholm in just  4 and a half hours instead of 8 hours by   a regular train. Honestly, it doesn't look  fancy from the outside in comparison with   Russian trains like Sapsan or Lastochka.  But of course, not all trains in Russia  

look like Sapsan—only between Moscow and  St. Petersburg probably. And of course,   I'm still a big fan of our good old platzkart  from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok that I took a   lot. But yeah, I would like to see what  it's like to ride a high-speed train. The journey was nice. The restroom was clean,  and they even had vomit bags if you feel sick,   and I didn't see such bags in  trains in other European countries.

Welcome to Stockholm! So, what can I say  about this train? It was pretty regular,   but it was unusual for me that  the carriage was tilting on turns,   so it was doing such movements. It was very  unusual—maybe it has something to do with   a different kind of rails. But yeah, it is  so beautiful here, and it's almost 9 p.m.,   and pretty light still. Now, let's  explore the city of Stockholm! We have so many buildings, and even  air balloons are flying above this   little island! Or maybe I'm mistaken here, I  don't know. But correct me in the comments. Anyway, what I know for sure is that Sweden is the  birthplace of one really famous furniture store,   and it's so cool that I had the opportunity  to explore it with a local friend. Here I am,  

actually not in an apartment but in  IKEA, with my Swedish friend Josephine. Hello everyone! Josephine today will be my  tour guide, and actually,   we met in Georgia. That’s why I’m wearing this  Georgian t-shirt. What can you tell me about IKEA? Yeah, we are in IKEA, which is very symbolic  since it's a Swedish furniture store. As you see,   they build up this room where you can  walk around. You can sit on the sofas,   lay on the bed, see the kitchen, and you  can also have traditional Swedish food here,   which we are about to do later on—eat  Swedish meatballs. Let's go! - Yes. I heard that in IKEA you can actually lay  on the bed, but I never believed it. Like,  

how is it real that you can do this in the store?  But here, yes, I’m in, and I can sit here. Wow! There used to be an IKEA in Russia,  but only in big cities, and this store   was actually very popular. But in 2022, the  company suspended its operations in Russia   after the Russian invasion of Ukraine  began. So this is my first time in IKEA,   and it is symbolic that it  happened in its homeland.

Another feature of IKEA is the unusual  product names. Some of them are a play   on words and sound especially funny if you  know Swedish. In IKEA, they also have these   different names for every item, and sometimes  they’re very funny. And this one is called  

"omtänksam," which means that you kind of  take care of someone. And these are for,   um, for the shoes when you want to put on  your shoe. So these “take cares” of you! Yeah, it helps you with your shoe.  It's funny because in Russian,   we call this thing just a 'spoon for boots.'

What about this name? It says here "bästis." Yeah, 'bästis,' that means 'best friend.' Oh yeah! I see why such a  thing can be a bestie for you. Exactly! This one looks fancier. Is  it pronounced "mjukplister?" Yes, you can say that. I don't know what it means.

I think maybe "plister is a pattern or something.  I don’t know. And "mjuk"—it sounds like soft. Yeah, it does sound soft. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is  Swedish style, though. This is just very... Yeah... it feels like... I don't  know, 'Count Dracula style' So, this one looks like Swedish style? Yeah, this is more the Swedish  style, I would say. More like beige,   white, and yeah, it looks so minimalistic This is called "knorrif," it is like a tail.

So it's like a 'taily piggie' They're so cute. This is called "jungle". Yeah, it makes sense because it's all  elephants and lions. So cute! Oh my god,  

you know, I was such a fan of lions as a kid. It looked like a metro map from a distance,   but it’s actually a map of the different  departments of IKEA. Where are we now? We are in the red spot there, the children’s  section. Later we want to go towards the food.

Yay! Try the traditional IKEA Swedish meatballs. So now, I have the opportunity  to try out some more undergrounds   in Stockholm, and here’s how it looks. You see some art, and actually, all the  subway stations here in Stockholm are some   sort of exhibition, like an art exhibition.  So, it’s an art project, and in every subway,   you can see different kinds of art. This one  has some colors, and it’s a bit like a cave-ish. My personal favorite is the  one in 'Stadion,' and that’s   like a rainbow. It’s blue and then a  rainbow, and I really like that one.

I like that it’s simple but also  looks like some modern abstract art. This station is called "T-Centralen,"  and we’re here to change to another   metro. This is another design—looks like buinders. It's very unusual because I am used to seeing  metro stations in post-Soviet countries. In   Denmark, it was also interesting,  but here, it’s something else. I also want to point out this mosaic  here; again, it’s some abstract art.

So, this is a street called "Hornsgatan,"  and it’s a very cool street. It has a lot   of secondhand stores, and it’s also ranked as  one of the best streets—not the whole street,   but the small part we just went  through—because it has so many   secondhand shops and thrift stores. It’s  very cool to just stroll around. They also   have many pretty cafés and everything,  you know? I really like this street.

And here we found a vintage store, but it’s  for furniture and household items—so cool!   I just like how retro this book  looks. Serbia for some reason... So, this area is called "Maria," or  "Mariatorget." They say "Bevara Maria   Queer," which means like "Keep Maria  queer", like "Keep this area queer" I love this! And also, we are going to go for a   Swedish fika here. Or what’s  the correct pronunciation?

Fika, yeah, you said it right. I just say 'fika,' like in  Russian, but probably it’s 'fika.'" So can you please tell us about this tradition? Yes, so we have something called 'fika,'  which is the Swedish word for having   coffee and a sweet treat. So, the traditional  Swedish fika is usually based on 'kanelbulle'   or 'kanelbiscuit,' which is what you picked  here. Normally, it’s not with those almonds. And this is something called  'biskvi' I guess that’s not   the most traditional one to pick,  but that’s one of my favorites. Then, you usually have filtered coffee, but it’s  warm outside, so we decided to take iced coffee.

And yeah, this is a Swedish word that every   Swedish person loves—"fika."  It brings people together. Is it at particular time of day? Usually, it’s around 3:00, but it  can eaten be whenever you want. Yes! So cool, because I’ve heard about this a  lot, but it’s my first time experiencing it. But I still have a question:  there are so many buildings,   but how do you guys manage to  fit it all on such a small space? What do you mean? But, I mean, do you know this bridge that  I crossed from Denmark to Sweden? Like,   when I looked at its picture... Can you Google it

Yeah, let me just Google it. So, you see here? It’s Denmark,  right? Then there’s the bridge,   and it ends on some island. Guys, was I  the only one who didn’t know about this? Yeah...

Okay, actually, I understand now that I was  mistaken, and Josefin explained to me that that   island is not Sweden. And you know what? She also  told me that the Earth is round! Can you imagine? Jokes aside, obviously, Sweden is located on  the Scandinavian Peninsula, and they have enough   space for Malmö and Stockholm, and celebrating  Midsummer. Speaking of islands, guys, did you know   that Stockholm, the capital, is actually located  on 14 islands? But when I first arrived in the   city center, it didn’t feel like I was on one of  the islands. Only when you look at the map, you   see all these little islands. My hotel is located  on the very central island, called Gamla Stan. I didn’t plan this, because when I was booking the  hotel, I didn’t know where the city center was,   and I wanted to avoid it. Gamla Stan  translates as "the old town," and it  

is a nice little island with historical  buildings, important museums, and these   cobbled narrow streets. Probably it seems  cool to live on such an island, but honestly,   I don’t like it because it’s uncomfortable. There  are too many tourists. It’s annoying. And yes,   I am also an annoying tourist for them, but of  course, I think I’m better than other people. But yeah, whenever I want to go get breakfast, I  just go to a café, and it’s very overpriced and   not of good quality. So, I would prefer to live  somewhere maybe in a residential area, but here’s   a trick: I don’t know how to find a place that is  not too touristy but also not in a sketchy area.

My hotel is situated in one of these old  buildings, and probably it used to be some   fancy apartment building because I actually don’t  have a restroom in my room. I share it with the   neighboring rooms, and we have this nice common  area. Probably this is how old apartments looked,   but now I’ve come to another island,  called Djurgården, "Animal Farm." I came to this island by ferry, and   in fact, Google Maps wouldn’t show me this route.  It first showed me a route by tram, but my friend   told me I could take a ferry here. So here I  am, and here I want to visit a museum called   Skansen. It’s an open-air museum where you can  see how old Swedish houses looked. So let’s go!

I bought the ticket, and they asked  me if I wanted to take the funicular   or hike. I said the latter, so now I  have to go up, which is... well, okay. Wow, so beautiful! We’re just walking here, seeing  the view of this water and some apartment blocks.   Due to the proximity to the northern part of  Russia, I would assume that a lot of Swedish   architecture is similar to old Russian houses.  For example, this wooden house or that one.

And here’s another—a Swedish hay barn,  particularly from the north of Sweden. But you   will not fool me because, guys, this is literally  a hut on chicken legs, a house of Baba Yaga from   Slavic folklore. It’s like a forest witch who  can be good or bad, depending on the situation. Guys, look at this structure!  Are you kidding me? Like,   this exactly looks like the Russian  folklore hut, and I’m so shocked! I didn't know that it also existed here on the  territory of Sweden. Isn't it amazing how much   this resembles this traditional Russian folklore  house? Because when I was growing up, I would   read these fairy tales about Baba Yaga living  in this hut, and I considered this hut as some   cartoonish fairy tale thing. But now, actually,  I understand how people came up with the idea,   why they documented it in folklore, because they  saw such structures like hundreds of years ago. Oh  

my God, it's so amazing, especially because now  I'm not in Russia. Apparently, back then, there   were no borders, and people would have similar  architecture, but yeah, it's just so amazing. But actually, it is a Sami camp. So, Sami  is the ethnic minority, nomadic people,   and it's very interesting that the Sami people  live on the intersection of four countries:   Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Finland. In Russia,  it's particularly the north of the Kola Peninsula,  

and it's a very interesting people. I sometime ago  watched a movie, Sami Blood, and there they told   the story of these people and kind of colonization  situation from the Swedish government side. And when I think about the Sami people, I feel  so sorry for those who live on the territory   of Russia. Imagine you live, yeah, you as  a Russian citizen, but you know that you   have Sami heritage. And you do communicate with  your people who live on the Swedish or Finnish   territory, but you know that they  have better conditions than you.

They have their own congress or their cultural  events, preserving their language, and they do   invite the Sami people from the Russian side.  Because in Russia, basically, those villages in   the north—and I mean close to Moscow too—villages  are dying out and there is no development. This situation gives us the opportunity to  compare different political regimes. So,   I Googled Sami parliaments, and they exist in  Finland, Norway, and Sweden, but in Russia,   it's only a form of non-governmental  organization. Their autonomy and independence,   and even basically their right to assemble, is  constantly oppressed by the government because   the Russian authorities are really scared  of expressing any form of individualism.

So, I just feel so sorry that it's only the group  that lives in another country that can do that. I have a Vietnamese flashback seeing this fence.   I wish in Russia it was also  used only for this purpose. Hello, would you welcome it into your house? Okay,   they might be dangerous actually, because I've  lived with chickens, and I know their kind 25 Euro ticket was justified. I like the concept  of this place—a combination of museums, zoo,   old farm exhibition. So, it's really cool,  especially for spending time with your family.

So, this was my video about Sweden. I hope it  was interesting to watch. Thanks to my local   friend Josephine for showing me around. I wish  I could return there and explore the city more,   and the residential areas. I also like the  fact that I visited another city, Malmö,   and even took a train between these cities. I  also took a train on my way to the airport in  

Stockholm, and it was a high-speed express  train, and it was really nice and smooth. From Stockholm, I took a flight to Berlin, so  Germany is my next country on this channel.   And by the way, regarding this photo where I  mistook this piece of land for Sweden—yeah,   it is a piece of soil, but it doesn't even  belong to Sweden. It's a part of Denmark,  

and Sweden is over there on the peninsula already. So, the road of the bridge starts on the territory  of Denmark, then it goes under the water,   then again there is this island belonging  to Denmark, and then the bridge starts. I wonder how many people at the  beginning of this video thought   that I was being serious when  I said I thought it was Sweden. So, thanks for watching. Like  this video, write your comments,   you can also subscribe to my channel  or support me by becoming my Patron or   a YouTube sponsor. Have a nice day  or a week, and goodbye. Poka-poka!

2024-10-03 18:24

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