UK Office of the European Parliament
From Gothenburg to London
Personal View by Anna Kjällström
The way I thought of London, and a typical Londoner, was fish and chips, loves football and gets sunburned easily, but what I found was something completely different. Just walking the streets in London, there was a huge range of different languages spoken all the time and such a mix of people.
When I left my family and friends and everything else that was familiar to me in Sweden for London, I was a bit afraid of how it would be to live here. I had been to London once before, when my brother lived in Finsbury Park. I was surprised by the living conditions since he shared a four bedroom flat with ten other people, and there were so many people and cars everywhere. For some reason then I always managed to stand on the wrong side on the escalators in the underground and looked the wrong way when I was going to cross the road. A year before visiting my brother in London, I had been to New York and thought that maybe the cities would be similar to each other, but I was so wrong. New York is much more organized in a sort of way compared to London which is more uncontrolled, and it is so much easier to get lost in London than New York - which I experienced many times. Luckily when I was lost there were so many helpful people here to guide me and show me the right way.
The second time I set my foot in London; I was amazed by the changes! There were fewer cars in the streets, and I adapted much more easily this time, with regard to standing on the right side in the tube and looking the right way in traffic. I am still amazed that I hear more foreign languages spoken than English in the streets. Just walking on Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane, there are so many different restaurants where you can get every kind of food: Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Vietnamese, Italian, Lebanese and Spanish for example. Just going into a supermarket is an adventure, to be able to buy food from all over the world.
When people hear that I am from Sweden, they usually bring up: IKEA, Swedish meatballs, and Freddie Ljungberg. A newspaper even referred to Sweden as an ultra - socialist country.
Travelling around London and getting to work everyday is a fight. A typical morning going from Bethnal Green to St James Park is two or three tube trains passing before I can finally manage to squeeze on one and many times the Circle Line is delayed. A friend of mine who has lived in London for many years says "You shouldn't expect the tube to be on time, just be happy that it comes at all".
Sweden has a population of 9 million people compared to London's estimated 7,500,000 million people. So for me, it is hard to imagine nearly the whole of Sweden's population squeezed into only one city.
London is a goldmine compared to Sweden when it comes to opportunities, music, culture and many other things, except for one thing, space. Except for missing friends and family back in Sweden, space would be the third thing I would put on a list of things I miss about Sweden, this might seem a bit strange, but for me space is freedom and since I grew up in a small place called Västra Bodarna, which has a population of 1000 people and which is about a 30 minute drive from Gothenburg, I am used to having a lot of space! It is amazing to have the opportunity to go for a swim in the morning in the summer, in the winters when it is completely dark, you can see all the million stars and the moon. And you don't ever have to be concerned if the music is too loud. We have something in Sweden called Allemansrätten, which means that you have access to all of the land within the country. So if you would camp in Sweden, you can just put up your tent almost anywhere as long as you don't harm nature and the surroundings.
One thing I realised after a few days in London, was that there where no word for to 'have a fika'. Fika is one of those words that is essential to the Swedish language and culture - an all-encompassing word that takes a multitude of English words to describe.
"Today, fika consist of three essential ingredients; a drink, something to eat and some company (which can be a book, friends or your boss). It is a word with a social concept that means taking a break from the everyday routine to catch up with friends".
There are many Swedish people who come to the UK, probably for two main reasons: it is very near and many people have a good knowledge of the language because we start to study English from the age of nine.
According to the Swedish Embassy, it is estimated that there are a little bit more then 50 000 people, which is a lot, compared to Sweden, since the medium-sized cities in Sweden range from 50,000 to 250,000 thousand inhabitants.
In Marylebone, in central London there are various Swedish institutions, like the Swedish Embassy, Swedish church, Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA), Swedish Trade Council and Swedish Chambers. Also around the area, there are various Swedish shops and pubs.
There is a Swedish restaurant/cafe just close to where I live, on the sign it says "Vällkommen" which means welcome.
My experience and feelings here in London have radically changed. First I was afraid of getting lost, but now I kind of like to get lost, it is then you find new places, which sometimes are not in the guide book. To experience a new place is not just about meeting new people and seeing great buildings, but also eating the typical food of the country. I was surprised when I asked a local Londoner what the typical English dish is. She answered that it was Indian! The typical Londoner for me, does not exist, since the sense is always shifting, depending on just where you are. London first seemed to me, to be a city of chaos, but the longer I am here the more London seems to me more a place full of different islands with different identities but at the same time they are all connected to each other. London offers a piece of most of the world and since 1/3 of the citizens in London were born outside, this means that there are a lot of us who have immigrated and we have all brought something from our home countries with us.
I recommend...
Fika: they have the famous Swedish meatballs. The restaurant also has everything you need in order to celebrate a Swedish Midsummer. For instance, you have the sill, which is pickled herring and different "nubbar and snaps", which is flavoured vodka. The only thing that's missing is the Midsummer pole and a garland of flowers. Fika is on Brick Lane, London E1. www.fikalondon.com
Totally Swedish: a Swedish store selling a variety of Swedish food: candy, coffee, caviar, crisps, soft drinks, gingerbread biscuits, magazines, cheese-slicers and a range of other things. It is on Crawford Street W1.
If you decide to go to Sweden, there are so many things to experience. In the North of Sweden you have to see the Northern Lights and live in an Ice hotel in the winter. During summer I would recommend a visit to Österlen for the white beaches and the beautiful surroundings. After Österlen, you should go to the West coast, and travel around all the small fishing villages along the coast, and if you want to catch your own lunch, you can always try to fish for crabs or mackerel.
The way I thought of London, and a typical Londoner, was fish and chips, loves football and gets sunburned easily, but what I found was something completely different. Just walking the streets in London, there was a huge range of different languages spoken all the time and such a mix of people.
When I left my family and friends and everything else that was familiar to me in Sweden for London, I was a bit afraid of how it would be to live here. I had been to London once before, when my brother lived in Finsbury Park. I was surprised by the living conditions since he shared a four bedroom flat with ten other people, and there were so many people and cars everywhere. For some reason then I always managed to stand on the wrong side on the escalators in the underground and looked the wrong way when I was going to cross the road. A year before visiting my brother in London, I had been to New York and thought that maybe the cities would be similar to each other, but I was so wrong. New York is much more organized in a sort of way compared to London which is more uncontrolled, and it is so much easier to get lost in London than New York - which I experienced many times. Luckily when I was lost there were so many helpful people here to guide me and show me the right way.The second time I set my foot in London; I was amazed by the changes! There were fewer cars in the streets, and I adapted much more easily this time, with regard to standing on the right side in the tube and looking the right way in traffic. I am still amazed that I hear more foreign languages spoken than English in the streets. Just walking on Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane, there are so many different restaurants where you can get every kind of food: Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Vietnamese, Italian, Lebanese and Spanish for example. Just going into a supermarket is an adventure, to be able to buy food from all over the world.
When people hear that I am from Sweden, they usually bring up: IKEA, Swedish meatballs, and Freddie Ljungberg. A newspaper even referred to Sweden as an ultra - socialist country.
Travelling around London and getting to work everyday is a fight. A typical morning going from Bethnal Green to St James Park is two or three tube trains passing before I can finally manage to squeeze on one and many times the Circle Line is delayed. A friend of mine who has lived in London for many years says "You shouldn't expect the tube to be on time, just be happy that it comes at all".
Sweden has a population of 9 million people compared to London's estimated 7,500,000 million people. So for me, it is hard to imagine nearly the whole of Sweden's population squeezed into only one city.
London is a goldmine compared to Sweden when it comes to opportunities, music, culture and many other things, except for one thing, space. Except for missing friends and family back in Sweden, space would be the third thing I would put on a list of things I miss about Sweden, this might seem a bit strange, but for me space is freedom and since I grew up in a small place called Västra Bodarna, which has a population of 1000 people and which is about a 30 minute drive from Gothenburg, I am used to having a lot of space! It is amazing to have the opportunity to go for a swim in the morning in the summer, in the winters when it is completely dark, you can see all the million stars and the moon. And you don't ever have to be concerned if the music is too loud. We have something in Sweden called Allemansrätten, which means that you have access to all of the land within the country. So if you would camp in Sweden, you can just put up your tent almost anywhere as long as you don't harm nature and the surroundings.
One thing I realised after a few days in London, was that there where no word for to 'have a fika'. Fika is one of those words that is essential to the Swedish language and culture - an all-encompassing word that takes a multitude of English words to describe.
"Today, fika consist of three essential ingredients; a drink, something to eat and some company (which can be a book, friends or your boss). It is a word with a social concept that means taking a break from the everyday routine to catch up with friends".
There are many Swedish people who come to the UK, probably for two main reasons: it is very near and many people have a good knowledge of the language because we start to study English from the age of nine.
According to the Swedish Embassy, it is estimated that there are a little bit more then 50 000 people, which is a lot, compared to Sweden, since the medium-sized cities in Sweden range from 50,000 to 250,000 thousand inhabitants.
In Marylebone, in central London there are various Swedish institutions, like the Swedish Embassy, Swedish church, Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA), Swedish Trade Council and Swedish Chambers. Also around the area, there are various Swedish shops and pubs.
There is a Swedish restaurant/cafe just close to where I live, on the sign it says "Vällkommen" which means welcome.
My experience and feelings here in London have radically changed. First I was afraid of getting lost, but now I kind of like to get lost, it is then you find new places, which sometimes are not in the guide book. To experience a new place is not just about meeting new people and seeing great buildings, but also eating the typical food of the country. I was surprised when I asked a local Londoner what the typical English dish is. She answered that it was Indian! The typical Londoner for me, does not exist, since the sense is always shifting, depending on just where you are. London first seemed to me, to be a city of chaos, but the longer I am here the more London seems to me more a place full of different islands with different identities but at the same time they are all connected to each other. London offers a piece of most of the world and since 1/3 of the citizens in London were born outside, this means that there are a lot of us who have immigrated and we have all brought something from our home countries with us.
I recommend...
Fika: they have the famous Swedish meatballs. The restaurant also has everything you need in order to celebrate a Swedish Midsummer. For instance, you have the sill, which is pickled herring and different "nubbar and snaps", which is flavoured vodka. The only thing that's missing is the Midsummer pole and a garland of flowers. Fika is on Brick Lane, London E1. www.fikalondon.com
Totally Swedish: a Swedish store selling a variety of Swedish food: candy, coffee, caviar, crisps, soft drinks, gingerbread biscuits, magazines, cheese-slicers and a range of other things. It is on Crawford Street W1.
If you decide to go to Sweden, there are so many things to experience. In the North of Sweden you have to see the Northern Lights and live in an Ice hotel in the winter. During summer I would recommend a visit to Österlen for the white beaches and the beautiful surroundings. After Österlen, you should go to the West coast, and travel around all the small fishing villages along the coast, and if you want to catch your own lunch, you can always try to fish for crabs or mackerel.
About Anna Kjällström
Anna Kjällström is 24 years old and was brought up in Sweden, in Gothenburg. She is studying Politics and if everything goes as planned she will graduate in spring 2009. From Spring-August 2008, Anna worked as a stagiaire in the UK Office of the European Parliament in Outreach. Before going to London she was involved with the Red Cross in Sweden and is an Ambassador for Fair Trade.