about sweden

[lefay82]

i was wondering about the climatic situation in sweden...i mean... which is the best period to go there? how cold could it be in autumn or spring? is the road fronzen? (you know it's difficult to drive on icy streets if you are not used to) in which part of the year you can see better the aurora borealis?
i would like to know also how high can be the sun at the horizon... it's really a strange thing and a curiosity for me that i live in italy...here in summer i suppose we see the sun with an angle of 70/80° at his higher point ( it's really high in the sky)....but i remember being in wacken some years ago and the sun was a lot lower on the horizon and it hurted my eyes, i couldn't nearly keep them open. surely in sweden it will be lower than in the north of germany....are there periods of only day or night and which differences are there from the south and the north?
i know i've asked a lot on stupid things!
anyway i'm planning to go to sweden so i need to make preparation for it and why not also to have some advices about places to visit (including norway and finland)
thanx lefay

 

[Thidrek]

are there periods of only day or night and which differences are there from the south and the north?

Only above the polar circle, I suppose. But when I was in Sweden (around Stockholm) last year I once woke up and thought it was like 10 a.m. but it was 3 a.m...

 

[amf]

i was wondering about the climatic situation in sweden...i mean... which is the best period to go there?

The climate is one of the things I like the best about my country. Warm, green summers - but not too warm so you cannot do anything - with much sunlight and the occasional refreshing thunderstorm to release pressure. Colourful early autums followed by the almost monocrome late-autumn with crisp and clear air and pitchblack nights. Then the winter, with the snow offering some light in the dark, brings its bitingly cold midwinter nights that really makes you appreciate the warmth indoors and of the distant summer. Then the sun reappears in late winter and early spring, reflecting it's light in the snow to make up for the previous dark days.

The only time I don't really like is later in spring. With the snow melting and freezing over again and again, everything is either soggy wet or slippery as glass...

So when to go, and to where, really depends on what you want to do and experience. Northwards during winter for the snow, the darkness and the cold. Or up the mountains in autumn with the birches all ablaze. Or in summer for the bright evenings (just go before the gnats and blackflies spawn).

Hah, I should start working at a travel agency.

how cold could it be in autumn or spring? is the road fronzen? (you know it's difficult to drive on icy streets if you are not used to) in which part of the year you can see better the aurora borealis?

Sub-zero degrees aren't uncommon in autumn. In spring the days are usually warm, but the temperature drops at night. The roads do freeze, so during winter snow tyres are compulsory.
To see the northern lights you have to go during winter, in summer you can't see them because the sky is too bright.

i would like to know also how high can be the sun at the horizon... it's really a strange thing and a curiosity for me that i live in italy...here in summer i suppose we see the sun with an angle of 70/80° at his higher point ( it's really high in the sky)....but i remember being in wacken some years ago and the sun was a lot lower on the horizon and it hurted my eyes, i couldn't nearly keep them open. surely in sweden it will be lower than in the north of germany....are there periods of only day or night and which differences are there from the south and the north?

Basically, southwards the sun rises quickly to it's highest point, stays there till evening, and then quickly descends down again. Northwards the sun rises and sets much more slowly, so the sun spends more time at lower angles.
Farthest north, when there's midnight sun, it descends down closer to the horizon at night, but doesn't go below it, before it rises again in early morning.

At winter the sun doesn't rise very high on the sky, it stops at a much lower angle than in summer. How high it gets depends on which time of winter, and how far north you are. During the polar night, the sun doesn't make it above the horizon at all for up to a couple of months.

 

[Draugen]

Heh, I was just thinking that this subject would be perfect for amf to answer, and damn, I was right!

NP: Skald - Snärjad

 

[lefay82]

well....i found a personal guide ..i will come and pick you up 'cause you seem to be very usefull in certain situations

 

[Hedwig]

well....i found a personal guide ..i will come and pick you up 'cause you seem to be very usefull in certain situations

When you decide to go, I will come with you( also in Norway...)
I really want to go to Scandinavian Countries..

(ho scritto in inglese perchè se no magari sti qua pensan male... )

 

[lefay82]

also bon is italian.....we can organize a group trip......skelleftea will be invaded!!!!!

 

[Thidrek]

mantis is italian as well

 

[lefay82]

yeah i forgot him!!!!

 

[lefay82]

i was wondering also about the daily routine of an average swedish person (worker or student)....you know life is often influenced by the weather and also different from country to country.
here there's a lot of sun and the temperature is mild....now you can still go outside with a t-shirt in the hottest hours of the day where i live.
i'm asking this because some years ago i went to denmark with a school trip...we stood there for 10 days...living in our danish mates' houses so we experienced their way of life and at first i was so confused and out of phase...
wake up at 5.30 in the morning
big breakfast (nearly a lunch)
45 minutes by bus to reach the school (we lived near aars, in the middle of nowhere, in a very beautiful farm changed into a house)
lunch at 11.30 in the morning (!!!!!!!!WTF!!!!!!!!)
school till 3.00 in the afternoon
than back home and dinner (!!!!!!!!) at 4.00
then homeworks and the day was over

here we usually wake up at 7.00 in the morning to go to school or to work(later if you live in a small town and you don't meet traffic in the streets ), we finish at about 1.00 then we eat lunch at 1.30/2.00. in the evening we have dinner at 8.00/9.00 (later in summer....because is too hot!)
i think the main difference is that for us in the main case dinner means the end of the day....after dinner we don't do nothing concerning work for example....you can devote your time to the things you like most, like reading, watching tv, listening to music, going out to the pub with friends (you don't need to be 18 to have something to drink..heheheh ), but in denmark they had other activities to do after dinner like business appointments or study.

 

[Thidrek]

but eating right before you are going to sleep is not healthy

here in germany our everyday rhythm seems to be the same like in denmark. we get up really early (which i cannot really stand) and don't have such long breaks as in italy or spain. we don't need any siesta, it's all about work, work, work (!!!), you know?
Oh, of course the main reason is, that it does not become that warm, except in july, when we have about 35-40 degrees... :zombie:

 

[lefay82]

right before sleep?
we usually go to bed late....around at midnight....but i rarely go to bed before 1.00-2.00 !!!!!

 

[Gawen]

right before sleep?
we usually go to bed late....around at midnight....but i rarely go to bed before 1.00-2.00 !!!!!

And nights spent playing? When you decide to go to sleep and maybe is 6 AM then you go for a coffee... and it's time "to wake up"

I can't say how many times my night/days end/begin like that

 

[GONE Ridin' Hood]

I'llbe having a trip to Europe pretty soon, and I'll be going to Sweden and Norway, so could anyone tell me where should I go to see the Northern Lights please?

I also made a thread about me trip in the Borknagar and DT phorum, but no one replies anymore .

 

[svältvinter]

I'llbe having a trip to Europe pretty soon, and I'll be going to Sweden and Norway, so could anyone tell me where should I go to see the Northern Lights please?

I also made a thread about me trip in the Borknagar and DT phorum, but no one replies anymore .

I guess you should go to some place really north in the darkest wintermonths. The landscape: Norrbotten http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrbotten is often refered to a place where nordic lights apear frequently. You need to be outside a city so there is no lights and u should offcource have the biggest chance to see something at night. A high point, like a mountain or something, far from lamps and such should be idealic, and the wheather should be really clear. But it´s not like it happens every night, so u need to have alot of luck too!
Good luck!

 

[lefay82]

And nights spent playing? When you decide to go to sleep and maybe is 6 AM then you go for a coffee... and it's time "to wake up"

I can't say how many times my night/days end/begin like that

and don't forget when you go to see a concert in the opposite part of the nation!
when i went to see Omen near milano i came back home at 9.00 in the morning and every motorway bar was like: hey let's have a coffe and a cigarette!!!!!!

 

[amf]

big breakfast (nearly a lunch)

Noticed this when I visited Italy, all we got for breakfast was a cup of coffee and a little bit of pastry bread. I don't understand how you survive 2 PM for lunch without having eaten anything on the whole day.

lunch at 11.30 in the morning (!!!!!!!!WTF!!!!!!!!)

Hehe, in Sweden (don't know if it's the same in other countries too) craftsmen and workmen have a tradition of starting work at 7:00 and eating lunch at 9:00.

 

[lefay82]

and going to bed at 4 in the afternon?????

yes we have a little breakfast in the morning...usually a cup of milk with coffe with some cereals, bread or biscuits.... but for us lunch is the most important meal... you can survive till 2.00 i can guarantee you.... you always have a great hunger but you can!
we usually have a big lunch: a lot of pasta, vegetables...sometimes meat or fish... dinner is lighter....
but you know it's a question of habits.... when i went to denmark i really started to get hungry at 11.00 in the morning starving for a luch!!!! ahahahha
or when i was in germany...starving for a beer!!!! (i nearly came back alcholic after 20 day...)
anyway i think you get used very fast to the local habits where you are in another country and everybody around you behave in a certain way...

 

[lefay82]

i forgot....
it's nice to see you said for the all the day.....
2.00 pm? morning ends and starts the afternon....
just a matter of different views eheheh

 

[GONE Ridin' Hood]

I guess you should go to some place really north in the darkest wintermonths. The landscape: Norrbotten http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrbotten is often refered to a place where nordic lights apear frequently. You need to be outside a city so there is no lights and u should offcource have the biggest chance to see something at night. A high point, like a mountain or something, far from lamps and such should be idealic, and the wheather should be really clear. But it´s not like it happens every night, so u need to have alot of luck too!
Good luck!

cool!!!

Thanx a lot for teh tip hehehe .

NOw I need to know how to get there and any other traveling tip for use in Sweden/Norway will be most welcome!