If you're coming from abroad, you won't learn much Swedish on your trip here. Luckily, everyone under the age of 45 has studied English for at least 10 years in school before even attending college. Stockholmers are extremely fluent, as they speak English regularly, but outside of the major cities fluent English is hit and miss, especially among the elderly. Considering their ample education in English, Swedes can consider it rude if asked "Pratar du engelska?", so its best to just approach everyone and launch right into English. They rarely miss a beat, and will likely instantly answer you in English. Money The currency in Sweden is Swedish Kronor (SEK). A credit card will get you pretty much whatever you need, though, and cash machines (Bankomat) are plentiful. The exchange rate is about 6 SEK per US dollar (Updated May 1, 2008 -- yes, the dollar is still sliding!!!). Time Zone Stockholm is 6 hours AHEAD of New York and 9 hours AHEAD of Los Angeles. So at 9pm in NYC, it is 3am in Stockholm. June in Sweden The weekend before our wedding is Midsummer -- the brightest time of the year. Come and witness the sky darken around midnight and begin to lighten again just an hour later. The temperatures should be in the 20's C / 70's F. Cross your fingers with us for a weekend of sunny warm days. Flights from US Roundtrip tickets from the US to Stockholm can normally be found for between USD $700-900, but they're going up. The main international airport is Stockholm Arlanda. There are two smaller suburban airports (Vasteras, and Skavsta) that service RyanAir and other discount airlines within Europe. Direct service from US to Stockholm is available from Chicago, Boston, New York, and starting in June 2008, Atlanta. If you're not flying direct from the US, but want to avoid London's Heathrow, try flying through Paris, Amsterdam, or even Iceland. If you find tickets cheaper than $700, please let us know so we can spread the word. Cars Guests can rent cars, but cars are not required to attend our wedding. A combination of 2 fast, frequent, and efficient trains from the airport to Flen, and a short 5km taxi ride to Yxtaholm, will work conveniently for you. Those renting cars want to be aware that the entire roadway system's signage is in Swedish, which, as a language, compared with English, includes 60% extra vowels in the alphabet and few obvious similarities. If you do rent a car, you might want to go with a company that can include GPS in the car, in English. Drinking and Driving in Sweden Drinking on the same day as driving is virtually non-existent in Sweden (every Swedish partier includes designated drivers or a taxi in their plan virtually without exception, even if only one drink is consumed that day). Basically, you don't want to get pulled over in Sweden; the blood-alcohol level here is a mere 0.1 and the law and the tabloid newspapers here won't be very nice to you. Trains in Sweden Sweden has an exceptionally efficient, on-time, and geographically covered system of trains, and Stockholm's subway is one of the world's easiest and most efficient. Trains between Airport and Stockholm The Arlanda Expressruns every 15 minutes between Stockholm's Arlanda International Airport and downtown Stockholm (T-Centralen, also called Stockholm-C). The ride takes exactly 20 minutes. Tickets are about USD $30 one-way. Buy tickets at the airport and hop on the train. For information about Arlanda Express (select English): http://www.arlandaexpress.se/ Trains between Stockholm and Flen Flen is about 120km from Stockholm, and a 5km taxi ride from the village of Flen will take you to Yxtaholm. For information about train schedules from Stockholm to Flen (select English): http://www.sj.se We'll have more information soon
about taxi service in Flen. |
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