A tip on tipping... and other Stockholm, Sweden Local Custom Tips

In Stockholm as in the rest of Sweden, tips are supposed to be included on the check at restaurants. However, more and more people still tend to tip a little. If you are unhappy with something, then you shouldn't give a tip, but if the service was good and the food was good, give a little. 10 percent is a good amount.
If your bill ends up at 243 kronor though, you will probably give 250 even if the service was bad, seems petty to scramble the coins...!

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In Stockholm as in every swedich town or city, there are tons of places to go for a fika at.
Don't know what a fika is?
"Fika" is borh a verb and a noun. The noun means roughly "coffee, or any other non-alcoholic beverage plus possibly sonething to eat, like cake or a sandwitch (nothing hot though usually).
To fika (as a verb) means to go for a coffee, but not only for a coffee, the fika includes all of the above mentioned food/drink items, and you sit down for a shorter or longer time.

Fika is something the swedes do all the time, so next time you meet one, ask if they want to go for a Fika, they'll be impressed by your knowledge of our customs...

Places to go for fika in Stockholm are endless. For a more Italian-biased selection try f.ex. Waynes Coffe. For a classic fika try the NK Department store on the fourth floor. Otherwise, any coffehouse or bakery will do nicely.

To get a real classic fika, ask for Swedish coffee and a bulle (bun).
Or if you come in spring, ask for the typical springbun called Semla (not if you have allergies towards almonds etc)!!

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When easter time comes, the flower vendors all give out there twigs with feathers on them for sale. This is called Påskris and you take it home, decorate it with eggs and stuff and the wait for the buds to break.Cute, huh?

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OK, so you speak English? That will get you around in Sweden and in Stockholm, no doubt about it.
Swedes are good at English, we learn it from an early age, and it ressembles Swedish a lot.

Still, would you like some Swedish words? Here you go:

Hello
Hej

Goodbye
Hej d?

I am from England/America/Germany/France
Jag ?r fr?n England/Amerika/Tyskland/Frankrike

How much is...
Vad kostar...

Do you have any vegetarian dishes?
Har ni n?got vegetariskt?

smorgasbord
sm?rg?sbord

excuse me...
urs?kta...

Where is the nearest Metro station?
Var finns n?rmaste tunnelbanestation?

I need a coffee right now
Jag beh?ver en kaffe. NU!

This is not what I expected
Det h?r ?r inte vad jag v?ntade mig.

I think Swedish is much too difficult for me, can you please speak English?
Jag tycker att svenska ?r alldeles f?r sv?rt f?r mig, vill du vara s? v?nlig och tala engelska?

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Three letters in the Swedish alphabet may look odd to some visitors. the a with a ring, Å, the a with two dots, Ä and the o with two dots Ö.
Don't worry, lemme explain...:
Originally, the main vowel was the big one, and the less pronounced one was made small and put on top of the other, so the a with a ring, is actually an A with an O on top. NOW you get it, right?!

The pronounciation lies between the two lettres, similar to the english soung of a in "false". (Enlgish sound, not the american one, pretend to be british and say FALSE out loud... there you go!)

A and O with tho dots, were originally A and O with an E above. So, the pronounciation of th A with two dots is simila to the english sound of ai in "hair".
The o with two dots sound somewhat like the english sound of u in the word "fur".

there you go, now you can TALK LIKE A SWEDE..!

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