An Aussie writer stumbles around Sweden, part 3

Testing how well you know me : )

Things I heart about Sweden, a quiz…

I’ve now been here two weeks and have gleaned a thing or two about Swedish culture and my preferences in relation to it. What do ya reckon I like the most?

1.     My favourite Swedish music act is:

(a)   ABBA

(b)  Roxette

(c)   Avicii

(d)  Queen of Eurovision, Loreen

2.     The pinnacle of all the food I’ve tried here is:

(a)   a fermented herring dish called ‘surströmming’

(b)  raspberry and liquorice ice cream

(c)   a cinnamon roll

(d)  Balkan food in the backstreets near our hotel

3.     The quirky find that has brought me peak joy is:

(a)   a bin that sings ‘thank you’ in Swedish when you ‘feed’ it

(b)  discovering that movies with Swedish subtitles say ‘The end, slut’ on the final screen (‘slut’ means final/ending/out)

(c)   LEGO popping up everywhere in museums, ads, and generally when you’re not expecting it

(d)  A nearby sustainable boules venue/bar/restaurant made from shipping containers painted in pastel colours

4.     The best sightseeing experience we’ve had so far is:

(a)   ABBA The Museum

(b)  Skansen, the outdoor museum/zoo/theme park combo

(c)   the old part of university town Uppsala, which has ancient grassy burial mounds and ye olde buildings

(d)  the Museum of Work in Norrköping, which had a LEGO exhibition and a display of UFO sighting paraphernalia

5.     Swedish fashion is best summed up as:

(a)   brights as far as the eye can see – dopamine dressing is big here

(b)  a neutral palette with small pops of colour and an emphasis on edgy shapes

(c)   labels as far as the eye can see – ‘go Gucci or go home’ seems to be their motto

(d)  the 80s never ended – it’s the land of legwarmers, acid wash, and one-shoulder tops

6.     When we visited the Museum of Work, we walked into a room that demonstrated facial recognition technology. The primary emotions it registered on my face were:

(a)   anger and fear

(b)  a mixture sadness and happiness, with some disgust

(c)   happiness and neutral, with flashes of anger

(d)  surprise and neutral, with flashes of happiness

7.     The nicest animal encounter over here has been:

(a)   a polydactyl cat (one with extra toes) in Uppsala

(b)  a wolverine, which I didn’t realise was a real animal, at Skansen

(c)   a squirrel

(d)  various dogs out for walkies with their owners

(Answers lurking at the bottom of this post.)

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Whimsical art pieces in the centre of Stockholm by Siri Carlén. I dig them, they seem warm and loving.

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Quiz answers:

1.     It’s (b) Roxette, though I am fond of the others as well.

2.     Well, you’ll know what it’s definitely not if you read last week’s post, haha! The Balkan food (d) wins so far. I had a sort of stew with beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions in a tomato-based sauce, which was ace. I’ve tried the other foods and enjoyed them, other than that horrif fish.

3.     Oof, this is a tough one. They all made me smile. Any answer you picked is correct.

4.     ABBA The Museum is a strong contender, but I reckon the Museum of Work topped it, so let’s go for (d).

5.     The answer is, surprisingly, (b). What could make for a drab, grey world is actually quite fabulous. The city is full of so many variations on ‘neutral’, with inventive ways of combining pieces, sharp patterns, and smart accessorising. When there’s colour involved, it’s often pale pink, light blue, or deep green, or subtly woven into a pattern.

6.     I have resting friendly face (that is occasionally grumpy), so the right answer is (c).

7.     Once again, all of these are correct. Score a point regardless of which one you chose.

How did you do?