Image 1/25

@ Tiny Abode, Sweden
Ratcliff begins his tour of "Sweden". Wrap up warm!
Tiny Abode, Sweden
This very cute little dwelling is most likely a beach hut or bathing box. Beach huts are used to store items for use at the beach, for changing into beach attire and some even have provision for light cooking.

Image 2/25

@ Barn, Sweden
lady lovely lowered her copy of Swedish Without Strain. "You know, they don't have a way to say 'please' in Swedish."
"Wow!" responded Ratcliff. "So...I don't understand, how do you get by without it?"
"Well, it seems you just have to sound polite and use Tack, which means 'thank you'."

Barn, Sweden
A small door/window in what appears to be an older barn. Barns can have many small windows to let natural light in. Many older barns in Sweden are gaining new life by being renovated into modern homes.

Image 3/25

@ Cityscape, Stockholm
"Today's fun fact about Sweden! They are the third largest exporter of music in the world, after the United States and the UK."
"Well, we all love a bit of Abba, Ratcliff!" remarked Chloe Rose.
"Ah, but it's not just Abba! Ace of Base, Roxette and the Cardigans also hail from Sweden."

Cityscape, Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and is built on 14 islands with 57 bridges connecting those islands. There are 53 museums in Stockholm including the world’s first open-air museum. A very beautiful and vibrant city.

Image 4/25

@ Gamla Stan, Sweden
"'Sweden has the highest number of patents per capita in Europe'," read out Ratcliff from the brochure.
"So what are some famous Swedish inventions?" asked Frost.
"Tetra Pak, the pacemaker, ultrasound, dynamite and the spherical ball bearing!" responded Ratcliff.

Gamla Stan, Sweden
Gamla Stan is Stockholm’s original city centre. The Old Town dates from the 13th century. The Royal Palace and the Nobel Prize museum are to be found in Gamla Stan.

Image 5/25

@ Dragonfly
"Interesting culinary fact about Sweden here, Choose a namebecky!" announced Ratcliff. "They celebrate the arrival of midsummer with boiled potatoes with dill. This a Swedish delicacy."
"Well, you know me, Ratcliff. A meal is incomplete without potatoes, whichever way they come!"

Dragonfly
In 2005 dragonflies seemed to just disappear from Sweden. Prior to that year of the world’s 5,000 species, 61 were to be found in Sweden. In 2010 it was discovered that many species that were thought to be extinct, had survived and were classified as endangered.

Image 6/25

@ Fairy Fable Stepped Gable
"Ah! We know Sweden has land borders with Finland and Norway but did you know it's also connected to Denmark—by a bridge?" said Ratcliff.
"A bridge that's a border? Sounds great!" said Aria.

Fairy Fable Stepped Gable
The ornate gable of the house in the centre is like a decoration out of a fairytale! It used to be an extremely common architectural style in northern countries in Continental Europe, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Image 7/25

@ Summer Flowers, Sweden
"'Sweden has a famous hotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi made entirely out of ice. The hotel has to be re-crafted every year using large blocks of ice taken from the Tome River'," read out Ratcliff from the brochure.
"Sounds very stylish, Ratcliff, if a little chilly, possibly!" remarked Chocolicious.

Summer Flowers, Sweden
Bright yellow flowers like little suns beckon you to lay down and relax.

Image 8/25

@ Sweden Foggy Dawn
Ratcliff turned to Twiggy and asked, "Do you recycle?"
Twiggy responded, "Well, I try to, I think it is important."
Ratcliff nodded in agreement, "In Sweden, they recycle so much that they only have one percent waste to take to the landfills, fifty percent of waste is recycled or composted and forty-nine percent is incinerated for energy."
Twiggy gave a big smile at this news, "We need to do more, we need to be like Sweden, when we get home I am going to talk to my friends about starting a compost and learning more about how we can be more efficient in our waste management."
Sweden Foggy Dawn
Crisp morning air greets the farmer in the countryside as the morning sun slowly climbs into the sky, ready for another day of work and beauty.

Image 9/25

@ Fishermen's Huts, Gotland
"'Swedes consume 20 million Semlor per year'," read out Ratcliff from the brochure. "'Semlor buns, a traditional pre-Lent treat, are cream buns made from an enriched bread dough, flavoured with ground cardamom and filled with almond paste and chantilly cream. Versions of the bun are eaten across Nordic countries on Shrove Tuesday, but they are probably best known and loved in Sweden and Finland.'"
"They sound wonderful!" enthused Stone.
"They do indeed, Stone, but it warns you here—a Swedish king in the 18th century died after eating too many of them!"

Fishermen's Huts, Gotland
Gotland is Sweden’s largest island. Along with lovely little fishing villages, there is the medieval walled capital, Visby, which was founded by Vikings.

Image 10/25

@ The "Turning Torso" Skyscraper
"'Sweden has the highest number of patents per capita in Europe'," read out Ratcliff from the brochure.
"So what are some famous Swedish inventions?" asked Chewbie.
"Tetra Pak, the pacemaker, ultrasound, dynamite and the spherical ball bearing!" responded Ratcliff.

The "Turning Torso" Skyscraper
A neo-futuristic residential skyscraper is also the tallest building in Scandinavia. The skyscraper is located in Malmö, Sweden. The bottom levels are office space and the remaining levels are apartments.

Image 11/25

@ Blue Terraced Houses, Sweden
"Guess how many moose there are in Sweden, JuJube!" said Ratcliff.
"Oh! Well, a good few thousand, I would think!" responded JuJube.
"It's actually between 300,000 and 400,000 moose!"

Blue Terraced Houses, Sweden
Terraced houses are more economical to build and are more energy-efficient. In these particular homes, each car garage is located directly under the houses.

Image 12/25

@ Baltic Sea Boat Ride
"It says here that two-thirds of Sweden’s land area is covered by forest," remarked Ratcliff.
"Wow! A tree-lover's paradise!" responded Nesi.

Baltic Sea Boat Ride
The blue and yellow Swedish flag flutters proudly in the wake of this motorboat cruising through the Baltic Sea on a hot summer's day. Is that the Island of Visby in the background?

Image 13/25

@ Stockholm, Sweden
"Ah! We know Sweden has land borders with Finland and Norway but did you know it's also connected to Denmark—by a bridge?" said Ratcliff.
"A bridge that's a border? Sounds great!" said Garth.

Stockholm, Sweden
One of the most fashionable cities in the world. There is no shortage of clothing shops featuring Swedish designer clothing, music venues, clubs, and museums.

Image 14/25

@ Sweden Windmill in Oland

Ratcliff turned to Choose a name and asked, "Do you recycle?"

Choose a name responded, "Well, I try to, I think it is important."

Ratcliff nodded in agreement, "In Sweden, they recycle so much that they only have one percent waste to take to the landfills, fifty percent of waste is recycled or composted and forty-nine percent is incinerated for energy."
Choose a name gave a big smile at this news, "We need to do more, we need to be like Sweden, when we get home I am going to talk to my friends about starting a compost and learning more about how we can be more efficient in our waste management."
Sweden Windmill in Oland
One of old windmills still stands, Oland housed over 2,000 at the turn of the century and about 350 survive today. Largely replaced by modern mills, these old giants spark a romantic hearts whimsy for a good story!

Image 15/25

@ Open-Air Museum, Skansen, Sweden
Oh look ... you won a pet!
Open-Air Museum, Skansen, Sweden
Step back in time and see how the Swedish people lived in the past by visiting Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum. Traditional houses, farms, kitchen gardens, and crafts. Take part in festivals, concerts, and dancing according to the season.

Image 16/25

@ Houses On River Svartån, Örebro
"Gosh! Apparently Sweden is the fifth largest country in Europe in terms of land area, but despite that, it has one of the lowest populations per square kilometre in all of Europe and under ten and a half million people in total," remarked Ratcliff.
"Goodness! They would all easily fit into Paris!" responded Sheba.
Houses On River Svartån, Örebro
Such a beautiful place to call home. Örebro is one of Sweden's oldest towns and it is well known for the making of shoes and biscuits. Happy feet and happy tummy, this sounds like the perfect place to visit. The River Svartånn is a very popular place to go white river rafting.

Image 17/25

@ Sweden Stockholm
"Interesting culinary fact about Sweden here, Mittens!" announced Ratcliff. "They celebrate the arrival of midsummer with boiled potatoes with dill. This a Swedish delicacy."
"Well, you know me, Ratcliff. A meal is incomplete without potatoes, whichever way they come!"

Sweden Stockholm
Cobbled streets wind through the old section of Stockholm, harkening back to a time before you and the busy world, but the old buildings talk of people gone by, and stories they left if you stop to listen.

Image 18/25

@ Swedish Crown
"How many lakes are there in Sweden, Otto?" queried Ratcliff.
"A huge number, I'm guessing!"
"Yes, indeedy—95,700!"

Swedish Crown
This image of the Swedish Crown is to be found in Stockholm. Sweden has a constitutional monarchy. The current monarch is King Carl XVI Gustaf. This ornamental crown and arch reflect the gold and blue colours of the Swedish flag.

Image 19/25

@ Mist Over Water, Sweden.

"Come with me, we are going to the underground Metro."

"The underground for a trip?" Tallulah asked.
Ratcliff shook their head, "Not quite, you will see when we get there, just another block."

When they arrived in the underground station Tallulah looked around with their mouth open. "Look at all this art, just look at it all. Paintings, sculptures, and that over there is a mosaic."
Ratcliff smiled, "Are you surprised? In Sweden, ninety percent of the metro stations have been decorated with many different art forms. It is one huge gallery when you put them all together."
Mist Over Water, Sweden.
Sweden has numerous waterways and canals. The Göta Canal is 190 km (120 mi) long and part of a waterway that connects many lakes and rivers, linking Göteborg on the west with Söderköping on the Baltic Sea. The idea for the canal to cross southern Sweden was put forward in 1516 but was not constructed until the start of the 19th century.

Image 20/25

@ Lakeside Stockholm
"Hey, BRUNO, did you know there's quite a few examples of Swedish loanwords in English? There's moped, gauntlet, ombudsman, orienteering and tungsten."
"That's great to know, Ratcliff! I'll remember that when I'm next wearing gauntlets, orienteering on my moped to see the ombudsman about tungsten!"
Lakeside Stockholm
Fourteen islands comprise the city of Stockholm, which is situated where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. This beautiful sepia-toned night-time image shows central Stockholm brooding in the moonlight, with its major buildings reflected in the water.

Image 21/25

@ Horse In The Mist, Sweden
"Listen to this, Manzie. 'Sweden has the world’s largest scale model of the solar system. Starting at the Ericsson Dome in Stockholm, the model ends 590 miles (950km) away in Kiruna where the end of the solar system is marked."
"Gosh! What scale is the model, Ratcliff?"
"The scale is 1:20 million and each object is marked with a model or statue. Mercury is a mere 1.86 miles (3km) from the centre while Earth is 4.72 miles (7.6km) away and Neptune is 142¼ miles (229km) away."

Horse In The Mist, Sweden
Riding is one of the main sports in Sweden, and it is available to everyone, and in 2016 there were 355,500 horses. You may have heard of the Dala Horse, a carved wooden horse, commonly painted red, that originated in the province of Dalarna and it is the unofficial symbol of Sweden.

Image 22/25

@ Waterfall, Sweden
"Today's fun fact about Sweden! They are the third largest exporter of music in the world, after the United States and the UK."
"Well, we all love a bit of Abba, Ratcliff!" remarked Cheeky!!!.
"Ah, but it's not just Abba! Ace of Base, Roxette and the Cardigans also hail from Sweden."

Waterfall, Sweden
Everypet and every human loves a waterfall. The Swedish for waterfall is vattenfall. Be it small or grand a waterfall can be soothing to sit beside. Just be very careful if you decide to travel over any rocks or go above a waterfall, the spray makes any rocks very slippery.

Image 23/25

@ Tram, Gothenburg
Ratcliff turned to Abel and asked, "Do you recycle?"
Abel responded, "Well, I try to, I think it is important."
Ratcliff nodded in agreement, "In Sweden, they recycle so much that they only have one percent waste to take to the landfills, fifty percent of waste is recycled or composted and forty-nine percent is incinerated for energy."
Abel gave a big smile at this news, "We need to do more, we need to be like Sweden, when we get home I am going to talk to my friends about starting a compost and learning more about how we can be more efficient in our waste management."
Tram, Gothenburg
A misty winter morning in Gothenburg, as you wait for one of the 263 trams that serve 12 routes to take you to work or an early breakfast.

Image 24/25

@ Dancing Light, Sweden
"You know, Edgar called me a heathen the other week because I said I didn't like Dickens," remarked Ratcliff. "I'm going to inform him that 'heathen' comes from the Old Norse heiðinn, meaning 'one who inhabits the heath or open country'."
shotzee grinned. "He'll probably just call you a Philistine instead, Ratcliff!" she said.
Dancing Light, Sweden
Grab a blanket and some of your favourite hot beverages and maybe some of your pet's snacks and go lay down and watch the light show in the sky.

Image 25/25

@ Stinsen Arena, Sweden
As Ratcliff's tour of "Sweden" comes to an end, he receives a seasonally appropriate gift!
Winter's Decorations
Beautiful winter blooms gladden the heart and add richness to the landscape. Flowers are most welcome at any time of year but they may be appreciated much more when winter arrives and our days become shorter.
Stinsen Arena, Sweden
Located in Nässjö, Sweden, this arena is used to play bandy. Bandy is a winter sport played on ice using sticks and a ball. The sport differs from hockey in many aspects. The teams number 11 per side and the game is played in two forty-five-minute sections.
Ratcliff has completed his tour of "Sweden"! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also tour Scandinavia!