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User:Julle/Wikimania 2019

< User:Julle

Food and drink

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Drink

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If you at some point before, after or during the conference decide you might want a glass of wine or a beer, be aware that Sweden has a government alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget) for sale of all alcoholic drinks stronger than 3.5% by volume. The minimum purchase age at Systembolaget is twenty years. Systembolaget is typically open from 10 AM to 6–8 PM (depending on the location) on weekdays and from 10 AM to 3 PM on Saturdays. It is not open on Sundays – to restrict alcohol consumption, not for religious reasons. You want to share a bottle of wine on a Saturday evening somewhere other than in a bar or a restaurant? Plan ahead.

You are not allowed to bring your own drink to a pub, or take a half-drunk or unopened bottle with you when leaving. This is strictly enforced. Don't try to talk your way around the regulations – it will only irritate the staff. They're strict because their license to serve alcohol depends on it.

Alcohol is heavily taxed and thus expensive in Sweden, but the Swedish krona is rather weak at the moment, which means the bite it'll take out of your wallet won't be as big is it could have been.

Pubs

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  • Akkurat – huge selection, very popular, often crowded
  • Oliver Twist – huge selection, very popular, often crowded
  • Folk & Friends
  • Omnipollos hatt – Omnipolli brewery pub, excellent beer but smaller selection

Tipping

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Tips are not customary in Sweden. If you feel you've got exceptional service, sure, but the general rule is that you don't tip. Service workers are supposed to make a decent wage without tips. Tips are never expected, but it's a polite thing to do if you want to pay a little extra.

Language

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Everyone speaks English and typically don't resent being asked to do so. Learn "tack" (thank you), and you'll have paid your language dues to the host country. No one expects you to learn any Swedish phrases for a short visit.

(If they don't speak English, there's a fair chance they're a reasonably recent immigrant who also don't speak Swedish.)

Travel

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From Arlanda Aiport

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  • The cheapest way to get from Arlanda International Airport to central Stockholm by way of public transport is to go by bus, using the normal red SL buses. You can take bus 583 to Märsta and then take the commuter train from there.
  • Flygbussarna is a bus service company driving from Arlanda to central Stockholm. This is the option I usually go for, whether for personal travel or for the Foundation.
  • Normal train service from Arlanda C. Some normal trains from the north often pass through Arlanda going to Stockholm. This semi-expensive, but not as expensive as Arlanda Express. Anyone travelling from Arlanda by train must pay an extra fee to gain access to the airport/train station; this is not necessary when you go by bus. Make sure this is included in your fare when you compare prices.
  • Arlanda Express is an express train known for being fast, reliable and very expensive – more than 30 USD.

Taxis

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Taxi prices are not regulated in Sweden. All taxis will have a small sign in the back-seat window showing their prices. Check first, or ask the driver before you get into the car if you can't understand it. From an international perspective, taxis in Stockholm go from expensive to very expensive – the prices can vary a lot.

Lyft is not a thing. Uber operate in Stockholm, but I have never met anyone who's used them and don't know how fast and reliable the service is. Also be aware that using Uber might, depending on the crowd, be a faux pas in Sweden – using a company that's seen as getting around regulations and not taking responsibility for their drivers.

The tube

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This is the normal mode of transportation in Stockholm.

After or before Wikimania

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North

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You want to experience something exotic? Go north. Take the train, maybe to Abisko. Northern Sweden is great for hiking. Or go to Kiruna, and take the chance to see a town in the process of being moved to another place, and use it as a basis for exploring the surroundings. Wikimania is long after midsummer and the chance to see the midnight sun, but a week before the conference starts, the day is still more than eighteen hours long in Kiruna.

You can get there by the night train with sleeper cars.

Bohuslän

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Bohuslän is a province in western Sweden, facing the sea and meeting the Norwegian border in the north. It's famous for its granite rock landscape, the small former fishing villages now becoming rather prosperous summer destinations, seafood and sailing. If you want to experience Sweden by the water, rent a sailing boat for a week and experience the archipelagos. Or rent a car – or go by bus – and see former fishing villages, now small towns and popular summer destinations. For a bit of history, see the fortress in Marstrand or the rock carvings in Tanum. Bohuslän is also an excellent place for leisurely swimming and days spent on the smooth rocks by the water.

You can easily reach Bohuslän by taking a train from Stockholm to Gothenburg, at the border of Bohuslän and Västergötland. Going to Bohuslän also gives you the opportunity to experience Sweden's second-largest city.

Gotland

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Gotland is the largest island in Sweden, easily accessible from Stockholm by ferry. Visby, 23,000 inhabitants, is the main city – famous for its well-preserved Visby City Wall. Visby has a large number of ruins and old buildings. The week before Wikimania is medieval week in Visby, when thousands of Swedes spend the week in town dressed in medieval clothes. Jousting, performances, music, medieval food and drink. If this doesn't interest you, don't pick this week to visit Visby. If it does interest you, make sure to book your accommodation long before arriving, and be aware that it will be far more expensive than other weeks.

The countryside in Gotland is beautiful, and well known for its rauks, rock formations caused by erosion of softer rock around the remaining rauk.

Dalsland

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Dalsland, just north of Bohuslän, is a small province sometimes referred to as a miniature Sweden. There are no great distances here, but you can see the different landscapes that define big parts of Sweden: forests, fields, lakes. There's very little about Dalsland that's grandiose, magnificent or monumental, but that's not why one should go here. It's easily accessible nature in a piece of Sweden most Swedes forget exists. Also close to Bohuslän and Västergötland, the latter being an excellent place to go for a roadtrip if small churches from the 12th, 13th and 14th century are of interest to you – you can see them in large numbers. The easiest way to get around is to rent a car, but it's also possible – and normal, for tourists and locals alike – to travel by bus. That's how I typically get around when I'm in Dalsland.

In the Stockholm area

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While not as spectacular as the Bohuslän archipelagos, if you just have a couple of extra days and want to stay in the area around Stockholm, the Stockholm archipelago well worth a visit. You can get around by ferry. Do rent a bike if you want to see more of the bigger islands. Just north of Stockholm you'll find Uppsala, home of the oldest university in the Nordic countries and the seat of the Church of Sweden.

Outside Sweden

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If you want to see something else than Sweden while you're visting, Copenhagen is a comfortable train ride away. On the way you might want to stop for a couple of hours and see the old industrial landscape near the train station in Norrköping, among the most beautiful urban sites in Sweden, or in Malmö just across the bridge from Copenhagen.

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