why Stockholm, Sweden?
Reluctantly, we said yes to a trip to Sweden. My husband was asked to deliver a keynote at a conference and since my oldest had spring break, we thought ‘why not?’ Travel anxiety immediately crept into my body and took its residence. My mood was just as depressed as my anxiety sent my nerves racing. We hadn’t traveled on a plane in over two years, due to covid. We’d been so careful, why should we take this risk? But we are vaccinated and boostered and, and, and. In the end, we collectively decided that we couldn’t stand another vacation in our house and that we should embrace the opportunity to travel once again. The last big trip we took was to Japan and China in the spring of 2019, again for my husband’s work. We must not forget our usual trips to Boston and Florida for Thanksgiving and winter break before the pandemic hit the U.S. but international travel feels very different, in my experience.
We are one of those families that would rather stay home than run around to a million activities throughout the week, so in the beginning of covid we welcomed the lockdown. My husband being the type of person who can understand and translate the most complicated math and science information and me as a health communicator, trusted the science coming out throughout the pandemic. We understood the need for masking, vaccinations, and social distancing. When the the world began to open up we remained hermits. We slowly, very slowly, poked our heads out from our cocoons. I’m glad we did because Sweden was amazing.
Why was Stockholm, Sweden so great? At first, I wasn’t too sure we should’ve traveled there. The first thing I noticed was that no masks were being worn, at all! I freaked out. Instead of being insensible, I did my research, Sweden had approached covid much differently than the U.S. and other countries. The country didn’t mandate masks, ever, and they didn’t shutdown. There were recommendations for masking, social distancing, avoidance of public transportation, and large crowds. But other than that kids from day care age to ninth grade stayed in school, people still went to work but could work remotely, and people pretty much still went about their daily lives per usual. Sweden’s decisions were scrutinized by the world. Very few seemed in favor of it’s approach to the pandemic. Given how strict my family and I were the past two years, it’s really weird to think about what life was like in Sweden during the heart of the pandemic. I’m really curious as to what it felt like to possibly not live in fear for two years. And to have the majority of your community trust its government and the bodies of people making the recommendations. To me, the hardest part to deal with was knowing that your country was vehemently divided and every decision an individual made was scrutinized, cancelled, politicized, supported, or not. We retreated to the camps that were of the same mind as us, creating greater devision and harboring more anger, frustration, and ‘I’m right, you are wrong.’ Despite the lack of mandates, I was surprised to learn Sweden’s vaccination rates - 84%!?! This is a number that the U.S. is far from reaching.
Portland had just lifted their mask mandate a week before we left for Sweden and my family and I were still wearing our masks in every indoor space we entered. Needless to say, when we landed in Stockholm we immediately felt out of step. Our first day in the city on islands, was jolting to say the least - no mask in sight. Instead of letting my anxiety rise, I took some slow, deep breaths, meditated, and discussed it with my husband. Then, I chose to accept the differences, to be ok with the fact that we’d be the only ones wearing masks, and to just enjoy our time together in a beautiful city.
We ran, we walked everywhere, and we ate at every vegan and gluten-free place we could find! My husband and I love to run. We actually met running on a post- collegiate track club. On our first morning in Stockholm, we were standing about 100 meters away from our hotel looking at a running route. A man, and I’m guessing a fellow runner, wearing a warm smile stopped and suggested a running route to us, one that we had planned on doing. When we ran that route later in the week, we were not disappointed. It was so beautiful; an entire running trail along the water’s edge that encompassed one of the islands. Where else in this world can you find multiples of this in one city? Every island we ran around was accessible in this way. We ran into that kind man again a few days later on our way out for another run and he suggested the exact route we were about to do. Is this kindness a runner’s thing or a Swede thing? Either way, it made us feel good.
On our first run, I noticed something different within minutes. The fact that this stood out to me solidifies my understanding of the backwards ways of the U.S. So what did I notice? Dads. Dads pushing strollers in the morning. So many dads without a mom in sight. It’s sad that this stood out for me. When we got back to the hotel, I looked up paternity leave. I was corrected, not paternity leave but parental leave. Parents and single parents in Sweden are offered 480 days of parental leave! Further digging revealed that one of Sweden’s goals is to get an equal number of men and women in the workforce. This wasn’t the only quality of life sign we saw. Large pathways for walking and running, separate paths for bikes, and loads of access to leisure by waterways and parks. Benches, piers with large lounge areas, and ladders leading into the water were placed along green space and the water’s edge for all to enjoy. On trails, I even found several bodyweight workout stations! Back in the U.S. many spots along the ocean, lakes, and rivers are private or you have to pay to enjoy. Not in Sweden. They want everyone to have access. Again, quality of life seems like a priority.
There are a lot of people in Stockholm. So, the city must use a ton of energy. Yes, they do. However, their emissions are low because of their use of renewable energy. They use hydropower for electricity production and bioenergy for heating. Sweden actually leads the EU for renewable sources - they’ve even been able to use body heat to heat buildings or “passive houses.” Wow! Aside from renewable sources, the fact that seeing a bike on the streets is more common than seeing a car, and bike lanes during rush hour filled with a constant stream of bike commuters, speaks to their active lifestyle and their care for the environment.
Do I even need to mention healthcare? Yeah, it’s healthcare “is largely tax-funded. And the overall quality is high.” I’m not sure I need to say more. Something that’s really important to me and my family is equality, specifically for the LGBTQI community. It appears that Sweden has, again, made more progress. Some of the country’s recent legislation include, “gender-neutral wedding laws (2009), adoption rights for gay and lesbian couples (2003), insemination rights for lesbians (2005), and a prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation added to the Swedish constitution (2011).” Everyone appears to matter. I saw this in the many gender neutral bathrooms wherever we seemed to go. This is important because when we had a layover in Detroit on our way home, our youngest said “Where’s the gender neutral bathroom?” The men’s bathroom was closed and they didn’t want to go in the women’s. They had spent the last week observing inclusion and freedom displayed through affection, fashion, and spaces. So, no matter how hard I try, I can’t really find a reason to not love Stockholm. I’m sure it has it’s issues but I can’t seem to find any that are more depressing than those of the U.S.
