0_Wizard
I wish to visit Sweden once, a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe
Sweden ( ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.
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Sweden
chosen_topic_0_Sweden
Sweden
Sweden ( ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area. Sweden has a total population of 10 million of which 2.3 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of ; the highest concentration is in the southern half of the country. Approximately 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats (Swedish Götar) and Swedes (Svear) and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen.
Old Norse religion
Old Norse religion developed from early Germanic religion during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples. It was displaced by Christianization of the North Germanic peoples. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion.
Norway
Norway ( ; Norwegian: (Bokmål) or (Nynorsk); ), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign state and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the remote island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Bohuslän until 1658, Jämtland and Härjedalen until 1645, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, and the Hebrides and Isle of Man until 1266.
Saint Lucy's Day
Saint Lucia's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucia, is a Christian feast day celebrated on 13 December in Advent, commemorating Saint Lucia, a 3rd-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought "food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs" using a candle-lit wreath to "light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible". Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a Christian festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucia's Day is viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar, on Christmas Day.
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries or the Nordic are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as "Norden" (literally "the North"). They consist of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, including Greenland and Faroe Islands—which are both constituent countries within the Kingdom of Denmark—and the Åland Islands. The population of the Nordic countries are mainly Scandinavian or Finnish, with Greenlandic Inuit and the Sami people as indigenous minorities, since Scandinavians comprise over three quarters of the region's population and is thus the largest group by far.
OGAE Second Chance Contest
The OGAE Second Chance Contest is a visual event which was founded in 1987 and is organised by branches of OGAE, the international fan club of the Eurovision Song Contest. Four nations competed in the first contest which took place in 1987. The contest was previously a non-televised event, but evolved over the years by the usage of video tape and nowadays DVD and YouTube. Each summer following the Eurovision Song Contest, each branch can enter one song that failed to win the country's national selection process for the annual Eurovision Song Contest. The members of each club choose amongst the songs that did not win and select one to represent the club in the event.
Estonia
Estonia (; ), officially the Republic of Estonia (), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of , water , land area , and is influenced by a humid continental climate. Ethnic Estonians are a Finnic people, sharing close cultural ties with their northern neighbour, Finland, and the official language, Estonian, is a Finno-Ugric language closely related to Finnish and the Sami languages, and distantly to Hungarian.
1_Apprentice
Sweden is a good choice. I am considering visiting Norway soon.
0_Wizard
Sweden borders with Norway and in fact it is really east to travel between countries. So, I can think of visiting Norway too
It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.
partner_Sweden_1
Sweden
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Norway
Norway ( ; Norwegian: (Bokmål) or (Nynorsk); ), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign state and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the remote island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Bohuslän until 1658, Jämtland and Härjedalen until 1645, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, and the Hebrides and Isle of Man until 1266.
Sweden
Sweden ( ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area. Sweden has a total population of 10 million of which 2.3 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of ; the highest concentration is in the southern half of the country. Approximately 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats (Swedish Götar) and Swedes (Svear) and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen.
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries or the Nordic are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as "Norden" (literally "the North"). They consist of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, including Greenland and Faroe Islands—which are both constituent countries within the Kingdom of Denmark—and the Åland Islands. The population of the Nordic countries are mainly Scandinavian or Finnish, with Greenlandic Inuit and the Sami people as indigenous minorities, since Scandinavians comprise over three quarters of the region's population and is thus the largest group by far.
Erik Gjems-Onstad
Erik-Ørn Gjems-Onstad, MBE (22 February 1922 – 18 November 2011) was a Norwegian resistance member, officer, lawyer, sports official, politician, author and anti-immigration activist. Gjems-Onstad joined the Norwegian resistance movement after Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940. He was arrested in Sweden for his involvement with Norwegian resistance activity in the country in 1941, and was sent to the United Kingdom where he joined the Norwegian Independent Company 1 ("Kompani Linge") and received British military training. He was deployed to Norway in 1943 as part of Lark, assigned with establishing radio connection with London.
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area (, ) is an area comprising 26 European states that have officially abolished passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. The area mostly functions as a single country for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy. The area is named after the Schengen Agreement. States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight European Union (EU) member states participate in the Schengen Area. Of the six EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, four – Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania – are legally obliged to join the area, while the other two – the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom – maintain opt-outs.
European migrant crisis
The European migrant crisis, or the European refugee crisis, is a term given to a period beginning in 2015 when rising numbers of people arrived in the European Union (EU), travelling across the Mediterranean Sea or overland through Southeast Europe. These people included asylum seekers, but also others, such as economic migrants and some hostile agents, including Islamic State militants disguised as refugees or migrants. Most of the migrants came from Muslim-majority countries of regions south and east of Europe, including Western Asia, South Asia and Africa. By religious affiliation, the majority of entrants were Muslim (usually Sunni Muslim), with a small component of non-Muslim minorities (including Yazidis, Assyrians, Mandeans, etc.).
Blockade of Germany (1939–1945)
The Blockade of Germany (1939–1945), also known as the Economic War, was carried out during World War II by the United Kingdom and France in order to restrict the supplies of minerals, metals, food and textiles needed by Nazi Germany - and later Fascist Italy - in order to sustain their war efforts. The economic war consisted mainly of a naval blockade which formed part of the wider Battle of the Atlantic, and included the preclusive buying of war materials from neutral countries to prevent their sale to the enemy. There were four distinct phases of the blockade. The first period was from the beginning of European hostilities in September 1939 to the end of the "Phoney War," during which the Allies and Axis Powers both intercepted neutral merchant ships to seize deliveries en route to the enemy.
1_Apprentice
That is an excellent idea. However, learning Scandinavian languages enough to get by may be difficult.