A pressing issue when traveling to a foreign country, such as Sweden, is how to blend in with the locals. What do they say? How do they behave? What do they wear?
Relax. It is easy to blend in with the Swedes. As swords are no longer permitted in public spaces, you basically only need to know how to swear in Swedish and wear a helmet. In addition, if you are a woman, you can attach a large key chain to your belt.
Swearing like a Swede
The easiest way to learn how to swear like a Swede is to keep quiet for a minute or two after you have presented yourself to a Swede. This way you will hear a rich flood of pejoratives. As a rule of thumb, you can always say “fan”. It literally means “devil” and works in most situations. You can spice it up a little by adding “vid Tor”, meaning “by Thor”.
As you see, Swedes more keen on invoking their deities than making insulting references to someone’s relatives. Don’t worry about repeating yourself, it only shows your determination to stick to your position.
What helmet to wear
Vikings were fashion originators and used natural materials, such as wool, leather, linen and precious metals in their designs. For example, the popular tote bag today offered by leading fashion houses such as Prada and Gucci, first appeared among Swedish Vikings. The same goes for the helmets, as they were originally created for wearing during bad hair days.
Basically, there are three types to choose from:
- Big horn helmets (type A)
- Long side helmets (type B)
- Braid helmets (type C)