Gino-sized Geography Lesson. Sweden: The Basics.
Hi Friends!
Oh boy have I been busy in my new home, and I have tons to share. My humans and I have been visiting family in different cities and learning all about the City of Gothenburg. It's been a blast.
For now, I'm planning on writing BIG blog entries on Sundays, but in my attempt to captivate your attention I'm going to throw in some "Gino-sized" blog posts from time to time. This is my first Gino-sized blog post: A Gino-sized geography lesson on the nation of Sweden.
First, an adorable image of me being good in my bed.
Now, here is Sweden outlined in RED.
Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia, by both population and land area.
Sweden shares land borders with Norway and Finland. Norway wraps all the way up Sweden's western boarder and curls over the northernmost tip. Finland borders Sweden to the northeast.
Denmark and Sweden don't share a land border, but they're connected by bridge in the very southwest of Sweden. Copenhagen (Denmark's capital) and Malmö (Sweden's third largest city) have become major economic partners since the opening of the Öresund Bridge in 2000.
Fun fact: Shakespeare's Hamlet takes places in a castle in the city of Helsingør, north of Copenhagen where Denmark and Sweden very nearly touch.
Q: Is Sweden part of the European Union? A: Yes.
Q: Oh, so it uses the Euro? A: Nope. It uses the Swedish krona (translated Crown, plural "kroner"). One Swedish krona (SEK) is worth about 0.11 $US; One $US is about 9 SEK.
Q: What language do Swedes speak? A: Swedish, and almost everyone educated in Sweden speaks functional English as well.
Q: Is the Swedish language similar to Danish and Norwegian? A: Yes, they're all siblings on the language family tree, and are so close that speakers often use their own language when speaking with other Scandinavians. Danes typically understand Swedish, for example.
Q: Oh, so Finnish is similar too? A: No. Finnish is Nordic, but it is not Scandinavian. The Finnish language is way different. It's actually more closely related to Hungarian.
That's all for now!
Oh boy have I been busy in my new home, and I have tons to share. My humans and I have been visiting family in different cities and learning all about the City of Gothenburg. It's been a blast.
For now, I'm planning on writing BIG blog entries on Sundays, but in my attempt to captivate your attention I'm going to throw in some "Gino-sized" blog posts from time to time. This is my first Gino-sized blog post: A Gino-sized geography lesson on the nation of Sweden.
First, an adorable image of me being good in my bed.
 |
| Me. Being good in my bed. |
Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia, by both population and land area.
- Its 2018 population is just a bit over 10 million, or a little bit smaller than the US State of North Carolina.
- Its land area is 450, 295 km^2, which is just a bit larger than the US State of California or the country of Uzbekistan.
- Sweden is looooong. The distance between its southern most tip and northern most tip is 977 miles, or about the same distance from the tip of Manhattan to Jefferson City, Missouri.
- The population of Sweden is not evenly distributed. The majority of Swedish residents live in the southern third of the country, and more than 50% live in the vicinity of its three largest cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö (<-- pronounced Mall-meh).
- Sweden is divided into 21 administrative regions, or counties. It is also divided into 25 provinces with historical meaning, but no actual administrative purpose. The county and province boundaries often overlap, but not always.
BORDERS and Hamlet
Denmark and Sweden don't share a land border, but they're connected by bridge in the very southwest of Sweden. Copenhagen (Denmark's capital) and Malmö (Sweden's third largest city) have become major economic partners since the opening of the Öresund Bridge in 2000.
Fun fact: Shakespeare's Hamlet takes places in a castle in the city of Helsingør, north of Copenhagen where Denmark and Sweden very nearly touch.
!!!Cute Picture Break!!!
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| Me. Practicing sphinx pose. |
FAQs
Q: Is Sweden part of the European Union? A: Yes.
Q: Oh, so it uses the Euro? A: Nope. It uses the Swedish krona (translated Crown, plural "kroner"). One Swedish krona (SEK) is worth about 0.11 $US; One $US is about 9 SEK.
Q: What language do Swedes speak? A: Swedish, and almost everyone educated in Sweden speaks functional English as well.
Q: Is the Swedish language similar to Danish and Norwegian? A: Yes, they're all siblings on the language family tree, and are so close that speakers often use their own language when speaking with other Scandinavians. Danes typically understand Swedish, for example.
Q: Oh, so Finnish is similar too? A: No. Finnish is Nordic, but it is not Scandinavian. The Finnish language is way different. It's actually more closely related to Hungarian.
That's all for now!
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