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Exploration for everyone in Sweden’s natural wonders
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September 2016 Vol 87:07 $4.95
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ÖTILLÖ Interview with the Swedish Tourist Association Fjällvandring
Play more. Stress less.
And take your Hilleberg tent!
akto Very light yet strong all-season one person tent in our red label line. Ideal for long or short rambles in nearly any weather. Seen here in Sarek National Park, Sweden.
Martin HĂźlle/martin-huelle.de
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Swedish Press is the world’s leading magazine on all good things Swedish. An authority on design, business, culture and travel since 1929, Swedish Press delivers insightful news and commentary in a visually striking format. With a nod to the past, and a peek to the future, Swedish Press is your go-to source for updates and inspiration from Sweden. SWEDISH PRESS (ISSN 0839-2323) is published ten times per year (Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July/Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec/Jan) by Swedish Press Inc, 862 Peace Portal Drive, Suite #101, Blaine WA 98230 for $39 per year. Periodical postage paid at Blaine, WA 98230-9998 (No. USPS 005544). US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Swedish Press, PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 OFFICE: 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada US MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 WEBSITE www.swedishpress.com E-MAIL info@swedishpress.com TEL +1 360 450 5858 TOLL FREE +1 866 882 0088 PUBLISHER Claes Fredriksson Claes@swedishpress.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Claes Fredriksson Claes@swedishpress.com ART DIRECTOR Joan Law Joan@swedishpress.com COPY EDITOR Alisha Fredriksson Alisha@swedishpress.com
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4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Editor’s Desk 6 6 7
Swedish Headlines Headline News News at a Glance Swedes in the News
Business 8 Business News 8 Borgström’s Blogg 9 Company File: Hilleberg the Tentmaker Feature 10 ÖTILLÖ World Championship: An endurance test fit for Vikings
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Global Swedes 16 Putting Sweden on the Map – At Home: Peter R. Dahlen Lifestyle 18 Top Sju 19 Music: CD music reviews 21 Road to Community Hemma hos 22 Design: Street art and a Pop Up Park bring color to the big cities 23 Treats à la Elisabeth Johansson
‘Where Trees Don’t Grow’ by Swedish mural artist Yash. Photo: Yash
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29 Ads and Info ÖTILLÖ. Photo: Nadja Odenhage
Interview 12 Jenny Engström – An insider’s guide to exploring Sweden Heritage 14 Lär Dig Svenska 15 Ute och vandrar
30 Sista Ordet Fear and change in Stockholm, Sweden 31 Press Byrån Cover image: Man in the Swedish Lapland mountains. Photo © Anette Andersson Below: Kungsleden. Photo © Swedish Tourist Association
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Swedish Press | September 2016 3
ÖTILLÖ World Championship: An endurance test fit for Vikings By Marcus Andersson
Ö
TILLÖ, or “Island to Island,” is a gruelling 75 km race through more than twenty islands in the Stockholm archipelago. Contestants amphibiously sprint across terrain and swim between land masses to reach the finish line. According to CNN, it is one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world, and takes its winners approximately 8 hours and 30 minutes to finish. The first ÖTILLÖ took place in 2006, the brainchild of four drunken friends gazing at their archipelago-print napkins at a bar. They formed two teams and made a bet, saying whichever duo made it from Utö, the island the pub was on, to Sandhamn, a popular destination in the Stockholm Skärgård, before the other would pay for drinks and hotel rooms. This quickly led to the concept of a triathlon-inspired sport where contestants would, without changing clothes, alternate between swimming and running between islands. Unlike the triathlon, however, this competition would not seek to control its environment; it would, rather, encourage athletes to adapt to the landscape around them, plunging from land to water, emerging from the water only to continue running. Another rule the friends introduced for their sport is that athletes would have to compete in pairs, with the option of tethering themselves to each other by a chord throughout their journey. This newly invented hybrid sport, for which ÖTILLÖ would become the world championship, would be called “swimrun.” Photo: Nadja Odenhage
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In the first years of ÖTILLÖ, the organizers were confronted with the difficulty of finding sufficient contestants, so the sport was in large part contained to Sweden. But the competition grew rapidly: in 2008, the world championship only had 23 teams, whereas in 2014, 120 teams from 22 different nations competed. A decade since its inception, ÖTILLÖ now attracts athletes from all over the world to travel to Stockholm in September and conquer the formidable course. Swimrun, moreover, has also spread outside of Scandinavia since 2011 to other parts of Europe (e.g. U.K., Germany, Switzerland), and even to the United States. This year, international swimrunners competed in the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin and ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, and are preparing for the Swimrun 1000 Lakes in Germany. The U.K. will host events in Scotland, Wales, and England, including a course through the Loch Ness. The sport’s founders allowed the rules to evolve organically, stating that they don’t intend to stifle the natural development of the game. In the first races, for example, virtually no restrictions were put in place regarding equipment: some contenders
even employed inflatable mattresses in their quest for the finish line. Today, one of the only restrictions is that equipment larger than 100×60 cm is not allowed. Many swimrunners tie buoyancy devices to their legs, equip their Photo: Nadja Odenhage hands with flippers, and tie neoprene around their foreheads to maintain heat levels. Most participants wear short, thin wetsuits so as not to burden their ankles, legs, and arms while running. It is also standard to wear lightweight trail shoes, as well as to compete with a waterproof bag containing emergency gear and food. The ÖTILLÖ World Championship race begins at 6 a.m. on the island of Sandhamn near the Seglarhotel and ends on Utö at the Värdshus at dusk. The temperatures are low at this time of year in Sweden, in the 50s (°F), and the water Photo: Nadja Odenhage is cold and brackish. Along the course, competitors have access to several energy stations, where they can refuel before tackling the upcoming stretch of the trail. Swimrunners sprint along forested paths, stony patches, and gravelled trails. In addition, they may face as many as 48 transitions between water and land, which makes it practical for them to run with their swim caps and goggles still on. Scandinavians typically win the ÖTILLÖ World Championship, but this trend may change with the sport’s increasing international popularity. Triathlete
Jonas Colting, for example, has competed in every world championship since 2006, and has won it three times, but his fortunes have changed in the past years. In ÖTILLÖ 2015, first place was awarded to a SwedishCanadian team, second Photo: Nadja Odenhage place to a pair of Swedes, and third place to a French and Australian team. The race this year is sold out and boasts an extensive international roster of 120 teams. For athletes interested in swimrun, there now exist three tiers of competition. At the entry level, one can test the ÖTILLÖ Sprint Races, which do not have any time limits and are therefore the most casual form of the sport. The tier above is the World Series competitions, which function as qualifiers for the world championship. Finally, the highest level is the ÖTILLÖ World ChamPhoto: Jakob Edholm pionship. The ÖTILLÖ organization warns potential swimrunners that, to be suited for this sport, one must go up against “Ironman triathletes, multi-sport stars, elite military teams, endurance junkies, and nut cases.” So on Monday, September 5th at 6 a.m., take a moment to enjoy the warmth and comfort of your home (if you’re awake), while imagining 240 paddle-handed, goggled runners rushing across rocks and diving into cold water. Or, if you’re a Stockholm resident, you can ride the ferry out to the archipelago to watch these athletic adventurers conquer land and sea.
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Putting Sweden on the Map At Home
‘Good business leads to a strong economy...
Global
Peter R. Dahlen, Managing Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden
in-house counsel for a start-up and later in business development and public affairs. I also lecture regularly on U.S. law and public policy at Stockholm University. I’ve been actively engaged in advocacy on issues impacting Americans abroad. Today, I am the Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden.
Peter R. Dahlen spent many years preparing for his role as Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden. After studying law in Washington, D.C., Stockholm, Rome, and Krakow, as well as working as a Counsel for then Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the American lawyer is working hard to strengthen the ties between Sweden and the U.S. Swedish Press spoke to Dahlen about business relations, quality of life and ”American Day“ at Almedalsveckan. Please tell us a little bit about your background. I was born and raised in Delaware and moved to Stockholm in 2001. In Sweden, I have worked as an
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Please tell us about your role as Managing Director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden. The American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden (AmCham Sweden) is the voice of American business in Sweden. Our primary objective is to promote U.S.– Swedish trade and investment and U.S. commercial interests in Sweden. Among other things, we are focused on innovation, sustainability, governance, digitization, and promoting the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement. As the Managing Director, I work with my team to create a strong brand for AmCham and to cultivate high-level business relations with member companies and policymakers. We are engaged in a wide range of activities in support of AmCham’s goals and objectives, including policy initiatives, issue advocacy, networking, and facilitating knowledge sharing. This year, we hosted the first “America Day” during Almedals-
veckan (Almedalen week) to highlight innovative work in life science, issues surrounding data transfer, and the importance of free trade generally, and TTIP in particular. Who inspires you in your work? First and foremost, I find inspiration from our Board of Directors and members at large. Their businesses are the embodiment of our mission to facilitate U.S.– Swedish trade and investment and U.S. commercial interests in Sweden. Every day they are innovating and delivering highquality products and services that meet societal needs. Correspondingly, I’m fortunate to work closely with Ambassador Azita Raji and her dedicated team at the U.S. Embassy. Together we strive to strengthen the historically strong friendship between Sweden and the U.S. Additionally, I’m inspired by my colleagues who work hard every day, often behind the scenes and with too little credit, to connect our members, grow our network, advance our policy agenda, and strengthen commercial ties between Sweden and the U.S. Finally, I’m inspired by my family (my children especially) who are the ultimate beneficiaries of a free, fair and safe society. Good business
Swedes
‘...and stable society that benefits everyone.’
leads to a strong economy and stable society that benefits everyone. In which areas do you feel Sweden contributes most globally? In a wide range of studies that rank countries in terms of quality of life, happiness, education and other areas, Sweden consistently ranks near the top in many categories. For example, in 2010, Stockholm was named Europe’s first Green Capital. And this March, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network released its 2016 World Happiness Report. This was the fourth annual survey of its kind and Sweden has consistently ranked in the top ten. Relative to many other countries, with information gathered in part by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Sweden ranks above average in attributes including those that relate to quality of life in a country: affordability, a good job market, economic stability, family friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system and welldeveloped public health system. All of this adds to the influence Sweden has on the rest of the world, in terms of business and society. While Sweden is by no means perfect, it does provide many benchmarks for other countries to aspire to.
How do think the image of Sweden is changing and developing internationally and particularly in North America? Per capita, Sweden is one of, if not the largest source of direct foreign investment in the U.S. today. Additionally Sweden ranks near the top ten as one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. Swedish companies are appreciated for the high quality of products and services they provide, the care they put into their design, and their transparent ways of doing business. All of this has helped raise the profile of the “Swedish Brand” around the world. Its image is further enhanced by the reputations that Swedish diplomats and business leaders have established for being good global citizens and advocates for human rights, free trade, and civil society. Indeed, many of Sweden’s policies are viewed as standards that could be implemented abroad. Universal child care and health care are two examples that come to mind. How do you think Sweden has achieved the success it has despite being such a small country, population-wise? As a small country, Sweden has historically been focused on trade with its immediate neighbors, as well as countries around the globe. As evidence of this, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Sweden, was a treaty signed on April 3, 1783. The
treaty established a commercial alliance between Sweden and the U.S., and was the first treaty signed by the U.S. with any nation not directly involved in the Revolutionary War. As a result, Sweden became the first neutral nation to officially recognize the young American republic. After more than two hundred years, Sweden remains an exportbased country. Its economy is dependent on trade and maintaining good relations with others. This outward focus has resulted in long, robust relationships that have helped ensure the development of a prosperous nation. What aspects of Swedish culture and life are you personally most passionate about promoting? As an American expatriate in Sweden, I’m most interested in the work-life balance that Swedes have struck, and the importance that Swedish policies place on families and health. These values seem to undergird all areas of life in Sweden. More specifically, I am passionate about Almedalsveckan and bringing the concept of a weeklong public policy fair to the U.S. For a policy wonk like me, it is a wonderful week filled with countless opportunities to learn and connect with experts, policymakers, and leaders from both the public and private sectors.
Interviewed by Sofie Kinnefors
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