nordstjernan The Swedish Newspaper of America
Published by Swedish News. Volume 143 No. 08, April 30, 2015. Price per copy $2.50
This Week, Page 12
Happy Swedish cows celebrate return of spring.
Sweden, Page 2, 3
IKEA isn’t just furnishing a new couple’s first apartment, they are now hosting the nuptials / And we found that weddings at IKEA are not entirely new / No big surprises in the centre-left coalition government’s spring budget / How could it go wrong ... Stockholm ‘s first Mamma Mia! The Party is set to open in Janauary 2016 / Four Swedish police officers took a break from their New York vacation recently to answer the call of duty.
In Brief, Page 3 Spectator boats welcome Team SCA to the Brazilian port Itajai after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo: Rick Tomlinson.
/ Page 19
Restaurant Notch offers American style in Gothenburg; New York’s new eatery Bröd Scandinavian style for finicky Manhattanites.
Along the shore of Lake Vättern
Page 11
Bo Zaunders zaunders@nordstjernan.com
Chivalry did not begin with Sir Walter Raleigh laying down his valuable cloak in the muddy ground to prevent Queen Elisabeth I from dirtying her feet. In Sweden long before that, a giant named Vist, making sure his wife had something to step on as she crossed Lake Vättern, threw a tuft of grass into the lake, thus creating the island of Visingsö. Moving from gallantry and legend to medieval history, this sliver of an island, 7.5 miles long and less than 2 miles wide, was once a hotbed for Swedish royalty with some half a dozen kings using it as their home back in the 12th and 13th centuries. Now, while approaching the island by ferry, Visingsborg, an old castle ruin, is one of the first things that catches the eye. Dating back to the Continued on page 7
New book offers a sneak peak into the fascinating stories and lives of some of the 150 Swedish architects who immigrated.
Local Events, Page 6
‘A Short Stop on the road from Auschwitz’ Report from a conversation between Swedish author Göran Rosenberg and Deputy Secretary General H.E. Jan Eliasson at Scandinavia House in New York.
The Pacific States, Page13 From Vadstena to Visingsö. Above: Entrance to Vadstena Castle, originally built by King Gustav Vasa in 1545 as a fortress to protect Stockholm from enemies approaching from the south.
Living Heritage
For close to 1000 million Americans genealogy research is a digital hobby, spent in varying degrees of intensity in front of a computer, poring over dates and names that, if we’re lucky, may be links to our past. No matter how small or elusive a clue might be, a fortunate few get to put aside the websites in exchange for the original, handwritten archives in the very communities where their ancestors lived. Armed with only a small amount of information, that’s what Suzan Hagstrom did. And with a lot of hard work, a little luck and a really big coincidence, she made more discoveries during her dream vacation in Sweden than she ever could have imagined. / Page 4
New boutique design store opens in San Francisco / Maestro Ragnar Bohlin concert.
Column, Page 17
This year’s vacation, your children will clean the baseboards and peel potatoes.
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