nordstjernan The Swedish Newspaper of America
Published by Swedish News. Volume 144 No. 14, July 30, 2016. Price per copy $2.50
This Week, Page 13
Swedish musicians perform in San Francisco.
“Koppla av” and “ta det lite lungnare” is what we all want to do, here in the U.S., especially in August: to relax and take it a bit easier. The Swedes do it for several weeks in July and into August, and so will the Nordstjernan staff – see you in September! More on summer / Page 4, 10, 15, 16
Photo: Lennart Månsson/Bildbyrån
Sweden, Page 2, 3
No rain on Victoriadagen this year / Technology takes a Swedish mountain peak to new heights / Tragic accident kills Swedish skier / Going to Sweden? Don’t leave home without this! / Stockholm offers taxi in every language / High-speed hyperloop between Stockholm and Helsinki.
Feature, Page 10
Skål to the 2016 Akvavit Competition!
Feature, 6 - our next AugustPage hiatus!
issue is in September
A Swede among the rednecks reflects on Sweden and being Swedish.
Borgholm, Öland’s royal capital
Page 15
Göran Rygert goran@nordstjernan.com
Continued on page 6
Dashboard, Page 8, 9
Swedish Festival in August / Swede Henrik Stenson wins British Open / Swedish in Cleveland during the RNC / Summer cuisine at SACC-Philadelphia event.
Sports, Page 13
Storgatan, the main street in Borgholm, Öland. On August 28, 2016, the only city on Sweden’s second largest island celebrates its 200th anniversary.
Late summer celebrations
Summer in Sweden is about three things: enjoying several weeks (usually four or five) of vacation; hoping the weather isn’t too rainy during vacation; and seafood. Many people are spending time at their summerhouse in the archipelago or at a woodsy lake not far from home. They are grateful for the time away, rain or shine, but what is the weather like this year? As is often the case, July was rainy and cool (and yes, it snowed in the northern mountains), though not so much as recent years, and now everyone is hoping for a typical August, too: Sweden’s one real month of summer … and the month of parties that revolve / Pages 4, 5 mostly around — you guessed it, seafood.
Public Domain
Borgholm is the only city on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea, and this summer it is 200 years old. Not only the inhabitants and a lot of tourist will be there to celebrate, but so will the Royal family. A mile south of Borgholm is the King’s palace and summer paradise, Solliden, his favorite place to spend time. That’s why we call Borgholm “Öland’s royal capital.” I moved to Borgholm with my parents in 1944, when I was 9. I went to middle school (realskola) in Borgholm and went to Kalmar on the mainland for high school (gymnasium, with the studentexamen). Later I moved to Göteborg, Västerås, Malmö and Stockholm, but I always returned to Borgholm and Öland for vacation, music gigs and research. For several years I took
Golf pro Henrik Stenson is among the 152 Swedish athletes competing in Rio.
Perspectives, Page 11
Living between Russia and the USA...
Page 8, 16