Most people there i had some sort of contact (spoke with etc.) were somewhat just plain rude.
I visited this one cafe and started to order and yeah it took me quite a while since i couldn't understand the menu because of the font and i could tell by the expression of the waitress that she got somewhat frustrated or angry. I didn't really like that since I was a paying customer. Even a couple next to me looked me badly. Then when I gave some tip to her (didn't really count, i just gave her some extra change I had), she picked that up gave that same look like it was somewhat despised. Like what?? You don't want tip?
Asking direction there was hard since many people showed me the hand. If they had a hurry to somewhere yeah I understand that but atleast they could say sorry or something.
And then what's with those people coming like physically at you trying to sell their things. One guy actually took me from my hand and tried to sell a water bottle for me. That same thing happened to me three times with some guy also trying to sell me postcards.
That entire trip left really nothing good to remember except the good weather but I kinda regret it since I payed for it.
Stockholm is easily a city I'll never visit again. Not worth it.
I'm glad you said 'Stockholmers' and not 'Swedes'! ;-)
I'm from the nice end of Sweden (the South), and I sort of recognise your image of Stockholm, it's at least in part shared by other Swedes! For example, Stockholmers don't understand my dialect, and I have to repeat most of what I'm saying in a mock Stockholm accent to make them understand. Other Swedes don't seem to have any such problems, though, even in the far North!
Stockholmers are usually too stressed out to be nice or even smile, and I can imagine visitors taking the lack of smiles as rudeness. Politeness/rudeness is a cultural thing. Other Swedes may find Stockholmers less polite, but not rude. Foreign visitors may find Swedes in general rude, even if Swedes think they're polite, and may then find Stockholmers super-rude. It's a bit like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder.
Next time, skip Stockholm, visit Gothenburg and Malm?, then cross over to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Did Lizzy do NO research on Sweden before she went? That's what it SOUNDS like! Did Lizzy learn to speak or read even a LITTLE bit of Swedish so she could apologize for not being fluent, & ask for help? Doesn't sound like it!
Is tipping customary in Sweden? Not really. So leaving some change for someone is more likely to be seen as an insult than a gift.....did Lizzy check up on these sorts of things before she went? No, she didn't.
Lizzy is EXACTLY the sort of person that gives American tourists such a horrible reputation abroad, and the sad thing is she really does not grasp why!
I'm from the south of Sweden and I agree that Stockholmers are rude and snobby. You should visit Malm? and Gothenburg instead.
I agree with Wilma Swe
a swede being rude? no surprise there
i myself have also visited the same city and experienced rude people
sweden definitely a country not to visit again
unless you like paying for rude service
Swedes are generally rude unforgiving nasty drunks. But of course thats not all of them but in general yes. Think tea party members but with a tan instead of a red neck
