The trip is more than halfway done. I've got an early train tomorrow back to Malmo then to rent a car to drive up the western coastline of Sweden up to Gothenburg (Goteborg). I just wanted to make a few observations.
I already mentioned that Swedish people are better looking than Danish. They are also more fit. I ate lunch in the mall today and just people watched for about an hour. I'm surprised that with the amount of biking the Danish do, they aren't in better shape. There are 2 sizes in Denmark. Tall and skinny and tall and fat. There really isn't an in-between. And working out must not be a big thing here because I've seen very few athletically build (muscular) people. I suspect it's because of the amount of beer and soda they drink. The minimum drinking age in Scandinavia is 18. All teenagers drink beer or soda. Nobody drinks water. The Swedish drink a lot of sparkling water. Us "stupid" tourists are the only ones that drink bottled "still water". They are smart enough to drink it from the tap (which I've already said is excellent).
Fashion here is 80's bad. I've been jokingly made fun of by a few locals of because I'm wearing my running shoes with pants which immediately identifies me as American, but I want to ask them "WTF were you thinking when you dressed yourself this morning??"
Denmark is a much more ethnically diverse country than Sweden. I see Asians and Africans all over. There are also a LOT of Italians. I swear I hear Italian being spoken more often than anything else. Sweden had several Chinese restaurants and quite a few Mongolian BBQs. But I really didn't see too many Asian people. NO hispanic. But I've been told that Iranians have been coming here with a similar sociocultural impact as hispanics on California.
Being American is good thanks to Barack Obama. George Bush isn't too popular here. I've seen several t-shirts that say "Why isn't it terrorism when conducted by the United States?" in reference to the Iraq war. But Obama is hugely popular. I think about 8 people have told me so far they like Obama. Even my Serbian taxi driver last night who spoke broken English but managed to say "Like Obama. He good." as well as Christian the Satan worshipper who said "I like your new President." Being a Californian is even better. I've had to show my ID a few times making purchases and the cashier has commented upon seeing my California driver's license. One even gave me her number and e-mail address because she's planning a trip to California with friends and wanted to know if she could contact me prior to get info and advice.
Scandinavian people ARE very accomodating and friendly. They can obviously spot tourists and are quick to give a friendly recommendation or suggestion.
Scandinavia is NOT CHEAP. It is possible to travel on the cheap here but it honestly takes a lot away. I would definitely come back and try some other things that I didn't get to try this time.
As previously mentioned, the public transportation system is stellar. Really. A million times better than the US and it's cheap. There are... get this... over 30 different train lines in Copenhagen alone and the run 24 hours. Although they run less frequently late at night. There are also bus lines and taxis but taxis are expensive since they charge you 14 kroner just for picking you up and drivers get 12 kroner per kilometer on top of the normal charge which adds up quickly since the meter gets you for distance AND time.
Tipping is not neccessary here. It's added into the check. Also, working positions such as waiters, driver, etc are paid much more than in the states so they don't need tips. Exceptional service might warrant an extra tip. The only ones you should tip are hotel bellboys but only the nicest hotels even have them.
Cars are small and efficient since gas is $7 a gallon for regular and $9 for premium but you see a LARGE number of German cars since they are much less to own here.
They is a very small population of homeless due to government subsidized programs to help them. Health care is free and available to anyone. Many public events are also free.
Overall, I'm quite impressed with what I've seen of Sweden and Denmark. They've done a beautiful job turning their countries into places that foreigners would want to visit.
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