h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I'm curious about what people opinions are on scandinavians. If they even have one. I've grouped the three scandinavian countries together, as people seem to blend them together anyway. But you can also tell me your opinions on Danes, Swedes and Norwegians by themselves. So what do we do wrong, and what do we do right?

Well, what you most certainly do right is to have the best childcare in the world!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4629631.stm

The worst thing about you lot is that you persisted in invading our country a few times. Actually, even that probably wasn't that bad considering you left us with most of our major cities, a bit more diversity in our genetic past, great archeology and a love of beer.

I honestly don't believe that any one person in the world has met every single one of them, so it's an unanswerable question.

Furthermore, the subject is asking 'What's wrong with Scandinavians?', but the first post is simply asking for an opinion on them. Are you looking for their faults or do you honestly want to know makes them such unutterable oiks, cads, bounders, shysters and bullies? If indeed that's what they are?

And finally, I have a question of my own: What's wrong with people who start 'What's wrong with ' threads?

The reason for the subject title was there had been several threads with a similar title, just with other groups of people. And you don't have to meet every single one of a population to form an opinion about them.

Hmmm, not a huge amount, to be honest!

1.Your is too expensive.
2.You all seem to have the uncanny and annoying knack of coming from seriously northern countries, yet still manage a better suntan than me!
3. Your Eurovision song contest entries are frankly, usually dire! Norway's entry this year was classic!

Apart from that, usually the city streets are clean, the people are nice, the governmental policy seems fairish and most of the Scandinavian cheeses I've tried are nice!

Why don't we all move to Denmark?

Oooh and I forgot......................You gave us ABBA

"I've grouped the three scandinavian countries together"

Well, for a start, there's probably a few pissed-off Icelandic people.

B

Iceland is not Scandinavia. Neither is Finland or Greenland.

Opinions of Scandinavians? Hmmmm. Generally well governed. When they drink, they do so with gusto. A certain degree of 'sensibleness', both in its good and bad ways - the bad being an image of slight dulness.

Those are some ideas that exist, though I don't know if I subscribe to them. My experience of Scandinavians consists of 1 Norwegian, 1 almost Dane - ie. a German from Schleswig-Holstein who lived right at the border - and another German who visits Sweden a lot.

(These threads can be quite interesting in sounding out perceptions of countries by outsiders - that is when they aren't empty slanging matches!)

I think they are fat, ugly, ill temptered ignorent oh, no, hang on thats us brits isn't it? I always thought that in general, because of the complection (that isn't the word I'm looking for but I can't find the right workd) that they always look far too healthy but I suppose most races/nations do when compaired to the beer swilling overweight Brits

They speak English irritatingly well

eye wich I spoke English proper

Not much bad stuff here, really. The only thing wrong with them is that they still live in Scandinavia.

* ~^M^~ *

They all sound so serious, even when they're making a joke!

Scandinavians provoke no knee jerk reaction from me, and perhaps that's the problem. For example I could sum up a stereotype inhabitant of the French, German, Spanish, Turkish, African, Australian, Italian, English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish nations. I could drag up an opinion or perception of sorts of any of them. But my initial thoughts here are only that Scandinavians are dull, although the women are supposedly quite pretty and one of them (a scandinavian not a pretty woman) was on the muppet show. And they eat a lot of fish.

Having lived for pretty long time in Scandinavia... far too long I guess I have pretty good idea of the Scandinavian stereotype. The people here are amazingly honest! I like that very much! Also very orderly and helpful. And they love their Nature and take good care of it.
But for a person coming from South Europe, like me, they are a bit too reserved. It's hard to get close friends among them. And there are also very, very sensitive - every time you rise your voice they jump Or if you make a sour face (because the weather is lousy AGAIN or you haven't had coffee yet) they think you are angry with them and get upset! Kind of makes you feel guilty...

I have met a few Scandanavians in my years on the planet, and they were amongst the nicer people I have had the fortune to bump into. They build good cars and good aeroplanes, (well, the Swedes do,) they seem to have a good sense of fairness and well-respected public bodies, they have interesting histories and without wanting to descend into stereotypes too much, in my experience Scandanavian ladies are very tall, blonde, pretty and fun, although I admittedly haven't met all of them.

Scandanavians do tend to take everything very seriously, though.

Overall, though, a good review for our friends in the north.

And I didn't know that Finland and Iceland weren't considered part of Scandanavia.

From the few that I've ever met, they seem to be very civilised, well-educated and environmentally aware if a little serious..

My mate went to study for a year in Oslo, he couldnt understand where everyone went to, as no one seemed to be about much in the evenings, untill the summer came, and then no one seemed to go back indoors! and there seemed to be a big homebrew scene amongst the students, so he was very impressed with that, and the moose on the uni campus..

What's wrong with Swedes is their system of alcohol sales, so that when at Stockholm airport, which had plentiful supplies of Absolut Peppar which I cannot find anywhere else, I was unable to buy it cos I was flying within the EU


Errr...that's about it really.