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Tag archives for shopping

14 Things I Will Bring Back to Sweden with Me

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…It’s just a matter of how much should I haul back with me! Photo by: Drew Coffman (CC BY NC SA)

A million years ago (okay, three months), I blogged about what to bring to Sweden from the US. As an example, I talked about the “Eggsact Eggtimer” I owned and whether I should take that to Sweden. It was not an expensive item but it was super handy and I thought it might be hard to find one in Sweden.

You know, Sweden is not exactly a third world country, my Swedish friends assured me.

I didn’t pack the eggtimer and later I stumbled across a large container of them at a store in Stockholm so it turned out to be a good decision.

But I am traveling home for a week this month and I am busy trying to assemble a list of what makes sense to bring back with me (that I already own) and what would be smart to stock up on while I am in the States.

You might recall that I arrived in Sweden three months ago with three enormous bags—two of which I paid extra fees for. I had done the research and found that it was cheaper to pay the airline fees than to try to ship extra stuff. So this time around I am considering paying for one extra bag again.

Here are a few of the things that seem really expensive to me in Sweden. Most of them are really mundane, everyday items but I just can’t bring myself to pay Swedish prices while the US prices are still fresh in my head. Perhaps I will bring some or all of these things back from my trip. (And yes, I realize that paying for an extra bag also adds to the US price but I think I will still come out ahead. Who really knows?)

Buy new:

  1. Backpack for carrying my computer, etc. back and forth to work (definitely exist here but too expensive)
  2. Power bars for a high protein snack. They have them in Sweden but they are twice as expensive
  3. Transformer so that I can bring some US electrical stuff to Sweden (for example, my electric toothbrush) Note: I purchased this before I came to Sweden but then it was too heavy to bring!
  4. Underwear (don’t laugh, too expensive here)
  5. Socks (ditto)
  6. A special kind of shampoo I haven’t found in Sweden
  7. Winter jacket (already ordered it during a really good online sale) The one I use for medium cold days here is really and truly ugly, not at all fit for wearing to work…
  8. Sports phone case – they have them here but again, they cost about 40% more

 

Bring from storage:

  1. sheets and pillow cases (higher thread count than I can afford in Sweden)
  2. pens – my word, the office supplies are horrible in Sweden!
  3. Wii console and games
  4. Long “body” pillow – haven’t seen one in Sweden but they’re probably here
  5. Some DVDs (I miss my collection!)
  6. Laptop pillow for computer (yes, I know, but this one is perfect and I have never seen this type for sale again, even in the US)

I know what you’re thinking…Why not bring back armloads of iPads and other electronic wonderfulness since those definitely cost more in Sweden?

Well, the answer is money. You can see how modest (and dull!) the lists above are so there will be no fabulous new purchases, I can tell you that!

And I won’t bring back  the “Egg-Per’fect Color Changing Eggtimer” (the eggtimer formerly known as the “Eggsact Eggtimer”…there’s a Prince joke here somewhere). That will stay in California since egg-loving Swedes can buy buckets of them….

eggtimers for sale in Sweden

I didn’t pack the eggtimer and later I stumbled across a large container of them at a store in Stockholm.

 

Kristin Lund

February 17, 2012

Shopping at Ingvar’s

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Diners at IKEA cafe

IKEA diners. Photo by: Nightscream (CC BY 3.0)

 

I have always loved IKEA.

There, I’ve admitted it.

For a long time, there weren’t any IKEA stores in the San Francisco Bay Area but they finally built one in Oakland some years ago. Going to IKEA was a shopping adventure and I always found something I could not live without. Plus, I got to fill up on meatballs, lingon, and fresh potatoes, dreaming of the next time I would be able to visit Sweden.

And since this is a work blog, I don’t mind saying that I’ve done a lot of work from home at my various IKEA desks. And as I posted in an earlier blog, even my Swedish workplace buys some of its desks at IKEA.

When I took Swedish lessons in Berkeley, I had a reader that had an article about the history of IKEA. It was there that I learned the name ”IKEA” is a made-up word composed from the initials of the founder’s name, Ingvar Kamprad, the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd, in Småland, Southern Sweden).

I was surprised to see that although the first IKEA opened in Älmhult, Småland in 1953, it wasn’t until 1985 that an IKEA opened in the United States.

As I mentioned, my family enjoyed eating at the café in IKEA in Oakland and when they started selling food you could take home, we happily started doing that. We bought jars of lingon, frozen meatballs, gravy, and sliced potatoes with cheese (not unlike Janssons frestelse (“Jansson’s temptation”)—a traditional Swedish potato dish.)

One day we were disappointed to find that the fresh, small potatoes in the restaurant had become mashed potatoes and that IKEA had pulled the products we liked best from its food department. It turns out that we weren’t the only ones who were disappointed.

According to an article in Svenska Dagbladet, (article in Swedish) Ikea decided in the Fall of 2011 to sell predominantly its own brand of food. They planned to offer a range of food, approximately 150 products, but for unclear reasons, it hasn’t been working out and now IKEA is considering adding back in their previous suppliers—at least for the time being. (IKEA says that they are interested in customer feedback but that that is not the reason they are adding back in products.)

IKEA previously sold well-known food brands and when they stopped, many shoppers were unhappy. On the internet, protests were posted on blogs and groups formed on Facebook. Trade associations protested that IKEA is an important “window” around the world for Swedish food producers.

I always assumed that Swedes didn’t really shop at IKEA, that it was considered too cheap and low quality. I assumed that the other IKEA shoppers I saw in Sweden were mostly students and tourists. I still go to IKEA today even though I now live in Sweden and you know what, I think a lot of Swedes do shop there. The things you learn!

 

Kristin Lund

February 14, 2012