{"id":4534,"date":"2015-10-23T11:22:36","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T10:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hejsweden.com\/en\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2020-06-03T14:34:57","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T13:34:57","slug":"differences-between-germans-and-swedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hejsweden.com\/en\/differences-between-germans-and-swedes\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Differences Between Germans & Swedes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Differneces<\/a><\/p>\n

This post is written by a German who\u00a0also happens to be Swedish.<\/p>\n

Are there actually any differences between Swedes and\u00a0Germans?<\/h3>\n

Yes!<\/p>\n

But aren’t these nations\u00a0at least culturally very similar? No!<\/p>\n

Well, except, both\u00a0consume lots of dairy products and celebrate Christmas. But even that in slightly different ways. For example: Germans don’t watch Donald Duck each Christmas eve<\/a> at 3 p.m. whereas Swedes altogether\u00a0do.<\/p>

\"Book<\/a><\/div>\n

To understand a few more differences you (even if you’re a German or Swede) can use this list when you talk to a countryman\u00a0from one of these nations while you are in a pub, drunk and in desperate need to talk about cultural differences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, here is a selection of examples where Germans and\u00a0Germany is different from Swedes and Sweden – and vice versa:<\/p>\n

Differences between Germans and Swedes<\/h2>\n

1.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> drink some wine or beer here and there. Many of them don’t even\u00a0mind\u00a0having\u00a0a glass of beer or wine every day.
\nProst!
\n<\/em>
\nSwedes<\/strong> consider this kind of drinking behavior as alcoholism. Which is why they drink pretty much nothing during the week, but do their best to compensate that with an overconsumption of alcohol during\u00a0the weekends.
\nSk\u00e5l!
\n<\/em>
\n<\/a>More about this topic: “Swedes and alcohol – about drinking in Sweden”, here<\/a><\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> love German car brands, particularly the makes of Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> love Chinese car brands, like Volvo and Saab.<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> use a\u00a0“normal” knife to spread butter on a slice of bread.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> have come up with a genius idea. They invented the <\/span>sm\u00f6rkniv<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0a wooden butter knife, whose\u00a0sole purpose is to spread butter on things. (Why is it genius? Errrm. Let’s hope some reader of this post has already\u00a0explained this in the comments below.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> like to “know better”. They tend to brag about when they are better informed about something than you are. This trait makes them so called\u00a0Besserwisser,\u00a0<\/em>literally translated:\u00a0better knowers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> however, try to avoid any conflict<\/a>. Even when\u00a0they “know better” than you, they often\u00a0just nod over what you have to say, with a smile, and go back to\u00a0work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> can buy alcohol any time of the day, as long as they have access to a gas station. Even during daytime they can get alcohol in the supermarket and Toys’R’us.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> have to go to one of the stores of their state-owned <\/span>Systembolaget<\/a><\/em>, the only place they\u00a0get anything that contains more than 3,5% of alcohol, if\u00a0they want to get some drinks for home consumption.
\n<\/span>(No, of course you can’t buy alcohol at Toys’R’us – but if you’re a German you probably don’t read this anyways because you already scrolled down to leave a critical besserwisser<\/em>-comment<\/span>.)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> make jokes about the Dutch.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> joke about Norwegians.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> are proud of having won the football world cup four times, ’54, ’74, ’90 and ’14.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> can talk for hours\u00a0about their glorious team in the world cup of ’94 – where they got third. Yayy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> have done major contributions to the initiation\u00a0and continuation of a world war, it was 1914 and it was simply called World War (back in the days). A\u00a0sequel was launched in 1939, titled “Worl War II”. Both turned out bad, not only for Germans but for whole mankind.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> on the other hand have been less ambitious\u00a0when it comes to starting a war or even participating\u00a0in one. For\u00a0more than 200 years (!) they stayed in their red wooden houses, thinking, “nj\u00e4\u00e4, let the others do.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Alright, I acknowledge, the\u00a0point above might have been a bit of a downer. So, let’s continue with something a bit less serious – like diseases.<\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong>\u00a0try to avoid\u00a0getting the Grippe<\/em>, a simple cold that is cured within a few days.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> panic when they hear someone saying “I just had magsjuka<\/em>“, stomach flu.<\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

Germans<\/strong> take Aspirin whenever they have a headache.<\/p>\n

Swedes<\/strong> take Alvedon or Ipren whenever they (believe they) have any kind of illness. This is mostly due to the fact that it’s exactly what nurses and doctors recommend them to do after contacting Swedish health care<\/a>. “If Alvedon or Ipren\u00a0didn’t help, please call\u00a0us again in four weeks, and\u00a0we will\u00a0tell you to call us\u00a0in four weeks again…”<\/span><\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

And here is one more\u00a0difference between Swedes and Germans<\/h4>\n

Let’s get outdoor!
\nGermans<\/strong> feel vulnerable to the forces of nature\u00a0whenever they find themselves\u00a0within\u00a0a few meters\u00a0proximity to\u00a0natural objects, like trees or gras. To protect themselves from the dangers of “outdoor-life” they wear outdoor jackets<\/em><\/a>. Cocooned in these\u00a0jackets, German bodies are less likely to be effected by\u00a0health threatening phenomenas like wind or rain, and thereby – logic – counteract catching a Grippe <\/em>(flu).
\n
\nSwedes<\/strong>\u00a0base\u00a0the decision\u00a0whether they should\u00a0wear more than just a shirt<\/a> on the\u00a0simple\u00a0question: Does the\u00a0sun shine, or not?<\/em> No matter what temperature.<\/p>\n

To be continued…<\/p>\n

More about…<\/h3>\n