10 Culture Shocks We Had in Sweden 🇸🇪 | German & American Couple React

Sweden’s Sweet Tooth (Candy Everywhere)

• Grocery stores have full aisles of candy—not just a small gas-station selection.
• Sweden is reportedly the #1 candy consumer per capita worldwide.
  • If you love sweets, it’s described as a fun, major “culture shock.”

Relaxed Driving + Speed-Camera “Warning”

• Driving feels calm and moderate, unlike “Germany-style” speeding.
• Speed cameras are preceded by signs in advance.
  • The tone is almost helpful—like “slow down for the photo.”

Getting to Sweden Is Expensive (Tolls / Ferries)

Before you drive much, you may pay for either:

• a steep bridge toll, or
• a pricey ferry.

Fuel / Credit-Card Preauthorizations

• At gas stations, the credit card is inserted and a higher amount is blocked first.
  • They mention something like $150 before pumping.
• Final billing matches the actual fuel pumped.
• This preauthorization approach felt unfamiliar and stressful to many Europeans.

Roundabouts: Double-Lane Complexity

• Double-lane roundabouts are described as stressful for newcomers.
  • It’s portrayed as a “courage test” to drive through them confidently.

Alcohol Rules + State-Run Stores

• Anything stronger than 3.5% isn’t sold in regular grocery stores.
• You must go to a state-run liquor store: Systembolaget.
  • It’s described as looking like an industrial tractor shop.
• Prices are much higher than Germany.
  • Example cited: the cheapest wine they saw was around €8–€9.
• Hours are limited:
  • Closed on Sundays
  • Saturday limited hours
• Overall result: alcohol costs and planning ahead matter more.

English Is Extremely Widely Spoken

• Many people they spoke with were fluent in English.
• They suggest English works well across Scandinavia despite Europe’s language diversity.

Currency Felt “Almost Irrelevant”

Even though Sweden isn’t on the euro, they barely needed cash:

• parking paid via phone/app
• restaurants using tap/scan
• accommodations card/phone-first

They also appreciated avoiding exchange-rate hassles, especially with cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Food Highlights: Classics + Fika

Swedish dishes and staples they tried

• raggmaka
• smörgås (also mentioned: smorgosa)

Seafood and “local favorites”

• Seafood is plentiful but described as pricier than expected for Europeans.
• Kebab pizza is treated as a local favorite (even with fries on top).
  • They frame it as a positive, rare “taste surprise,” especially compared to Germany.

Fika (intentional coffee break)

• Fika is described as a deliberate pause with coffee/tea and a sweet treat.
• Often centered on cinnamon buns.
• They even described doing it during hikes:
  • stop, coffee/tea, cinnamon buns—an “invitation” to slow down and socialize.

Nature + Camping Freedom

• Sweden makes outdoor activities easy.
  • They hiked and found the country safe and freeing outdoors.
• Camping is allowed pretty widely in the countryside/private properties
  • as long as it’s not too close to someone’s home
  • to avoid “trespassing stress.”

Geography / Travel: Islands and Coastline

• Early driving felt like flat farmland + forest, but the coastline is amazing.
• Sweden has over 267,000 islands, framed as the ultimate setup for “island adventure.”

Low Population Density

Sweden felt emptier than expected:

• Sunday forest hikes with only a handful of people
• supermarkets with unusually wide, spacious aisles

They connect this sparsity to why driving feels more relaxed (less traffic pressure).

Social Style: Reserved on the Surface

• Swedes are described as refreshingly reserved:
  • less small talk
  • less outward affection at first
• “Hey” can mean casual friendliness, while repeating it (“hey, hey”) can signal:
  • “I don’t want to talk further”
• After the “ice breaks,” they claim Swedes are genuinely friendly and thoughtful.
  • Fika is framed as a sign of warmth.

Shopping Culture: Big, Spacious Supermarkets

Stores like ICA and Cityross felt more American-style than German to them:

• massive stores
• wide aisles
• huge quantities and variety
• sometimes eerily empty

Quirky detail:

• they mention dog cages outside so you can leave your dog safely while shopping.

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Notable Locations / Products / People Mentioned

Locations

• Stockholm
• “Goththingberg” (likely Gothenburg)
• Malmö
• the Swedish coastline
• forests (Sunday hikes)

Stores / brands / products

• IKEA
• Systembolaget
• ICA
• Cityross
• 7-Eleven (described as “Willy Wonka” candy-like)
• cinnamon buns (fika sweet)
• kebab pizza
• raggmaka
• smörgås
• seafood more generally (“Seagfood”)

Other mentions

• Patreon supporters listed (e.g., Ethan Mitchell, Heather Cuffner, etc.)
• friends/family referenced via dialogue, including Phil’s brother’s Swedish girlfriend