As a swede travelling abroad you sometimes notice that people not familiar with the country, although aware of the difference between Sweden and Switzerland, hold a rather stereotypical view of the Swedes.

People seem to think that Swedes are more serious and melancholic than others. Maybe this is true to some extent, the lack of light during a large part of the year does not help the positive spirit, and we do have the highest suicide rate in the world. But overall, I think that the Swedes are just as cheerful as others, as long as there is something to be cheerful about.

There is also a common stereotype about Swedish women as being tall, blond, beautiful, quite "well equipped" in the chest area, and also rather promiscuous and not very smart. This is a stereotype that is maintained through movies and TV-programmes, which often portray "Inga from Sweden" in exactly the way I just described. And I guess the picture fit some Swedish girls (one prime example is Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish playboy model not exactly known for her intellectual capacity), but just remember that we do have brown haired and brown eyed people in Scandinavia, and to tell you the truth - most of us are pretty much like people are in general.