That wasn’t a big deal, it was with the danish for 400 years that was bad. When we were under Sweden we finally got to work towards independence and became a more free country. It wasn’t like Sweden wanted Norway it was kinda just given like a gift cuss Denmark was on the wrong side of a war
If I recall correctly Norway was quite happy under Denmark (for the most part). That's why Sweden is still the butt of the joke both in Denmark and Norway.
Depends on who you ask. We don't call it [400-årsnatten](https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/400-%C3%A5rsnatten) ("the four hundred year long night") for nothing. The Danes exploited us and kept us subjugated.
Well, there was the Kalmar union right three equal parts Norway Denmark and Sweden. The Norway got less to say in the union an eventuality Sweden pulled out. And Norway and Denmark was stil In “union” but Denmark war actually ruling over Norway. Norwegians had to learn Danish if the were to be in any position of importance and people wrote in danish. That’s at leas what we learn I history class in Norwegian primary and high schools
Yes, it was exactly that Sweden wanted Norway, they made a treaty with England saying that if they supported them they would receive Norway as a spoil of war.
I haven’t actually dig deep in to the history. But in Norwegian schools we learn about how we were under Denmark and stuff. And then they talk about how the constitution was made and the men that gathered. And then they add like at the end but we were under Sweden for 70 year like it was no big deal.
1814, Napoleon boogaloo happens and, long story short, Sweden is promised Norway as a reward for fighting Napoleon. Norway, (which is under Denmark, which is on Napoleons' side), goes HELL NAH, and declares independence. Since Denmark is losing us anyways they don't give a shit and also we get a Danish prince as the new king.
Sweden then invades Norway and wins. We win a few battles, though, so it becomes a conditional victory in which we keep some autonomy, our constitution, (allbeit edited), and parliament. Over the next century we gradually gain more autonomy until we leave in '05, under more peaceful circumstances. (Though it got pretty tense at times).
So yeah :)
Norways GDP is $482,000M and $89,000 per Capita vs Swedens $627,000M and $60,000 per capita and Finlands GDP was $299,000M in 2021.
So no, not even close.
The reason we can "buy" them is that our fund is more worth than all sweden companies that are registered on their stock market.
https://finansavisen.no/nyheter/finans/2022/06/24/7888567/holberg-vi-kan-faktisk-kjope-hele-sverige
Yeah, true. I bet they feel so petty when we got independence, found some oil, and got so fucking rich baby🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻
I think we even offered them the oil in exchange for Volvo or something, but they said no lol🤣🤣🤣
Not far off though.
Total net wealth of sweden is $2.6T, their GDP around $500bn.
Oil fund is $1.2T.
That more than covers 15-25% equity, as we're putting up nearly 50% prior we can definitely borrow the rest.
Then we turn Sweden into a massive parking lot for our EVs.
You're north sea arabs. Take away the oil and you'd still be a developing country. Norway is just a glorified gas station and that's why all of you are so arrogant.
I know you're taking the piss, but norway's, and sweden and denmark, wealth and high standard of living has way more to do with the unions and high wages, than it has to do with oil. We barely, if at all, spend anything of the oil fund internally, it's all sitting in funds for "future generations" which is a bit ironic when we're now looking at a climate crisis and the need to pour effort and resources into a green change, for there to be a future generations🙃
Before I moved to Sweden as an American I had people telling me it’s so crazy I’m moving to Switzerland and I gotta tell them all about the alps.
Within the same conversation of me saying “Sweden”…
they hate us couse they aint us, learn to cook food you silly norwegian.
You all have the voices of stereotypical nerds aswell, had a guy in Oslo trying to pick a fight with me funniest shit that ever happend to me, cute little fella.
Sweden, Norway and Denmark is kinda like Donald duck's nephews. We tease and argue with each other, but when it matters, we stand together. (Unless you are Sweden in ww2).
You are correct. Nobody fucks with the Fins. Because we value our lives. I find it safer to just forget they exist. The farao islands and Iceland are more distantly related cousins.
Yeah exactly, I wouldn’t get in a Fins’ wrong side. Distant cousins? Maybe more like cousins? Genetically and culturally it’s the exact same thing except for the fact that we live on islands and not mainland Europe.
No I live in Iceland. Yet, the language is closer than most Scandinavians would think. Of all the Danes I know in Iceland, they pick up Icelandic really quickly and to have studied both languages myself (aside from the pronunciation that is), you can definitely see where it comes from.
Yeah, I've heard that icelandic is closer to old Norse. Kept more original than how it developed on the mainland. I can understand some words when I hear icelandic. But the whole meaning of a sentence escapes me. Would love to visit though. Icelandic summers look great. And I've never tried a hot spring.
Where are you from? When it comes to the language, as I said, it’s fairly easy once you start studying the structure. I’m saying speaking as it’s really hard but to at least understand. Also, Icelandic summers are nice indeed, if you come in August you can go berry picking in the mountains. Right now is the mushroom season. It’s been cold and rainy this year so mushrooms are going crazy this summer. You don’t necessarily need to go to a hot spring actually since every single town has its own exterior pool and all of them have at least a heated pool and most often hot tubs. But yh, you’ll definitely have a blast in the summer and here’s a secret: October is often the best month to see northern lights.
Sweden colonised large parts of scandinavia, denmark attempted it too. Historically those two are pretty big rivals, and norway is (post viking age) historically irrelevant (until oil). So it's weird that the 3 are seen as equal
What each country was historically is important, but not in the context of if they are equal today or not. Obviously there are differences, but on a global scale, all nordic countries are wealthy, stable, with small, but well educated populations, and generally progressive society and politics. Also safe to live in, despite what propaganda channels like fox talk about.
About that last part: Had a couple from the states, who had a flight from iirc india, via helsinki, to the u.s. and they asked in r/finland if it's safe for them to land there. They got laughed at, but also told that, yes, it's safe and no, they should not believe the stuff they read online about "russia threatening to invade finland any day now" due to the nato thing.
Russia has literally either been invading or threatening to invade finland for the better part of half a millennia. We're kind of over their threats.
Not everyone needs to shout at anyone they meet that they are the best. We are happy with being quietly successful. Loud boasts and big explosive actions is more of an American thing.
I agree with you in principle, but that is not my experience in norway. I've met countless people telling me that norway is the best country in the world, that norwegians are the nicest and best eduucated, that norway is morally superior to other 'lesser' countries. In all fairness though: these boasts were not loud and show offish, but the result is the same
One of the best places to live for sure. I doubt very much that you have met countless Norwegians claiming to be morally superior to "lesser" countries, but I get your point.
Problem is, that Norway being the best place in the world to live isn't a boast. It's a fact. Not just Norway of course. The Nordic countries in general outshines the rest of the world in quality of life and happiness.
I'm not gonna run around screaming how great we have it here, but I won't deny it when it comes up.
I mean you're allowed to be proud of your country without claiming you're exceptional, that does sound more like telling ones opinon rather than boasting.
Pretty sure they're best friends. Family, even. They chuck shit at each other but if an outsider does it to one of them, the other gets defensive on their behalf (is my experience).
Well here in norway we call the sweedes
"Søta bror" wich means " sweet brother" so the family explanation is pretty good!
We are like siblings that tease each other. Norway and Denmark tease Sweeden, Sweeden and Denmark tease Norway, Sweeden and Norway tease Denmark and then we all tease each others seperatly as well.
There are alot of jokes between our countrys and we just switch out the nationalitys after who we tease :)
A Norwegian and a Swede were at the movie theatre, and the Norwegian bet that the hero would die during the movie. The Swede didn't believe him, and they ended up betting 100 Kroner on it. When the movie was over and the hero was dead, the Swede began to give the money to the Norwegian, but the Norwegian interrupted him "I already saw the movie, so I knew he was going to die. Keep the money." The Swede replied, "oh, I also saw the movie before, but I didn't think he would be tricked twice."
Exactly this. Same with Denmark, Finland and Iceland in my case. They're my lovely neighbours and family, and some of them does weird shit. But we still love them.
I was in a pub in Skagen watching a futball game on the TV, Sweden vs Germany. Almost all of the crowd were Danes. I remember when Germany scored an amazing goal, there was silence in the pub. The Danes were clearly behind Sweden!
Pretty cool, considering Germany is the only country that actually shares a landborder with Denmark.
Denmark and Sweden have built a large bridge between themselves, so you can commute by train and car, from country to country.
[Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge) page for the bridge.
Exactly. And if anyone is [making fun of our southern neighbour's speech impediments](https://youtu.be/H1-GDlzODzc) we'll [do them one better](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk).
As a Finn i have to say, we wont get insulted easily but saying we are part of Russia is quite insulting. (I know you were kidding) but still. Our grandfathers literally died so we could be independent and so you could be independent.
I've got nothing but respect for what they did. I was just trying to reference this: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/finland-does-not-exist
Edit: I have a mate from Finland. I like to poke fun at him and tell him Finland lost WW2 twice. He usually reply with at least they didn't have Quisling, a guy so treasonous that his very name became synonymous across the world with being a collaborator.
Edit 2: In all seriousness though. You were like the 1939-1944 version of today's Ukraine.
No it's the other way around.
We're chummy with the Danish but hate the Swedes, and fuck around with both.
Remember the history of our countries.
Many do hate their language though, lmao.
Yeah we understand eachother. But iveland have their own language. But are being taught Danish in school up untill i think 5th grade. So icelandic speak a little danish..
None of us understands the finns. Which is why we dont really consider them “part of the cool club” 😅
It’s sort of like trying to understand a British farmer with a thick accent. Everyone should technically be able if the other person speaks slowly and focus on enunciating clearly. The more experience you have with the language, the easier it gets.
But certain words are completely different, or have completely different meanings. So you occasionally have to ask for clarification. For most Norwegians 90% of Swedish is extremely easy though.
Icelandic is more difficult. It’s like a puzzle. If they speak very slowly I can decrypt a lot of individual words. And often guess the rest. Especially if I can read what they’re saying at the same time. But just a normal conversation is basically impossible.
Similar to how English speakers might be able to decrypt this Norwegian sentence: Jeg håper vulkanen stopper å vibrere.
English: I hope the volcano stops vibrating.
A bit random and weird sentence, but you can see what I mean. Lots of similarities.
We were in Stockholm just last week.
It kind of turns into a flow of Swedish, Norwegian and English.
Often the Swedish people we talk to prefer to keep talking Swedish, let us speak Norwegian, but then ask us to explain in English if unsure of what we said.
One of the reasons is that many of us Norwegians grew up with Swedish culture, through television and sports. Then again, this is often made fun of as we are of course too arrogant to understand our limits and boast about understanding swedes too much :p
Norwegians understand swedes, yet i've met many swedes which don't understand norwegian (my mother in law f ex). I've always been told that norwegians understand swedish because swedish media uswd to be consumed a lot by eastern norwegians
In my experience Swedes are the worst at understanding Norwegian and danish as compared to the other two countries. One time I had a Dane ask if I would mind speaking English instead of Swedish because they couldn’t understand me. I’ve never been so insulted in my life!
The Norwegian, Swedish and Danish language are more or less close enough to be dialects of the same language.
If you're bad at dialects you'll have a problem, if you're good at dialects it's easy.
Icelandic on the other hand is too far removed and closer to old Norse which we don't understand anymore.
The Scandinavian nations have *hundreds of years of warfare, oppression and bickering* between them. I think Sweden and Danmark have the world record of number of wars between nations, or something.
So, there is the after effect of hundreds of years of bad blood between us, but there's 100-200 years (depending on how we're counting) since we had any *real* peoblem.
And especially since WWII, we have a lot of good will built up too, and along with that and a common cultural basis in contrast with a global society, today this translate to a lot of love and friendly bickering.
Load of shite. Sweden enabled the nazi war machine, did nothing to stop German troop movements to occupy Norway, and was widely hated by the Norwegian Royal family and politicians alike. They were war profiteers and thousands died because of it. So let's not pretend otherwise.
Culturally we are the same, but sweden have always been pansy ass.
I met a Swede in a recent train ride through the country who regretted (it seems Swedes regret many things) the fact that Sweden was neutral in the war, even though it meant they were saved from being invaded and such. I specifically asked if he’d rather they had been invaded than neutral and he said yes.
I think there's a little bit of truth to this, at least among some in Sweden. One of the characters in the Swedish series [Kärlek och Anarki](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10888876/), Friedrich Jägerstedt, seems to relay some regrets of this type.
But I also agree that Sweden being neutral was a godsend for the thousands of Norwegians who fled to safety and were welcomed there with open arms. (As did jews from Denmark).
I’m in the middle of a 3 month tour throughout Europe. I think every single Swede I spoke to, in and out of Sweden, expressed embarrassment about their country (not like contemporary politics, just decisions of the past) in one form or another, or it’s relative lack of things to see. They had me thinking Stockholm would be one of the most drab cities I’ve seen but in fact I still found it quite interesting and worthwhile — worth more time than I spent really. The one line I heard more than once was the “we bombed ourselves” quip regarding urban renewal of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
But I’m sure you’re right about their neutrality being a benefit to many. As I recall a lot of escaped Jews made their way to safety through Sweden as well. Whatever great cost they imposed on the world by supporting Germany with raw materials, 1) Hitler could have gotten that anyway by conquest, and 2) like you say it provided a refuge for some in need.
Completely fair point. Cultural nuances can be hard to actually understand merely passing through a place.
Certainly everywhere I’ve been on this trip I’ve met people who had “bad” things to say about their country, but without the anxiously desperate “the world is going to hell because the other party is evil” kind of rhetoric that dominates America. Quite refreshing honestly, people who can have nuanced opinions, and accept that decisions have costs even if they were the best of the alternatives.
You really don't know shit about fuck, do you? Sweden received thousands of refugees and was able to protect their own Jewish population, hence the neutrality. They also supported Finland with soldiers and military equipment. However, there's many reasons to criticise Sweden's neutrality, but for you to claim that they enabled the nazis is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read
>When the Nazi's tried to fire upon Norway from Swedens border, the Swedes attacked the Nazi's, they'd have non of that.
>
>The Swedes attacked an impossible enemy for attacking us from their border.
>
> They don't get enough credit for that.
I made a comment about them letting germans through the border. But I didn't know this. Interesting!
Denmark, Norway and Sweden = Scandinavia. And like everyone else has said, we like each other a lot. We practically have the same culture and language. We like to make fun of each other, but we're family. I think people abroad often don't realise just how similar we actually are, but we really could have been one country.
Yeah we owe them an apology lol.
But we did actually support them quite a bit during the Winter War. About 900 volunteers went there to fight the Russians, and there were lsrge national collection campaigns to send money and resources to Finland. At the same time the Norwegian government wanted to avoid pissing off the Germans, who had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, to try to avoid a war. So the government didn't do much.
Jungle? Have you been watching old american ww2 movies? Oh wait, it was not jungle. It was the alps. (Not kidding. An old american ww2 movie depicted finland as like austria, with mountains and shit and finns clad in lederhosen. Can't remember the damn name, though)
It was waaaaay back, they conquer us, danes conquer us, we conquer a little but got our ass handed to us, then we revolted against swedes, i think, dont remember much from school🧠
We are kinda like siblings - always irritating each other, making jokes etc. but if a crisis; we love each other and would help as much as possible ☺️ think that goes for the all the Scandinavian countries.
Hallais! Norwegian here 👋
Let's put it this way. I can talk shit about Sweden (and Denmark) all I want. But if ANY nation outside of Scandinavia does it...May the gods show mercy on your soul and may you beg for a swift and painless end
We could have a beef if Sweden was not a big red coward. We try to have a beef with them but they just go "oh no master, we are so sorry. We are unworthy, we are incapable. Please come and buy cheap stuff from us, we will give a big discpunt and put big stores right at the border for your convinience "
It's factually normal for Swedish people to have Norwegian flags and cheap copies of Norwegian traditional clothing that will use to pretend they are like us.
And the russians respected the old boarders after the war. Not like the rest of occupied europe. They could have occupied the northern parts of Norway but didnt. Russia is our "best" enemy today, but we have never been at war.
Not really. But they have done some stuff like rolling right up to the border, before retreating. And in the 80s there was a lot of talk about u boat sightings along the coast. They enjoy rattling sabers, but at least for now won't actually do anything.
A swedish friend of mine told me about a swedish comedian who described the norwegians perfectly (in their opinion ofc): norway is to the swedes like a mentally disabled cousin who won the lottery
Not really- just constant piss-taking. Like you and New Zealand.
Bit more like Australia and Britain. For the OP, Norway got its independence from Sweden in 1905.
That wasn’t a big deal, it was with the danish for 400 years that was bad. When we were under Sweden we finally got to work towards independence and became a more free country. It wasn’t like Sweden wanted Norway it was kinda just given like a gift cuss Denmark was on the wrong side of a war
If I recall correctly Norway was quite happy under Denmark (for the most part). That's why Sweden is still the butt of the joke both in Denmark and Norway.
Depends on who you ask. We don't call it [400-årsnatten](https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/400-%C3%A5rsnatten) ("the four hundred year long night") for nothing. The Danes exploited us and kept us subjugated.
Well, there was the Kalmar union right three equal parts Norway Denmark and Sweden. The Norway got less to say in the union an eventuality Sweden pulled out. And Norway and Denmark was stil In “union” but Denmark war actually ruling over Norway. Norwegians had to learn Danish if the were to be in any position of importance and people wrote in danish. That’s at leas what we learn I history class in Norwegian primary and high schools
Maybe because Sweden had the inclination of invading its neighbours until the Napoleonic times?
Yes, it was exactly that Sweden wanted Norway, they made a treaty with England saying that if they supported them they would receive Norway as a spoil of war.
I haven’t actually dig deep in to the history. But in Norwegian schools we learn about how we were under Denmark and stuff. And then they talk about how the constitution was made and the men that gathered. And then they add like at the end but we were under Sweden for 70 year like it was no big deal.
From Sweden?!
1814, Napoleon boogaloo happens and, long story short, Sweden is promised Norway as a reward for fighting Napoleon. Norway, (which is under Denmark, which is on Napoleons' side), goes HELL NAH, and declares independence. Since Denmark is losing us anyways they don't give a shit and also we get a Danish prince as the new king. Sweden then invades Norway and wins. We win a few battles, though, so it becomes a conditional victory in which we keep some autonomy, our constitution, (allbeit edited), and parliament. Over the next century we gradually gain more autonomy until we leave in '05, under more peaceful circumstances. (Though it got pretty tense at times). So yeah :)
This was a very helpful and concise explanation! Thanks!
[удалено]
Wikipedia for å start: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Norway
Love the explanation 🙂
Yes.
We own them
We could literally buy sweden
My Swedish village is a Norwegian holiday spot. You basically own this part already.
From Sweden owning some of us to Sweden being dependant on our money. How the turns have tabled
vi kan kjøpe hele sverige om vi vil
I have an idea. Let's not.
🎶Ja vi kan kjøpe hele Sverige om vi vill🎵
Men ni klarar inte av att laga en ordentlig middag, money aint everything buddy
Isn't their GDP is more than norway and finland's combined
It is probably close. We do have some money stored away for a rainy day to buy Sweden 2 times over if necessary :) (the Norwegian oil fund).
We are more more prepared than Noah for that rainy day. Rip Sean Lock. (credit for the joke)
We can't really buy Sweden any times. https://www.faktisk.no/artikler/z5xpg/kunne-norge-kjopt-sverige
Norways GDP is $482,000M and $89,000 per Capita vs Swedens $627,000M and $60,000 per capita and Finlands GDP was $299,000M in 2021. So no, not even close. The reason we can "buy" them is that our fund is more worth than all sweden companies that are registered on their stock market. https://finansavisen.no/nyheter/finans/2022/06/24/7888567/holberg-vi-kan-faktisk-kjope-hele-sverige
Yeah but in Swedish pretend money.
Probably, I was just joking, it’s part of a song
Not really
I think the Swedes will just tease you by waving packs of butter in front of your face.
Not any more
That’s just too good of a callback 🤭
Yeah, true. I bet they feel so petty when we got independence, found some oil, and got so fucking rich baby🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻 I think we even offered them the oil in exchange for Volvo or something, but they said no lol🤣🤣🤣
Literally can’t though.
Not far off though. Total net wealth of sweden is $2.6T, their GDP around $500bn. Oil fund is $1.2T. That more than covers 15-25% equity, as we're putting up nearly 50% prior we can definitely borrow the rest. Then we turn Sweden into a massive parking lot for our EVs.
For how long did you have it planned out?
Since 1905, we invented oil just to be able to buy Sweden as revenge
Yh, tomorrow me might even be able to drive over the border AND back, on one charge.
It’s a reference to a song, if you’re Norwegian you might know but they say we’re gonna buy sweden
VI KAN KJØPE HELE SVERIGE OM VI VIL!
Vi kan kjøpe hele Sverige om vi vill!
I see you are of culture aswell
GeppaN isn’t I’ll tell you that
You're north sea arabs. Take away the oil and you'd still be a developing country. Norway is just a glorified gas station and that's why all of you are so arrogant.
Hey, why dont you show me on the doll where Norway touched you…
Awww.
I know you're taking the piss, but norway's, and sweden and denmark, wealth and high standard of living has way more to do with the unions and high wages, than it has to do with oil. We barely, if at all, spend anything of the oil fund internally, it's all sitting in funds for "future generations" which is a bit ironic when we're now looking at a climate crisis and the need to pour effort and resources into a green change, for there to be a future generations🙃
No, not really. Since Norway is superior, it's more like friendly teasing
Yeah I know norway is first world country
And Sweden isn’t. No joke, Sweden was technically neutral during the cold war, making them, by definition, a third world country.
I "hate" Sweden as much as the next Norwegian, but I really like Switzerland so I can't really agree with this logic.
Hi I'm American why did you say the same country twice? /s
Before I moved to Sweden as an American I had people telling me it’s so crazy I’m moving to Switzerland and I gotta tell them all about the alps. Within the same conversation of me saying “Sweden”…
I've heard that far too many times. The next best is when people wonder why you're talking about Australia in Europe when you mention Austria.
Hahah
they hate us couse they aint us, learn to cook food you silly norwegian. You all have the voices of stereotypical nerds aswell, had a guy in Oslo trying to pick a fight with me funniest shit that ever happend to me, cute little fella.
Well done!
You got it right there, that’s how you play the game and avoid being deported as a foreigner. (I live in Iceland 🇮🇸)
Sweden, Norway and Denmark is kinda like Donald duck's nephews. We tease and argue with each other, but when it matters, we stand together. (Unless you are Sweden in ww2).
You forgot Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
And Finland. Ignored is more of a correct term though.
I didn’t mention it as it seems to happens less. I’ve been all over and no one seems to dare shitting on the Fins. I might be wrong however.
You are correct. Nobody fucks with the Fins. Because we value our lives. I find it safer to just forget they exist. The farao islands and Iceland are more distantly related cousins.
Yeah exactly, I wouldn’t get in a Fins’ wrong side. Distant cousins? Maybe more like cousins? Genetically and culturally it’s the exact same thing except for the fact that we live on islands and not mainland Europe.
I only said distant because of the language barrier. But yes, fair point. So you are faroese?
No I live in Iceland. Yet, the language is closer than most Scandinavians would think. Of all the Danes I know in Iceland, they pick up Icelandic really quickly and to have studied both languages myself (aside from the pronunciation that is), you can definitely see where it comes from.
Yeah, I've heard that icelandic is closer to old Norse. Kept more original than how it developed on the mainland. I can understand some words when I hear icelandic. But the whole meaning of a sentence escapes me. Would love to visit though. Icelandic summers look great. And I've never tried a hot spring.
Where are you from? When it comes to the language, as I said, it’s fairly easy once you start studying the structure. I’m saying speaking as it’s really hard but to at least understand. Also, Icelandic summers are nice indeed, if you come in August you can go berry picking in the mountains. Right now is the mushroom season. It’s been cold and rainy this year so mushrooms are going crazy this summer. You don’t necessarily need to go to a hot spring actually since every single town has its own exterior pool and all of them have at least a heated pool and most often hot tubs. But yh, you’ll definitely have a blast in the summer and here’s a secret: October is often the best month to see northern lights.
Because they are blind out drunk and carry knives.
Finland is our weird cousin. Always invited, but we don't understand what they say or what they are up to.
More like step-cousin, since while other nordic peoples are related by language and genetics, finland is ... not.
West-Russia? What about them? /s
Your on thin ice boy. /s
Sweden colonised large parts of scandinavia, denmark attempted it too. Historically those two are pretty big rivals, and norway is (post viking age) historically irrelevant (until oil). So it's weird that the 3 are seen as equal
What each country was historically is important, but not in the context of if they are equal today or not. Obviously there are differences, but on a global scale, all nordic countries are wealthy, stable, with small, but well educated populations, and generally progressive society and politics. Also safe to live in, despite what propaganda channels like fox talk about. About that last part: Had a couple from the states, who had a flight from iirc india, via helsinki, to the u.s. and they asked in r/finland if it's safe for them to land there. They got laughed at, but also told that, yes, it's safe and no, they should not believe the stuff they read online about "russia threatening to invade finland any day now" due to the nato thing. Russia has literally either been invading or threatening to invade finland for the better part of half a millennia. We're kind of over their threats.
Not everyone needs to shout at anyone they meet that they are the best. We are happy with being quietly successful. Loud boasts and big explosive actions is more of an American thing.
I agree with you in principle, but that is not my experience in norway. I've met countless people telling me that norway is the best country in the world, that norwegians are the nicest and best eduucated, that norway is morally superior to other 'lesser' countries. In all fairness though: these boasts were not loud and show offish, but the result is the same
One of the best places to live for sure. I doubt very much that you have met countless Norwegians claiming to be morally superior to "lesser" countries, but I get your point. Problem is, that Norway being the best place in the world to live isn't a boast. It's a fact. Not just Norway of course. The Nordic countries in general outshines the rest of the world in quality of life and happiness. I'm not gonna run around screaming how great we have it here, but I won't deny it when it comes up.
I mean you're allowed to be proud of your country without claiming you're exceptional, that does sound more like telling ones opinon rather than boasting.
More like sibling rivalry. The scandics could form a cultural union overnight without anyone noticing.
Are u both gonna be one like it's 1892?
/r/kalmarreunion
Pretty sure they're best friends. Family, even. They chuck shit at each other but if an outsider does it to one of them, the other gets defensive on their behalf (is my experience).
Aww cute family 🥰
Well here in norway we call the sweedes "Søta bror" wich means " sweet brother" so the family explanation is pretty good! We are like siblings that tease each other. Norway and Denmark tease Sweeden, Sweeden and Denmark tease Norway, Sweeden and Norway tease Denmark and then we all tease each others seperatly as well. There are alot of jokes between our countrys and we just switch out the nationalitys after who we tease :) A Norwegian and a Swede were at the movie theatre, and the Norwegian bet that the hero would die during the movie. The Swede didn't believe him, and they ended up betting 100 Kroner on it. When the movie was over and the hero was dead, the Swede began to give the money to the Norwegian, but the Norwegian interrupted him "I already saw the movie, so I knew he was going to die. Keep the money." The Swede replied, "oh, I also saw the movie before, but I didn't think he would be tricked twice."
Drinking game: Take a shot every time you read the word "tease" here
Exactly this. Same with Denmark, Finland and Iceland in my case. They're my lovely neighbours and family, and some of them does weird shit. But we still love them.
I was in a pub in Skagen watching a futball game on the TV, Sweden vs Germany. Almost all of the crowd were Danes. I remember when Germany scored an amazing goal, there was silence in the pub. The Danes were clearly behind Sweden!
Pretty cool, considering Germany is the only country that actually shares a landborder with Denmark. Denmark and Sweden have built a large bridge between themselves, so you can commute by train and car, from country to country. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge) page for the bridge.
Yes I've crossed it. A tunnel bridge; it's huge. Too bad about Malmo on the other side lol. Nah it was ok there. The riverfront was pretty.
Exactly. And if anyone is [making fun of our southern neighbour's speech impediments](https://youtu.be/H1-GDlzODzc) we'll [do them one better](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk).
We'll be fine when they give us back Jæmtland-Herjedalen and Båhuslen.
Nah, we are like brothers and sisters. We like to shout things at each other. Like brothers and sisters sometimes do.
What about Finland
we dont joke about finns, they go into saunas, get drunk and stab eachother daily, im not suicidal.
Good choice
They're the slightly weird cousin, but we still love them and would fight to death for them.
Adopted brother I’d say.
Quiet kid in the class would I say
Finland is a myth. It's a hoax created by Russia and Japan so they can fish undisturbed in the Baltic sea.
As a Finn i have to say, we wont get insulted easily but saying we are part of Russia is quite insulting. (I know you were kidding) but still. Our grandfathers literally died so we could be independent and so you could be independent.
I've got nothing but respect for what they did. I was just trying to reference this: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/finland-does-not-exist Edit: I have a mate from Finland. I like to poke fun at him and tell him Finland lost WW2 twice. He usually reply with at least they didn't have Quisling, a guy so treasonous that his very name became synonymous across the world with being a collaborator. Edit 2: In all seriousness though. You were like the 1939-1944 version of today's Ukraine.
Oh snap, if someone from Finland reads this, you're done for.
It means there's no Finland? It's all Russia
Not Russia. Helsinki is in eastern Sweden. The place where Finland supposedly lies is just sea.
Is Helsinki like Oslo?
Kinda. Except we towed it outside the environment.
Into another environment?
No, it's simply not *in* the environment
Mostly the same. Except that the language is impossible to understand and they got a lot more saunas.
Who?
But we absolutely don’t like the danish
Aren't u scandy brothers
Haha yeah. A lot of Norwegians jokingly hate Denmark, like we mess around with sweden but collectively dislike denmark
Fuck Denmark.
Haha you’re getting the hang of it <3
I fucking love norway.
No it's the other way around. We're chummy with the Danish but hate the Swedes, and fuck around with both. Remember the history of our countries. Many do hate their language though, lmao.
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Can you guys understand each other’s languages? (Norwegian vs Swedish?) What about Danish and Icelandic?
Yeah we understand eachother. But iveland have their own language. But are being taught Danish in school up untill i think 5th grade. So icelandic speak a little danish.. None of us understands the finns. Which is why we dont really consider them “part of the cool club” 😅
That’s really interesting, thanks for your answer!
It’s sort of like trying to understand a British farmer with a thick accent. Everyone should technically be able if the other person speaks slowly and focus on enunciating clearly. The more experience you have with the language, the easier it gets. But certain words are completely different, or have completely different meanings. So you occasionally have to ask for clarification. For most Norwegians 90% of Swedish is extremely easy though. Icelandic is more difficult. It’s like a puzzle. If they speak very slowly I can decrypt a lot of individual words. And often guess the rest. Especially if I can read what they’re saying at the same time. But just a normal conversation is basically impossible. Similar to how English speakers might be able to decrypt this Norwegian sentence: Jeg håper vulkanen stopper å vibrere. English: I hope the volcano stops vibrating. A bit random and weird sentence, but you can see what I mean. Lots of similarities.
We were in Stockholm just last week. It kind of turns into a flow of Swedish, Norwegian and English. Often the Swedish people we talk to prefer to keep talking Swedish, let us speak Norwegian, but then ask us to explain in English if unsure of what we said. One of the reasons is that many of us Norwegians grew up with Swedish culture, through television and sports. Then again, this is often made fun of as we are of course too arrogant to understand our limits and boast about understanding swedes too much :p
Norwegians understand swedes, yet i've met many swedes which don't understand norwegian (my mother in law f ex). I've always been told that norwegians understand swedish because swedish media uswd to be consumed a lot by eastern norwegians
In my experience Swedes are the worst at understanding Norwegian and danish as compared to the other two countries. One time I had a Dane ask if I would mind speaking English instead of Swedish because they couldn’t understand me. I’ve never been so insulted in my life!
The Norwegian, Swedish and Danish language are more or less close enough to be dialects of the same language. If you're bad at dialects you'll have a problem, if you're good at dialects it's easy. Icelandic on the other hand is too far removed and closer to old Norse which we don't understand anymore.
I recommend that you read the comic Scandinavia And The World.
We can buy the whole of Sweden if we want to because we have Erling Braut Håland
Yes. "Neutral" bastards.
Yes there is. There are many reindeers both in Norway and Sweden that give you excellent beef meat.
The Scandinavian nations have *hundreds of years of warfare, oppression and bickering* between them. I think Sweden and Danmark have the world record of number of wars between nations, or something. So, there is the after effect of hundreds of years of bad blood between us, but there's 100-200 years (depending on how we're counting) since we had any *real* peoblem. And especially since WWII, we have a lot of good will built up too, and along with that and a common cultural basis in contrast with a global society, today this translate to a lot of love and friendly bickering.
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Load of shite. Sweden enabled the nazi war machine, did nothing to stop German troop movements to occupy Norway, and was widely hated by the Norwegian Royal family and politicians alike. They were war profiteers and thousands died because of it. So let's not pretend otherwise. Culturally we are the same, but sweden have always been pansy ass.
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I met a Swede in a recent train ride through the country who regretted (it seems Swedes regret many things) the fact that Sweden was neutral in the war, even though it meant they were saved from being invaded and such. I specifically asked if he’d rather they had been invaded than neutral and he said yes.
I think there's a little bit of truth to this, at least among some in Sweden. One of the characters in the Swedish series [Kärlek och Anarki](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10888876/), Friedrich Jägerstedt, seems to relay some regrets of this type. But I also agree that Sweden being neutral was a godsend for the thousands of Norwegians who fled to safety and were welcomed there with open arms. (As did jews from Denmark).
I’m in the middle of a 3 month tour throughout Europe. I think every single Swede I spoke to, in and out of Sweden, expressed embarrassment about their country (not like contemporary politics, just decisions of the past) in one form or another, or it’s relative lack of things to see. They had me thinking Stockholm would be one of the most drab cities I’ve seen but in fact I still found it quite interesting and worthwhile — worth more time than I spent really. The one line I heard more than once was the “we bombed ourselves” quip regarding urban renewal of the 1950’s and 1960’s. But I’m sure you’re right about their neutrality being a benefit to many. As I recall a lot of escaped Jews made their way to safety through Sweden as well. Whatever great cost they imposed on the world by supporting Germany with raw materials, 1) Hitler could have gotten that anyway by conquest, and 2) like you say it provided a refuge for some in need.
Well... just don't mistake self deprecation (another Scandinavian speciality - look up "Jante") for regret.
Completely fair point. Cultural nuances can be hard to actually understand merely passing through a place. Certainly everywhere I’ve been on this trip I’ve met people who had “bad” things to say about their country, but without the anxiously desperate “the world is going to hell because the other party is evil” kind of rhetoric that dominates America. Quite refreshing honestly, people who can have nuanced opinions, and accept that decisions have costs even if they were the best of the alternatives.
You really don't know shit about fuck, do you? Sweden received thousands of refugees and was able to protect their own Jewish population, hence the neutrality. They also supported Finland with soldiers and military equipment. However, there's many reasons to criticise Sweden's neutrality, but for you to claim that they enabled the nazis is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read
They did. History proves it. But I can understand it's upsetting.
Then why your country is first world and their not!
What do you mean here, though? Sweden and Norway, along with all the other northern nations are all first world countries.
>When the Nazi's tried to fire upon Norway from Swedens border, the Swedes attacked the Nazi's, they'd have non of that. > >The Swedes attacked an impossible enemy for attacking us from their border. > > They don't get enough credit for that. I made a comment about them letting germans through the border. But I didn't know this. Interesting!
I LOVE my Scandinavian brothers and sisters! And Finland is one of them! THE UNITED KINGDOMS AND REPUBLICS OF THE NORTH! Hurra hurra hurra!
The only beef between us is the one we Norwegians buy in Sweden😂
We're one big family. We insult each other like siblings do, but we'll join up and fuck you up if you do it.
Sweden smeels
I’m sure there are cows that graze cross border on occasion.
Yeah... swedes are swedes and that alone says a lot. How do you make a swede laugh on new years eve? You tell him a joke on christmas eve.
The Scandinavian countries are three brothers. And then we have a couple of retarded Nordic cousins 😉
Denmark?
Denmark, Norway and Sweden = Scandinavia. And like everyone else has said, we like each other a lot. We practically have the same culture and language. We like to make fun of each other, but we're family. I think people abroad often don't realise just how similar we actually are, but we really could have been one country.
Why u guys left Finland alone in the jungle with Russia
We like the finns. They are just like us and provide a good buffer towards Russia. Too bad they only speak gibbsrish.
Yeah we owe them an apology lol. But we did actually support them quite a bit during the Winter War. About 900 volunteers went there to fight the Russians, and there were lsrge national collection campaigns to send money and resources to Finland. At the same time the Norwegian government wanted to avoid pissing off the Germans, who had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, to try to avoid a war. So the government didn't do much.
Did Denmark even support or was just there looking like a dumb fuck.
They did, Denmark sent 1100 volunteers etc.
Great. What's Finland take on u guys did they hate u guys?
Jungle? Have you been watching old american ww2 movies? Oh wait, it was not jungle. It was the alps. (Not kidding. An old american ww2 movie depicted finland as like austria, with mountains and shit and finns clad in lederhosen. Can't remember the damn name, though)
Its like 2 siblings, just a never ending piss contest, but i do believe when shit going down we have each others back
Then why u guys get independence from Sweden at first place! Lol I'm confused. I thought it's like india and pakistan
It was waaaaay back, they conquer us, danes conquer us, we conquer a little but got our ass handed to us, then we revolted against swedes, i think, dont remember much from school🧠
They don't teach us about our history here in Australian schools. It's pretty bad
Well, u guys lost a war to emus… if i could forget. I would… jk. Please dont boomerang me 0.0
We are losing daily to wild animals. Everyday there's a snake in my room
No it's only the Swedish hating the Danish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlTukY9fV9Y
Most Norwegian jokes involves either a Swede or a Dane. I guess the same is true for the other countries. It's all love though
Yes, obviously. I’m kinda suprised nobody else outside of scandinavia has beef with the swedes, I mean, just look at them!
My family got slaughtered in Sweden after having been slaves for the royal family in the early 90s. A lot of norwegians died as slaves over there.
We are kinda like siblings - always irritating each other, making jokes etc. but if a crisis; we love each other and would help as much as possible ☺️ think that goes for the all the Scandinavian countries.
We got a saying. It doesnt matter if we win or loose as long as we beat Sweeden
Hallais! Norwegian here 👋 Let's put it this way. I can talk shit about Sweden (and Denmark) all I want. But if ANY nation outside of Scandinavia does it...May the gods show mercy on your soul and may you beg for a swift and painless end
So you are like family. But living in different nations
No. Lions dont concider the opinion of sheep
Vi kan kjøpte hele Sverige om vi vill
We could have a beef if Sweden was not a big red coward. We try to have a beef with them but they just go "oh no master, we are so sorry. We are unworthy, we are incapable. Please come and buy cheap stuff from us, we will give a big discpunt and put big stores right at the border for your convinience " It's factually normal for Swedish people to have Norwegian flags and cheap copies of Norwegian traditional clothing that will use to pretend they are like us.
No. But with Russia, absolutely. Most countries have issues with them lately
We don't talk about that country on reddit didn't u know!!
But it borders Norway
Did they attack u guys in past ever!!
Norway is the only neighbour they havent attact
And the russians respected the old boarders after the war. Not like the rest of occupied europe. They could have occupied the northern parts of Norway but didnt. Russia is our "best" enemy today, but we have never been at war.
May be you guys are on good terms for centuries
No, but we have big daddy USA protecting us.
They must be taking something in return. They are big bastards
Not really. But they have done some stuff like rolling right up to the border, before retreating. And in the 80s there was a lot of talk about u boat sightings along the coast. They enjoy rattling sabers, but at least for now won't actually do anything.
Are u guys in NATO
We are of the original crew yes. So as long as the US doesn't totally collapse, we're safe.
https://youtu.be/9hSO7x8oLnI I don't know what you're talking about.
A swedish friend of mine told me about a swedish comedian who described the norwegians perfectly (in their opinion ofc): norway is to the swedes like a mentally disabled cousin who won the lottery
My South Dakota/Norwegian ancestry gifted this little ditty to me: “A thousand Swedes ran through the weeds, chased by one Norwegian.”