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Thanks for the comment Åsa! I guess it depends a bit where you live in Sweden but we've lived in the South and herring was incredibly popular! The point was more that some foods are "regulars" throughout the year whereas Alex is used to eating something for Christmas/New Year and then again one year later! Of course people eat other things for main dishes but it's a bit strange for Alex going to a julbord and påskbord with so many variants of herring and meatballs as well! We've both had meatballs for Christmas, Easter and midsommar so that's why Alex mentions it! svenskahogtider.com/tag/kottbullar/ The reason Louise mentioned Arla is because they have a cooking channel on youtube making some recipes. But you are right, it's a bit confusing and they certainly don't make herring! Thanks for the pointer 😊 Depends a bit on how you see it, ultimately Robinson is a Swedish reality game show and the original version of Survivor. So some might argue that it's success pushed the Americans to release their own version in 2000. Today, like you know, Robinson differs quite a bit from Survivor so it was surprising to Alex to realise that the first season of Survivor was in fact Swedish. Maybe that's a better way of putting it! But you are absolutely right in the fact that the Swedish didn't create the concept. However, they certainly played a big part in creating the first realisation of it that might be a significant reason for its success! Again, the point is that the Swedish are fairly passionate about their reality TV 😅 Thanks again for commenting and correcting us, ha en fin dag 😊

@@alexandlouise Sure, herring is quite popular. But that doesn´t mean that people eat it on *New Years Eve* . You didn´t say Christmas, Easter and Midsummer in the video though, but "Christmas, *New Years* , Easter and Midsummer". We also have foods that we eat once a year, and then again one year later. For instance "Janssons frestelse", we eat that on Christmas, and then again one year later. For those who eat lutfisk (I don´t), it´s probably the same thing with that. Just once a year. It´s just so annoying when foreigners seems to think that we only eat meatballs and herrings for every occasion. It´s such a boring stereotype. We have a ton of different foods on the julbord, påskbord, for midsummer and for New Years. The herring (inlagd sill) served at Christmas, isn´t the same as served on Midsummer (matjessill). At least I´ve never heard of anyone having midsummer food like matjessill, chives and sourcream on Christmas. Or New Years. Or Easter. I don´t think Swedes are that much more into reality TV than other people around the world. I find it pretty boring. One thing I think is common is that when a foreigner meet a Swede, and the Swede does something the foreigner isn´t used to, then they think that is a "Swede-thing", when it might just be that person they´re with. So perhaps loving reality TV just happens to be a Louise thing, which led Alex to think it´s a Swede-thing?

Thanks for the reply Åsa! Alex here 😊 I get where you're coming from with the annoying stereotypes, I get it a lot coming from Iceland. We're all related, live in igloos and eat shark for dinner 😅 Of course you eat various things but the meatballs and herring are just so common and compared to Iceland it's quite different. It was just a bit strange learning that meatballs are so popular that they're included at Christmas, Easter, midsummer and of course it's always on the menu at IKEA. New year's might have been an exaggeration but I'm quite sure there are some swedes that eat meatballs on new years as well! However, as you say it can get annoying when you don't really like or agree with the stereotypical thing. There are definitely some things I don't eat that are very "Icelandic". In the end it's just my comparison from what I've experienced but it doesn't mean that everyone's the same! Regarding reality TV, I'm comparing it to Iceland (which is unfair since we're only 350k) and the amount of different reality TV shows is staggering here in Sweden. And most are really popular. Shows like Mästarnas Mästare, Robinson, På Spåret, Melodifestivalen, Paradise Hotel, Lyxfällan, Arga Snickaren, Big Brother and Ex on the Beach for example have been running for numerous seasons and some topping the charts for the most watched TV show in Sweden! Of course we have some in Iceland but the volume of shows in Sweden is quite a lot 😅 Hope you agree with me on some points at least. I think Sweden is awesome and I love living here but every culture is a bit different and that's what the channel is supposed to be about (mainly). Hope we get some more good comments from you in the future! - Alex

​@@alexandlouise "Mästarnas Mästare", "På Spåret" and "Melodifestivalen" aren´t reality TV-shows. Those are game shows. Melodifestivalen is Sweden´s selection show for Eurovision. Has nothing to do with reality shows. Here is a definition: "Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unknown individuals rather than professional actors". Reality shows (dokusåpa in Swedish) are shows like Big Brother, and those shows aren´t a typically Swedish thing, since that show exist in 70 countries. Just because it doesn´t exist in Iceland, doesn´t make it typically Swedish or a part of Swedish culture...

@@Asa...S now I understand the mix up! I'm talking about reality tv in general whilst you're not. You're talking about a subgenre within reality tv. Dokusåpa is the subgenre of soap-opera style of reality tv which includes the tv shows you mention. However, I'm talking about all reality tv - including game shows. My interpretation as well as Wikipedia's is that reality tv depicts unscripted real-life situations. Survivor, Idol, Big Brother all classify as just that. Going off the fact that Idol, The Voice, X factor etc. are all classified as reality tv it's quite natural to deem a Swedish singing competition as reality TV as well. I'm quite confused at how it can be classified as something else! And regarding your last point you're absolutely right. It doesn't necessarily make it a Swedish thing if I just compare it to Iceland. But that's how we perceive different cultures and make assumptions, judging from what we've experienced! I've lived in the US, Norway and Singapore as well and didn't notice it as much there. But that's just my experience! Having said that, it's good to get feedback on the things that are wrong to be able to learn! So thanks for that 😊 I will definitely check out and try all the different types of herring, thanks for the tip! -Alex

Thanks Arpita 😊

We’ve experienced crazy screaming more than once! It can be fun to participate 😅

Flogstavrålet could be heard where I lived some years ago.

Yes!

A bit confused, who is Swami?

Thank you very much Adam!

@@alexandlouise Not at all brother

@@alexandlouise Now in sweden or which country? What's your brother's name

Thanks Jón! I agree 😅(Alex)

Thanks 🤗

Thanks for the comment Guðbjörg! I really loved Iceland and living there 😌 Alex just explained the Yule Lads to me, it's the perfect explanation 🤣We just made a new video about the family, we hope you enjoy! - Louise 🥰

Thanks for the feedback Bengt 😍 You're absolutely right, the love for julmust in Sweden is awesome!! Comparing to Iceland they do have something similar called "malt" that they drink during the holidays with "appelsín"! - Louise

It's a bit different but really cosy 🎅😍

Thanks for the comment Anders! Good to get some feedback and learn more about the Swedish culture 😊 I guess it's a bit of an exaggeration regarding the food. However, meat balls and herring seem to be very popular and linger around the table for most occasions. In Iceland it's very common to eat glazed ham, ptarmigan and "hangikjöt" for Christmas and New year's. We typically avoid all the "regular" food for those occasions. More salt and sugar than usual 😅 The breaks can be super useful when it comes to information flow and brainstorming at work. I can certainly recommend more fika's! I will check out Karl-Bertil, thanks again for the comment! -Alex

Everyone loves meatballs 😍🤩

Thanks for the feedback Julien 🤩would be awesome meeting up next time we're in Iceland! We're working on the intro video, keep an eye out 😉 Gleðileg jól og farsælt nýtt ár!!

Thanks for the comment Felicia! I'm still on the fence but it really sounds like a cosy tradition 🎅 - Alex

Thanks Katrin! Plenty of content coming up 😊

Thank you so much!

That's a really good idea, introduction coming up!

That sounds like a really good idea! We'll do one just for you Jessica 😀🎅😊

Exactly, makes for a nice landscape! Different from our Nordic neighbours where sometimes it's the only thing you see 😅

Thanks! More on the way 😊

I (Alex) would have to agree with you on that one! It's a small community and you're right, word travels very fast and there have been cases of public slander without any real substance behind it. And there's just a lot of gossiping. Maybe a bit more of it with the older generation since they didn't have so much to do in their spare time 😅 But there's good and bad everywhere. I guess Louise draws her comparisons from her experiences in France, Switzerland, Sweden etc. and in those countries people might not be as tolerant towards foreigners for example. Compared to those, the first impression and helpfulness of Icelanders stood out for her. But then again maybe they all talked "stuff" when she left the conversation 😅

Takk meistari! Meira á leiðinni 😊

Hopefully we can all celebrate together after we've defeated COVID. The story will have to wait a bit, there are actually a few 😅😂

Hey Stefania! Keep an eye out, we are working on it 😊⛄🎅

Thank you so much!

Thanks for the kind words Katrin, more coming up 😀