--- title: "I Return: Perspectives on Sweden and Denmark vs. USA" description: I must acknowledge I've been absent the past couple of weeks. Alas, my absence was, from my perspective, justified as I was preparing to embark, then embarked, on my first ever trip to Sweden and Denmark. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/i-return-perspectives-on-sweden-and-denmark-vs-usa#) 02/13/2019 # I Return: Perspectives on Sweden and Denmark vs. USA - - - - - [mailto:?subject=I%20Return%3A%20Perspectives%20on%20Sweden%20and%20Denmark%20vs.%20USA&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fi-return-perspectives-on-sweden-and-denmark-vs-usa](mailto:?subject=I%20Return%3A%20Perspectives%20on%20Sweden%20and%20Denmark%20vs.%20USA&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fi-return-perspectives-on-sweden-and-denmark-vs-usa) I must acknowledge I've been absent the past couple of weeks. Alas, my absence was, from my perspective, justified as I was preparing to embark, then embarked, on my first ever trip to Sweden and Denmark. Wow, what an amazing 10 days I spent there and what perspective I got on how they do things compared to us. 1. Americans are very friendly and outgoing. The locals in Denmark and Sweden weren't necessarily rude, but they were stoic and reserved. Once I got them talking they were happy to talk, but I think it was out of amusement they were speaking with an American (rather than that they were conversational). On the other hand, I didn't see any occasions where the Scandinavians were short tempered. 2. Swedish drivers are exceptional. I spent a lot of hours on Sweden's freeways. They get it exactly correct: drive in the right lane, pass in the left. It works so well when that rule is followed. 3. I'm a big fan of roundabouts. They keep things moving, plain and simple. I've already spent more time sitting at intersections today than I did in nearly 10 days in Sweden. 4. Building upkeep here is way behind. I saw many, many buildings that were hundreds of years old and they were in immaculate condition. I guess I can't be sure if they do better with upkeep or initial construction, but I have to believe it is upkeep. 5. Their gas is expensive and they don't like SUVs or Trucks. A tank of diesel gas cost me over $100! In all my time there I think I saw 2 pickup trucks on the road. Cars (oddly, they love station wagons there) were about 95% of the vehicles. 6. Pedestrians are the dominant concern. A pedestrian is near the sidewalk, the driver stops. 7. The banks in Sweden don't have cash! No joke. That's been the case for about 5 years they say. 8. Minnesotans are much more practical in their dress. We dress for comfort and to stay warm. The Swedes and Danes dress to look good, and hope they are warm. ![Gallatin Law](https://3989ac5bcbe1edfc864a-0a7f10f87519dba22d2dbc6233a731e5.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/gallatinlaw/Gallatin_Law.jpg) Now it is time to get caught up on the backlog. Next week should have a more intensive legal article! The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [denmark](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/denmark), - [personal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/personal), - [sweden](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/sweden), - [travel](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/travel), - [USA](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/usa) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [10/10/2019 How you trust your lawyer is important I am working on an arbitration and absorbed in the case and it reminded me of this older post. It is (according to my stats) a fairly popular one and… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/how-you-trust-your-lawyer-is-important) [12/28/2017 The Homestead Exemption in a Marital Dissolution Context Marital dissolution, more commonly known as divorce, is an element of my practice that I do not write about much. Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/the-homestead-exemption-in-a-marital-dissolution-context) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T21:49:06.620Z", "datePublished" : "2019-02-13T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "I Return: Perspectives on Sweden and Denmark vs. USA", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/i-return-perspectives-on-sweden-and-denmark-vs-usa", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```