The environment. The attitude to nature in Sweden is almost religious. Nature is seen as both an invigorating and a mystic force. Love for one's country for a Swede is inseparable from love for the countryside. That is why the environment in Sweden is very clean and unspoiled.

Garbage is sorted into paper (milk cartons are rinsed inside and flattened), plastic, glass, organic garbage (kompost) and batteries. Bottles and aluminium cans are accepted at local food stores by special automatic collectors (one gets 0,5 - 4 kr. per bottle or can). All this doesn't litter cities and the countryside, as in Russia, but gets recycled.

When it's the season, there are lots of berries and mushrooms (you can see them even on roadsides). Picking cowberries (lingon) is especially popular (it is done with a special scoop).

Traffic. Although the percentage of car ownership is certainly high, you don't get the impression of too many cars (as e.g. in Moscow). This is probably because the population in Sweden more evenly distributed than in Russia.
- Vehicles in Sweden have their lights on all the time when the engine is running. This is required by the local traffic rules for safety.
- Everyone uses seat belts, even on the back seats. (In Russia the seat belt is only a matter of form, no one uses it).
- Motorists are very respectful to pedestrians. They always stop if they see a someone who is about to cross the street (in Russia pedestrians have to give way to vehicles, though it is contrary to the traffic rules).
- Cars are mostly European, some are Japanese. Large American cars of the 50s are quite popular with middle-aged people. As for Russian cars, during 1.5 years I saw only one Lada.

Dwellings

- Almost all countryside houses in Hälsingland (and other parts of the country) are painted in dark red colour with white window frames. This are traditional colours for paining a house and such country houses is one of the symbols of the country.
- There are no fences around houses only low hedges or stone barriers (in Russia nowadays people build strong 2-m. high fences). Lawns are well-kept. Houses sometimes stand in less then 1 meter off the main road (it's a mystery to me why people are not afraid to live there).
- Tap water is drinkable, and it's very pure and tasty.
- There are practically no cockroaches.

Prices. Everything cost 3-5 times more than in Russia (1999). Services, public transport, books cost 10 - 15 times more. I shopped as little as possible.

Libraries and the Internet. I went to libraries every week to borrow books and use the Internet, usually in Delsbo and Hudiksvall, but I also visited the Stockholm City Library (on Sveavдgen) several times. The Internet in libraries is free (one hour per week) and there were no crowds of people around as it was in Moscow.

Swedish libraries are excellent: vast choice of books, orderly organisation of shelves computerised catalogue and extremely helpful personnel. All libraries are connected to the online data base LIBRIS, where one can search a book in all Swedish libraries and then order it and borrow from the library for just 5 kr. per book.