Welcome Swedish/Scandinavian members! [English thread]

[Teddy]

Wow, cool thread! Can I join?

I'm an American living in Sweden, moved here 2-and-a-half years ago to be with my husband, who is Swedish. We live just outside Stockholm, out in the country. I have 6 ducks who are my life! I was a zookeeper back in the US and getting back into that line of work here has been quite impossible thus far. So for now I have my ducks and work as a dog walker to get my animal fix.

I have been studying Swedish for almost two years now to increase my chances of getting into Skansen at some point. They told me I needed more Swedish, so that's what I'm doing! I just finished Svenska som andraspråk 2.

I joined Druvdalen awhile back, but I didn't know enough Swedish then to understand much. I haven't been back in awhile since it seemed pretty inactive. I might understand more now, though!

Oh, so about pony collecting. I was born in 1980, so I grew up with the BEST generation of all! I started collecting way back in 1999. The majority of my 300+ pony collection is G1, and they all came over here with me from the US! That was alot of boxes and postage, but I would not leave them behind. I'm not a very active collector these days, but I do still go to thrift stores and loppis as often as I can searching for ponies. I've found some good ones over here! I'm still so shocked when I find a Euro exclusive pony at a thrift store. Even though they were released here and it's probably normal to find them like that, it's crazy for me as an American to find such special ponies like that. UK/Euro ponies are still like diamonds to me! I mean, I found an Ice Crystal at my local thrift store a couple months ago. I about passed out! lol!

[S.o.a.r.]

Hi Teddy and welcome!
It's so cool to meet so many Americans with Swedish ties/relations! I was born in 1986 so I've also grown up with the greatest generation of ponies! I however only had about seven ponies left in my adulthood and didn't start collecting until around 2008/2009. Before then, I had no idea this movement in MLP collecting!

My favorite childhood was/is Strawberry Surprise (hence my avatar/banner) and despite her bad haircut, she still smells faintly of strawberries! Although I bought a prettier version of Strawberry Surprise with beautiful uncut hair and flawless cutie marks; one that ironically doesn't smell of strawberries at all.

At the moment I almost got 300 ponies, although I'm currently selling off about 30 ponies that are extras or non-favorites. I'm hoping they'll be up in the sales thread this Sunday. This way I get more room and slightly more money to spend on new ponies that's on my three wish lists!

I'm a big animal lover too! Especially dogs; I'm a former dog owner and used to do an internship at my local animal clinic. A few years back, I tried applying for work at Kolmården (my favorite place in Sweden!) but realized that it's really hard to get work at Zoo's in Sweden! So now I work as a temp at local preschools since I love working with children almost as much as animals.

Also, it's a shame Druvdalen (I'm Izzie over there btw!) is so inactive these days. But hopefully it turn around soon enough...

[Teddy]

Nice to meet you too, S.o.a.r.! ^-^

My husband is allergic, so I can no longer have dogs or cats. This was very sad for me because I grew up always having dogs and/or cats! But I'm a huge bird lover as well now after working with them for many years, especially ducks. So I'm very happy with them. Just sad you can't sit on the couch and snuggle with a duck while watching a movie. I mean, you CAN, but the poop... I hand-raised all of my ducks in the house for their first couple weeks of life, but now they happily live outside. Much better for all involved. And at least I still get to play with dogs for a few hours a day for work.

I had 5 ponies when I was a kid, but all were lost or given away when I was younger. So sad not to have my childhood ponies as part of my collection. My very first pony was Baby Firefly and I remember losing her during a move when I was 5 or 6, and I was SO upset! She was one of the first ponies I bought when I started collecting.

I'd love to know which ponies you'll have for sale! Which generations are they from? Would you be willing to trade? I looked at your want list and I actually have all three of them. One of your wants is Gusty, I have a few of her:

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Not sure I could let a member of The Army go, but I do have both of the Teeny Tiny ponies you are after if you were interested.

[little.fox]

Hi swedes! 

[S.o.a.r.]

Teddy: I've been allergic to cats almost all my life but that's okay because I'm not a cat person. I prefer dogs way more because I can read them better. Also, during my years at the animal clinic, I discovered that I'm allergic to certain dog breeds; I get a rash when I come in contact with the dog's dandruff/saliva. Some breeds are worse than others but it's mostly breeds with coats like Rottweilers or Staffies.

Regarding the ponies; they're not in great condition and most them will be sold for about $8-10/each so I don't know if you still want to trade? But if so, I'm open to trades as well as sales. I'm posting the list/pictures this weekend so hold on.

little.fox: Hello and welcome! Glad to have you here! What's your story?

[little.fox]

Thank you s.o.a.r.!

Well, my story with mlp started one christmas when me and my sis got Confetti and Trickles as gifts. I remember ponies were considered pricey, and most of my herd was hand me downs, but I do remember getting both Bride and Sweet Clover mib from the store. Those two would have been the last ponies I got as toys, but when I was around 13-15 I picked up a beautiful Gusty at a school jumble sale, so I consider her my first collection pony. I was really too old for ponies, but I knew I wanted her so I ignored the funny looks I got and just purchased her. I still have all my childhood ponies, but Gusty is my pride and joy because she reminds me to go my own way and not listen to others negativity!

Other than that, I am 32, living in Södermanland, slightly geeky, work with kids and a huge animal lover!

[Princess Lala]

Also a huge animal lover!!!!

Lets seee.... I have currently a 3yr old kenyan sand boa named Nirobi, two marine hermit crabs (accidental...they snuck in my luggage at the beach LOL) Kani and Ebi, a 4 yr old beardie named Zoe, a baby leopard gecko named Kiyomi, and of course my white ferret Miku! :3

AaaahTeddy im sooooo jeally you got to move to Sweden! x3 Hubby are talking about moving to either Florida or Ontario, wish Sweden was in our options but Im paranoid over so many ponies and Disney stuff to move overseas! That and I need my animal friends!!

So im curious what kind of fast food resturaunts are over in my dad's country!??? Haha yes, American over here wants to know about greasy deep fried  food! xD

[Beldarna]

So im curious what kind of fast food resturaunts are over in my dad's country!??? Haha yes, American over here wants to know about greasy deep fried  food! xD

Well, we have McDonalds and Burger King as everybody else. Then we have better options like Big Boy, Frasses and Max. Frasses has the better fries while Max have the better burgers. Love Big Boys fish burgers. There are plans to open up KFC here, but if any has opened yet I don't know (I live too far north for them anyway). Of course we have Subway for the sandwich hungry crowd and apparently we in Sweden love sushi (yuck). There are litterarly 4 sushi restaurants in the city centre where I live and even one in my block.

[S.o.a.r.]

Princess Lala: Like already mentioned we have McDonald's, Burger King, Subway here in Sweden. Subway is fairly new out of all the three; the first Subway I encountered in Sweden was somewhere around 2006/2007 after I got back from my first US trip. I would say McDonald's has been around the longest (probably true for the rest of the world as well) and is still one of the most popular fast food joints here. Although I personally prefer Max (Swedish hamburger restaurant) these days because their food tastes better and feels alot more fresh.

Oh, I do wish we would get KFC and Panda Express over there! Yum yum!

Beldarna: I don't think I've ever heard of Big Boy until now. Is it local or can it be found elsewhere in Sweden? I've tried Frasses (we have one about 30min from where I live) a few times but I just think it's overpriced junk food with no real quality...

[Beldarna]

Big Boy is a Norrland based chain, but according to their website they have a location on Nynäsvägen in Stockholm as well. Frasses up here is really nice.. it might depend on location; I tried Max in Stockholm a couple of years ago and it was horrible.

[Teddy]

S.o.a.r.: Ok, I'll just check out your sale thread when you get it up this weekend.

Princess Lala: Move to Florida!!! That's where I'm from and I miss it alot. You'll never have to suffer through another winter again! I'm not too keen on Swedish winters, or all the darkness. Such a huge difference from Florida, but I'm slowly getting used to it.

About the fast-food places, I've tried Max, but I didn't care for it. I guess when you've been raised with McDonald's that's really all you have a taste for. lol! Kind of sad, but true. I've never seen a Big Boy or Frasses, though. There are some Pizza Huts here and there, which is awesome! For some reason they never have the breadsticks here, though. The breadsticks are the reason to go to Pizza Hut, am I right??

I love that there are so many other animal lovers here! Animals are my life, and my passion. And now I must share a pic of one of my ducks, if that's ok. It's pony-related!

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My favorite duck, Nutmeg! She is my best friend, just like having a dog. lol!

[S.o.a.r.]

I tried Max in Stockholm a couple of years ago and it was horrible.

Smaken är som baken tydligen! 
Actually, I'm not super picky when it comes to food. Especially not fast food. 

About the fast-food places, I've tried Max, but I didn't care for it. I guess when you've been raised with McDonald's that's really all you have a taste for. lol! Kind of sad, but true. There are some Pizza Huts here and there, which is awesome! For some reason they never have the breadsticks here, though. The breadsticks are the reason to go to Pizza Hut, am I right?

Haha yeah, I was actually used to McDonald's (or "Donken" as it's often called in Sweden) before discovering Max. Max is way more expensive but I fell in love with the Frisco bread and the juicy hamburgers. But McDonald's can be found closer to where I live, so I sometimes go through the McDrive whenever I feel the urge.

And how could I forget about Pizza Hut! I LOVE PIZZA HUT! There's a Pizza Hut next door to the SF Bio cinema (Filmstaden Sergel) in Stockholm city that I frequent from time to time. I'm going to watch another movie at the cinemas tomorrow with my niece and I'm in the mood for some heavenly pizza again. So yeah, I go to Pizza Hut for the pizza and not the breadsticks I've never tried.

Aww, your duck Nutmeg looks adorable! Looks like she's got a new friend!

[Princess Lala]

Thanks for so many responses!! Woah, you guys have a Pizza hut there!?? We dont have the dine-in resturaunts here anymore in my city... just orders online. I miss the dine-in because yes yes the breadsticks are AWESOME!! Ooooooo if any of you guys visit Texas, I will drive you two hours to Eaco and we will go to a place called Fazoli's! That is my favorite place for easy italian food and their breadsticks trump Pizza Hut's! x3 I love Mcdonalds because I always get fries and a chocolate hot fudge soft serve icecream!! Heehee its my favorite combo! KFC has some good mashed potatoes! Our roomate is asian so we always get KFC on Christmas!

[RinLin]

Holy moley, that Gusty army is awesome!

[S.o.a.r.]

Just to wanted to let the Swedish members (actually living in Sweden) that my sales thread is up and running now! I welcome international buyers as well of course but wanted to give the Swedes a heads up!