Lucia Festival - "Lucia" and her procession of maidens and "star boys".

I’m not quite sure any other culture is as fanatical about Christmas as the Swedes. The celebrations start at the beginning of the first Sunday of advent  and don’t end until after the new year.  This year advent was Nov. 29th, and the Swedes started things off in a delicious fashion with a traditional glöggfest – a gathering to imbibe hot, spiced, mulled wine (glögg) accompanied by blanched almonds and raisins, with saffron buns and ginger biscuits. Who doesn’t want hot glögg on a brisk, snow-filled Gothenburg evening?

After the glögg, the cities of Sweden are decked out to the nines, with lights, decorations and more Christmas markets than you can imagine. Gothenburg has not only seven distinct Xmas markets but also the largest one in the country: Liseberg has dozens upon dozens of stalls selling gifts for all, shows, ice skating, holiday delicacies (including of course more glögg) and what holiday market would be complete without St. Nicholas sitting in his workshop to listen to the wish lists of excited children. As if that weren’t enough, the market is bedecked in over 5 million (!!!) Xmas lights to celebrate the seasons.

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Fashion forward and fashion retro, Permanent Vacation is a creative group of West Swedenites whose designs draw the young and hip and embody the spirit of Gothenburg. In addition to phenomenal fashion items, PV dabbles in photography, design, styling and writing when the creative inspiration hits, another trait they share with Gothenburg-eans: the drive to express themselves in a myriad of creative outlets.

Sharing her views of Gothenburg and how connected it is to her fashion designs, Amanda Lindell, founder and designer for PV talks about the company, her inspiration and the best places to go in Gothenburg.

Explore West Sweden: How has being a fashion designer changed your life?
Amanda Lindell: It made it better and worse in equal parts.
EWS: What aspect of design fascinates you most?
AL: Making new stuff. Inventions.
EWS: Who has inspired you most in your fashion design?
AL: Michael Jackson & R. Kelly
EWS: What does Permanent Vacation mean to you?
AL: ell oh vee ee (L-O-V-E)
EWS: How has West Swedish culture and living in Gothenburg influenced your design?
AL: We couldn’t have done what we do anywhere else. We have the time and possibility to start up the business here. And more concrete, the clothes we make are definitly made for a west coast climate and life; waxed cotton jackets & flanell dresses for fall and durable dresses for summer. The atmosphere here is the atmosphere of PV.
EWS: What or who do you think are the most important cultural and fashion icons of West Sweden?
AL: Besides P.V. it must be sea, wind and shrimps.
EWS: What do you like to do for fun when you’re not busy designing hip and fashion forward clothing?
AL: Get drunk at the desk
EWS: If you could chose one quality that typifies Gothenburg-eans, what would it be?
AL: Calm
EWS: What is your favorite Swedish food?
AL: Summer potatoes
EWS: What is your favorite Gothenburg hot-spot?
AL: Alvar&Ivars bakery and Haga Bion cinema

Permanent Vacation’s office is on Tredje Långgatan in Gothenburg, but even better, for your own slice of Gothenubrg you can shop online here – they ship worldwide for only 5 euros.

For more photos visit this season’s fashion line, as well as past seasons’ lines check out their collections online.

Kosterhavets opens this September

Sustainability meets biodiversity at Kosterhavet, Sweden’s first marine national park opening this month off the Bohuslan coast near Stromstad. It’s always great when new environmental protections are established, but often they come at the cost of local and sometimes national industrial objections. Kosterhavet actually occupies one of the most important fishing grounds in the region for prawns, lobsters, crabs, and shellfish, and has also set into place rules and regulations to preserve the industry in the national park. In line with the trendy, but nonetheless important green movement, Kosterhavet will allow sustainable fishing practices, combining industry and nature in a model that would be wonderful if we could expand and apply to more of the planets resources.

Humans have always held a fascination for the sea and it’s utterly foreign environment, largely because it’s so mysterious. Kosterhavet, will cover 450 square kilometers of the richest and most diverse seascape in Sweden with over 6000 different species 200+ of which exist nowhere else. The Koster-Väderö Fjord, located within the park runs to the Atlantic ocean and brings a high salinity to the waters driving evolution to develop unique creatures. The park will help draw tourism to explore this unique environment whilst preserving the marine environment and the traditional fishing industry.

Dear Reader,

You have stumbled upon a brand new blog intended to raise awareness about West Sweden, a region that sits just southeast of Norway and northeast of Denmark.

We will try to unearth a bounty of culture, nature, gastronomy, adventure and history so that perhaps we can whet your appetite and curiosity about a hidden pearl in northern Europe.