Sweden

Sweden (2005)
Ulf Johansson & Förlag Streiffert — Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1405308753
Condition: Used (lovingly thumbed by at least one confused tourist)

Prepare your inner Scandinavian: this is Sweden, the proudly pre-loved guidebook that once dreamed of being slipped into a crisp, clean backpack and taken on a stylish Nordic adventure… and instead ended up at Crappy Old Books, thinking about IKEA meatballs and what might have been.

Penned (and exquisitely photographed) by Ulf Johansson and Förlag Streiffert, and published by Dorling Kindersley — the undisputed monarchs of “lovely maps you pretend to understand” — this 2005 edition is your portal to a Sweden of picturesque harbours, pine forests, politely punctual trains, and people who can assemble flat-pack furniture without swearing.

Inside these gently yellowing pages you’ll find:

• Landscapes so pretty you’ll suspect they were airbrushed by a moose with a design degree.

• Towns whose cobbled streets look purpose-built for brooding crime detectives in big coats.

• Lakes that appear determined to reflect the sky in an offensively photogenic manner.

• Enough museum recommendations to keep you fully educated, mildly confused, and permanently indoors.

This is the kind of guide that assumes you will rise early, hike for pleasure, eat something involving herring “because culture”, and then unwind with a coffee so strong it might qualify as infrastructure. Whether you actually do any of that is between you and your sofa, but the intention will be there. On the coffee table. In paperback form.

As for the Condition: Used:
At Crappy Old Books, we specialise in the nobly imperfect. Expect a bit of shelf wear, a few battle-tested corners, possibly a coffee-ring shaped like Sweden if you squint. Some pages may feature the faint ghost of a previous owner’s itinerary — a hopeful tick beside “go kayaking” and absolutely nothing next to “cold outdoor swimming”. The spine might curve slightly, like a person who has tried to live on pickled fish and optimism alone.

Think of it less as “second-hand” and more as “field-tested”. This guide has already been to at least one kitchen table planning session and perhaps one ambitious weekend in Stockholm where someone realised, too late, that “a bit chilly” in Sweden means “bring more layers than you own.”

Perfect for:

• Armchair travellers who want all the Swedish scenery with none of the Swedish weather.

• Fans of Nordic noir who’d like to see what Sweden looks like when nobody is being mysteriously murdered in the snow.

• People who believe a book with slightly softened edges has more character than a brand-new, emotionally sterile copy.

• Anyone who has watched one too many Scandi dramas and now feels morally obliged to visit a windswept archipelago.

So adopt this gently worn, quietly heroic guide to Sweden. Give it a new mission: whether that’s guiding you around Stockholm, propping up a wobbly table, or simply making your bookshelf look 37% more worldly.

After all, new books are nice, but only a Crappy Old Book can look you in the eye and say:
“I’ve seen some things, actually.”

Keep browsing: See more Travel books Other books by Ulf Johansson and Forlag Streiffert