On thin ice
Many Swedes have been waiting longingly for winter to arrive in order to dust off skates and skis. But one out of ten Swedes has gone through the ice while skating. According to a survey by the insurance company Trygg-Hansa, more men than women fall through thin ice, or have been in company with someone who has. Forty percent of those who did needed help from another person to get out of the water. Carl Crafoord, manager of long distance ice skating at Friluftsfrämjandet, says that nearly every hundredth ice tour leads to an unplanned dip into the water. He suggests the beginning ice skater start skating with an organized tour: "It’s dangerous to get out on the ice with no company, no knowledge and no equipment” he says. "When you skate with us, you have to have a backpack with a change of clothes and equipment to rescue not only yourself but others as well. And we have educated leaders with knowledge.”

What Swedes want
What do you want in a home? On www.hemnet.se you can type in what you’re looking for when searching for your dream home. The three most common search terms are: balcony (392,281 searches), lake plot (75,706 searches) and lake (32,610).

$540 million for better trains
SJ (Statens Järnvägar, the Swedish State Railways) is going to invest 3.5 billion SEK ($540 million) in renovating its high speed trains. Apart from this face lift, the technology will be state-of-the-art. Computer-, drive-, and control systems are all being replaced, which should improve punctuality. Customers have been very dissatisfied with SJ in recent years.