Also I have heard the opinion that Sweden has done (soon ending) a terrible Presidency in the EU (2009), and there is also the theory that Swedes has to eat meat because it is so cold in the country so they must build up their bodies with something, anything. Also they eat on really strange time, usually hours before the Latin countries. Plus they are often on time, which is funny.

Image over the mountains in Åre in the middle part of Sweden, where it actually is very very cold. @Nosplos on Flickr

On top of this I have read someone saying that since the Swedes didn’t experience the World War II their voice about the EP travelling to Strasbourg every month couldn’t really be taken seriously and so the Swedish signatures in the One Seat campaign were not to be accountable.

On the other hand I have heard that Sweden has done a wonderful Presidency in the EU (2009), the best ever, and that Sweden is very well organised, the language is funny and sounds friendly. Sometimes I also hear that Sweden is a role model in certain areas.

I am thinking; let me, before I leave Brussels for this time, share with you some of my favourite parts of my home country.

In Sweden you can’t buy someone for sex. Well you can but you would be a criminal. We have the so called Sexköpslagen (from 1999), which prevents buyers to buy sex but protects the prostitutes. This is a unique legislation for Sweden. Recently Norway and Iceland also adopted a similar legislation. The official governmental opinion is that prostitution is considered to cause serious harm both to individuals and to society as a whole.

Also, Sweden doesn’t have maternity leave. We have parental leave. In Sweden these days the aim is that men and women share the burden of having a house and a family and children.

The jewel though is Tryckfrihetsförordningen (Freedom of Press), which is written in the constitution. Sweden was the first country in the world to get Tryckfrihet (1766) and one part of it is Offentlighetsprincipen (The principal of public access to public documents). It says that all the documentation of the work of a government, parliament or department or government agency is a public document. And a public document is open for any public. It is possible for any citizen to call any government agency and ask for a specific documentation, and the civil servants are not allowed to ask who you are or why you want that piece of documentation. The openness of all documentation is the rule, but there are of course exceptions with secret information.

The cost for me? 20 euros. I paid it when entering. I picked 20 euros from my jeans pocket.

And what about health care? This spring I had a surgery in my knee. I was hospitalized for a day and there were lot of nurses involved and a surgeon. The cost for me? 20 euros. I paid it when entering. I picked 20 euros from my jeans pocket. This means that even if you are rich or poor you can get the same treatment.

Another thing I wouldn’t want to lose is the Allemansrätten. This means that you have access to the forests and the nature without asking anyone or paying, even on private land, you can put up a tent and sleep there or make a fire in order to grill your sausages. In the autumn Swedes hurry out in the forests, coming back home with berries and mushrooms, to be enjoyed the rest of the year.

So, this is little about Sweden. Come to think of it I don’t know what would be the five best things about Romania, Greece or Lithuania. Does one dare to ask for a blog post about it?

The question in an email from a friend’s friend made me remember my own first couple of months in Brussels and my first mistakes in this town. Because, working at WebComm Unit at EP in Brussels involves dealing with a lot of practical issues, one of them being getting somewhere to live. So I found my self writing an e-mail in return which turned out to look like a guide “This is how you do it”.

Don't forget to take an extra look at the ceiling @ Ben McLeod on Flickr

This friend’s friend is just one of many many trainees, or so called stagiaires which is the French word often used, who come every autumn and every spring to start a five months’ period of traineeship in the European Institutions. They will probably all have to go through it, the mistakes, the searching, and the walking up and down the streets with a map. (Of course they will also experience all the good stuff but that is a whole other story).

Anyway so I figure, I tell you (potential future stagiaires) what I told my friend’s friend. Don’t do what I did: I had booked an apartment in Etterbeek, close to the EU-area, which I had found over the Internet and had paid the “guaranty”, one months rent. I arrived in Brussels and went to the apartment but found out that the apartment was a disaster. So I spent a couple of days trying to convince myself that this wasn’t that bad, after all. But one morning when I had my breakfast the ceiling started to leak – the neighbour above had her shower. Well, I decided to get moving. The landlord reluctantly gave me back some of the “guaranty”, and probably quickly put the item out for rent at the Internet again, claiming that this was a “charming apartment”.

So, save your self some trouble. Get here to Brussels, book a hotel or a youth hostel or if you are lucky – stay at a friend’s place for a week or two. Get a map, look at different websites such as www.xpats.com and on the intranet of the Commission and Parliament, ask around and start visiting apartments and rooms. And – don’t forget to take an extra look at the ceiling…