Sweden

Country Information:

The capital city of Sweden is Stockholm. Approximately 10 million Swedes live here, and the official language is Swedish, but Saami and Finnish are also spoken. The majority of the population practices Lutheran Christianity.

Sweden is the largest of the Nordic countries, measuring at slightly larger than California. Another fun fact is that Sweden and Switzerland are the only two European countries that have not been at war since 1815.

Jim’s Perspectives:

I have been to Sweden twice, once with the family while on a Royal Caribbean Cruise through the region.

We visited Visby, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Scandinavia. This ancient city on the west coast on the island of Gotland under Swedish territory has been designated an UNESCO World Heritage site, since 1995. Amazing that this city may have had people living there since the Stone Age!

Guyana

Guyana might be one of my favorite countries in South America. Why? When I visited in 2016, I found it to be vibrant, had lots of positive energy and was the only country on the continent with a distinct Caribbean flair. Its major exports are gold, bauxite,...

Portugal

Beautiful castle outside of Sintra Jim and Kenan in Lisbon On the coast outside of Sintra Visited Portugal with my son Kenan in 2109, although I had briefly crossed the Spanish/Portugese border briefly in 1989. In Portugal, the capital city is Lisbon. There are...

Turkey

Country Information: The capital of Turkey is Ankara. There are approximately 81 million people living here. The official language of Turkey is Turkish, but Kurdish is also spoken. The majority of Turks are Muslim, mostly Sunni. Jim's Perspectives: Have been to...