Obama-mania sweeps Sweden during visit to Stockholm

By Moa Karnstrand

ERIK MARTENSSON/AFP/Getty Images

ERIK MARTENSSON/AFP/Getty Images

Workplaces shut down. Shops closed. Children stayed home from school. Even the rain stopped. The usually bustling streets were as empty as those in a post-apocalyptic Stephen King novel. That was Stockholm, Sweden today.

Of course, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but judging from Swedish feeds on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, Barack Obama’s visit to this remote, tiny country in the north of Europe was all there was on the agenda today. There was simply no time for anything else. Even enjoying crayfish and an occasional schnapps (as is done this time of year) was no longer a priority.

“The whole city center is closed off. Not a single car out,” a Swede living in Stockholm said.

“Obama’s visit makes Swedish business people feel as metropolitan as if they were working on Wall Street,” another said.

For weeks and weeks, Swedish media has prepared for Obama’s visit. Now that it’s here, papers have been overflowing with pictures of Air Force One landing in the local airport, interactive maps illustrating how the president will travel around town and detailed drawings of the president’s car. Rapt Swedes even watched the live-stream of Obama’s arrival to the Swedish prime minister’s home in central Stockholm for dinner.

The empty streets of Stockholm.

The empty streets of Stockholm. (Elisabeth De Verdier/Courtesy)

Speaking of the Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt: While he prepared dinner for Obama, the country’s largest tabloid published a satire with the headline “Fredrik, 48: I fell for his eyes.” In the article the mock-Reinfeldt elaborates: “I saw in his eyes that he, too, had been through hardship. Apparently he had been dumped by some guy in Moscow.”

Another tabloid reported, “LIVE: The handshake with the president.” One paper published a picture of a picture of their reporter waiting for the Obama press conference this morning — a press conference probably viewed by as many Swedes as the performance when Sweden won the Eurovision Song contest.

And a personal favorite from the Swedish Public Radio: “The car expert on Obama’s limo: It’s in fact a tank.”

Even the cookies Obama had on his typical Swedish “fikarast” (coffee break) were worth at least a major story. The reason all the recipes weren’t published was probably just a matter of limited space: The Swedish princess announced yesterday that she’s having a baby.

But for the Americans, Stockholm today was just another venue for the president to hold his press conference on Syria. CNN, who reported live from the Swedish capital city this morning, mentioned two things: Syria and the beautiful backdrop of Stockholm.

ed@sfgate.com (SFGate)