北欧、キレイです　The Nordic countries are CLEAN.

北欧の第一印象=クリーン

First impression of the Nordics = CLEAN

初めて北欧に降り立ったのは、ヘルシンキの空港。

The first place I ever landed in the Nordics was Helsinki Airport.

トイレに入ったら、小鳥がさえずってる。音ね。

I went into the bathroom, and little birds were singing. Well, bird sounds.

そこまで気を使う？？？なんかもう、いきなりオシャレ。

You care THAT much??? It was already stylish from the start.

そして、空港に降り立ちいちばんに感じたこと、、、

And the very first thing I noticed after landing…

、、、臭くない。It doesn’t smell.

海外って、飛行機を降りたあたりから、なんとなくその国の「匂い」があるじゃないですか。

When you travel abroad, each country somehow has its own “smell” from the moment you get off the plane.

なんとなく香辛料だったり、香水だったり、体臭だったり

Spices, perfume, body smell… something.

「あ、外国来たな」　“Ah, I’m in a foreign country.”

って、鼻から分かる感じ。

You can almost tell through your nose.

この北欧の「匂いがない」感覚は日本以来！

I hadn’t felt this “no smell” feeling since Japan!

寒いから汗かかなくて体臭が少ない？のか、食生活もサラダばっかり食べるし、みんなスラッとしている生活環境も関係してるのかなー、と。

Maybe because it’s cold and people sweat less? Maybe because they eat lots of salads, and everyone looks slim? Maybe the lifestyle has something to do with it too.

これが北欧に降り立った最初の印象でした

That was my very first impression of the Nordics.

突然の桜爆誕　Boom! Cherry Blossoms!

自然豊かな住宅地のマンションに住んでたんですけど、

I was living in an apartment in a quiet residential area surrounded by nature,

ある春の日、家の前の草むらスペースに、、いきなり

and one spring day, in the grassy space right in front of my place… suddenly,

桜がドォーン！！と爆誕していた。。。

BOOM!!! Cherry trees had appeared.

ん？見間違い！？　Huh? Am I seeing things!?

え昨日までなかったよね？え、あった？えっ！

They weren’t there yesterday, right? Were they? WHAT!?

めっちゃ怖くなって、パラレルワールド来たかこれ？！って感じで1人興奮していました

It honestly freaked me out. Did I enter a parallel world?! I was getting excited all by myself.

これちゃんと誰かが植えたんだと、後でわかったんですけど

Later, I found out that someone had actually planted them.

秋になったら、紅葉にいきなり入れ替わってて

And when autumn came, suddenly they were replaced with autumn-colored trees.

生えてた樹を一回引っこ抜いて紅葉をバーーン！！！！と植えてんのよ

So they actually pulled out the trees that were there and planted new autumn trees — BAAAM!!!!

雰囲気がガラッと変わって季節感じるぅぅ

The whole atmosphere changed at once. Now THAT feels like the seasons.

そもそも冬はこれですからね。　Winter though.

通勤路も、昨日までただの草原だったのに、

My way to work was the same. It had just been a normal grassy field until the day before,

ある日突然チューリップ畑になってた！

then suddenly it became a field of tulips!

えええ！？え！一夜で？一夜で満開？？

WHAT!? Overnight? Full bloom overnight???

というわけもなく、Well… of course not.

後日その現場に対面したのですが、実はブルーカラーの人たちが花植えてるのこれ

A few days later, I actually saw how it happened. Blue-collar workers were actually planting all these flowers.

一列に草抜いて土掘ってきれーに花の開花株を植えてるわけ。一夜にして街を変える感じ。

They cleared the grass in a straight line, dug the soil, and neatly planted flowers already in bloom. They changed the whole town overnight.

市が、芝刈り、木の剪定や、毎年、春・夏・秋それぞれの季節に合わせて新しい植栽を植えてるらしい

The city’s official website even says that they cut grass, trim trees, and plant new flowers for each season — spring, summer, and autumn.

さらに街の清掃もかなり力入れてて、私が住んでいたリンシェーピングは夏季は中心部を毎日！、それ以外の時期は週2〜3回清掃しているとのこと！

They also put a lot of effort into keeping the city clean. In Linköping, where I lived, the city center is cleaned EVERY DAY in summer, and two to three times a week during the rest of the year!

https://www.linkoping.se/bygga-och-bo/naturvard-och-parkskotsel/skotsel-av-park-och-gronomraden

https://www.linkoping.se/stadsplanering-och-trafik/gator-och-torg/renhallning-och-stadning

そういう雇用がちゃんとあるとこもすごいし、そのセンスがすごくよい。

That job itself is great, and I really like the idea behind creating those jobs.

衛生面だけじゃなくて、街が美しくなる、プラスアルファなBeautyに税金を投入する施策のセンス・勇気が好き

It’s not only about keeping things clean but also beauty of the city. I like both the idea and the courage to spend money on that.