Telephone.
Get an unlocked cell phone or ask you cell provider to unlock yours before you leave. Get a SIM card. It cost about 200kr ( ~$28) and I think you get 100 minutes to the US. Cheap tip incomming calls are FREE! have your friends call you. PS if you want my local Swedish number e-mail me and I'll give it to you. There are not too many people here for me to talk to.
Internet.
Get the Homerun package from Telia. You open up the WiFi page and get the 7 day package. about 199kr ($28). It's a little tricky as the page is in Swedish. Also save the user name and password they give you. They do not mail it to you and if you lose it you buy another. ( voice of experience! )
Water.
In this country the water is safe to drink. They give out a national prize on helping water quality in the third world. Bottled water is hard to find. ( plain water lots of the fizzy bubbly kind )
Coffee. ( kaffe )
Like San Fransisco and Seattle there are coffee shops everywhere. No Starbucks. Coffee shops you can get coffee, dessert, sandwich or light dinner. The Swedes are coffee crazy.
Money.
ATM's work fine. Change cash at Stockholm on the way. Good rates there. Exchange there instead of Newark. Call your credit card company and all will work fine here. On think when using a credit card here they have a pin let them know you are using a card from the US show them ID with a birthdate and they will hit the No PIN option for you.
Shoes
Take slippers with you. You take your shoes off when you come inside. A lot of sidewalks outside are packed gravel and grit. And it seems pretty wet here. So your shoes will be gritty. The indoor floors are wood. The grit scratches the floors. Slippers are floor friendly and comfy.
Language
Generally everyone speaks English to some degree. I seem to have no trouble communicating with people here. Couple of words here.
Hej ( Hey ) -- Hello , Hi
Tack or Tack Tack --- either Please or Thank you.