I love that Swedish TV can poke fun at Swedes. I found this pretty much on point and funny to boot.
Tongue in cheek look at Swedes and Swedishness. Thank you Swedish TV!
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What’s the biggest holiday in Sweden? Arguably is it midsommar
Skansen is Sweden’s living museum for Swedish culture and traditions and lucky for us it is located in Stockholm. If you’ve never experienced a proper midsommar or are not even sure what it is, the Skansen website has all the information you’ll ever need. Skansen is celebrating midsommar over 3 days.
If you want to learn exactly what to serve for your very own midsommar lunch including the recipes and tasting for yourself join ToStockholm for lunch.
MIDSUMMER LUNCH
Join us out on Lidingö and together we will prepare a traditional Midsummer lunch. You will receive a leaflet with the recipes we have been using, as well as information about our Swedish midsummer traditions.
Date: 13 juni
Time: 10.00-14.00
Place: Lidingö
Price: 300:-
(incl. lunch & coffee)
Sign up on ToStockholm’s website.
Nice things happen to me in Sweden – The Valborg night bonfire that wasn’t
Salmon with avocados
We had traditional Varlborg night food of salmon (surprise), potatoes (surprise) and asparagus (family tradition).
The choir was there and sang songs of Spring.
This was to be my first Valborg night celebration. I can’t remember where I usually am on 30 April, but this 30 April I was on a west coast beach ready to experience another Swedish tradition.
Despite the wind it was beautiful time to be on the beach, just after 8pm.
And I wasn’t alone. The year-round residents came, maybe some other people were from out of town like us.
Braving the wind and cold. But not without mug thermos of hot chocolate.
There was poetry and more songs and a speech….and we listened.
Is was a very nice program.
But the bonfire tradition was broken this year as the fire department said it was too windy for a fire. And I’m sure they were right.
I imagine the bonfire would have been beautiful.
But we took advantage of the social event to have fun anyway.
So we talked, talked, talked.
So we came home and had our own fire.
We had a fire after all.
What a nice night! Nice things happen to me in Sweden.
Nice things happen to me in Sweden – Goteborgkex and Semper Glutenfri
I’ve mentioned before how important customer service is and how rare it can be to obtain in Europe with Sweden being no exception. It is extremely nice when I receive a high level of customer service. So here’s a shout out to Göteborgkex for getting back to me within 24-hours with the ingredients list for their new Ballerina MumsBits (it’s impossible to read the small print on the package), and to Semper Gluten Free for getting right back to me following my product inquiry.
Nice things happen to me in Sweden.
My $25 Mother’s Day present
The best Mother’s Day present I could give my mother that costs less than $25 would be to prepare a typical Swedish meal. Since I moved to Sweden I try very hard to share my Swedish experiences with my mother and on the two occasions that she has visited Sweden, she has enjoyed the food. But there is much traditional Swedish food left for her to try. And what better way to show my love than through homemade food with love as the first ingredient?
The Swedes love summer and since it is so short almost every day of summer is celebrated, the first one being Mid Summer (midsommar). So for Mother’s Day my take on the traditional Swedish midsommar meal is my gift. We will not only share time together and food, but a taste of a culture and a window into my life in Sweden.
My meal would resemble this….without the bread.
Menu:
several kinds of pickled herring
boiled new potatoes with dill
sour cream with chives
raw red onions
cold beer
strawberries and cream
Here are approximate prices (SEK is Swedish kroner) for my menu items keeping in mind that buying the store brand will make the costs even lower.
2 jars of sill @ 25 SEK/each = $7.66
1 kilo new potatoes @ 9.90 SEK/kilo = $1.50
fresh dill @17.90 SEK/plant = $2.74
sour cream @11.90 SEK/2 dl = $1.70
chives @17.90 SEK/plant = $2.74
1 red onion @ 3.11 SEK = $0.47
whipping cream @11.40 SEK = $1.74
fresh strawberries @19.90 SEK = $3.05 (this price is cheaper in the summer when local berries are abundant)
Falcon beer 330ml @ 9.90 = 1.52
Total = $23.12 (tax included)
What gift would you give your mother for $25 or less? Share your ideas with Nerd Wallet and you could win a cool prize.
