A New Life in Sweden

Mid-summer with an English twist

2008-06-20T18:20:00.001+01:00

Hello!
Time to celebrate "midsommar" again, this time with my parents visiting from England for the first time.

Beach parties ... keep 'em coming!

2008-06-07T20:06:00.002+01:00

Today is Saturday June 7th, 2008 and we have had an unbelievable run of fantastic weather since the beginning of May. It is so hot in southern sweden that the Brits would not believe it! The children have been in the pool everyday and we are longing for the end of school term - just 4 days away.
As we live only 5 minutes from the beach, life is just that, and it's hard to find fault with life right now. Business is good, although we feel over-worked, over-stressed and downright exhausted, the upside really makes up for it. We will soon be figuring out a plan of action to keep business ticking over and the kids entertained during the summer all at the same time.
Most important event of the day was that I found my youngest sons "gromiti", which he had thrown during a game on the trampoline, across the garden into a corner of which is currently undergoing renovation - fence planks, dirt, stones and weeds cover the area, and the gromiti was a little brown and green figure. Great. 5 hours later of intermitent searching, and there is was - stuck under a foxglove plant.
Yes, once again I was the hero of the day (at least in the eyes of a 6-year old, and that, my friend, is life worth living.!)

Hello Summer, 2008!!

2008-05-08T21:56:00.002+01:00

OK, so a delay of nearly 7 months of writing an entry into my blog is almost unforgiveable, but hey, we all know there is more to life....right?

The last entry I made when we had recently launched our new company AOB Travel AB. Business is good, and we're happy. The years first quarterly results proved that we are on the right track and we are dedicated to making this company fantastic. It's a fun business - a happy one at the very least. What could be nicer than planning holidays?

Speaking of holidays, we recently hooked up with our old and dear friends in Florida, whom we hadn't seen in some years. With children the same age as ours and a shared sense of humour, we spent a wonderful day at their home near Fort Lauderdale, and picked right up where we last left off, as only good friends can do. Our 8-year-olds now exchange email addresses (sign of the times), and now meet on-line in their favourite Webkinz room once a week.

We spent nearly 3 weeks in Florida. We took the kids to Disney (I loved every moment), Sea World, Kennedy etc. and gave them unforgettable memories spent with their cousins in South Florida. We shopped, shopped, shopped as only a favourable exchange rate lets you, and the best, the very best of all was celebrating my 40th with a Madagascar birthday cake, shared with my (older) sister, chosen by our children. After devouring the cake, the dozoens of tiny animal figures and trees were washed down and brought home - I guess the children think mummy can make an air-brushed Madagascar 10-storey rainforest birthday cake this year.....

Could life get any better? we return from 28 degrees C to snow on the ground in Sweden. Snow. Late March. The words "Endless winter" jump to mind. Still, not enough to get our the sledges, and it disappeared quickly to give us the Spring we have long awaited. And even if my geranium did get a bit of frostbite this year when I put it out too early, overall the garden is looking.....overgrown. I need a new lawn mower. Overgrown but heavenly, full of daisies and cherry blossom. My already over-full schedule has be lengthened to include some tree-felling, turf-removal, shingle-laying, tree-planting and fence building. I am currently teaching my 6-year old to read (English), my 9-year old to play guitar and my husband to juggle multiple jobs that only a woman can do. ha!

And in the words of my dear sister "I say, is it cocktail-time yet?!"

Busier than ever - and a new travel agency is launched!

2007-10-26T12:58:00.000+01:00

Well, my long absence can be explained, for I have many great excuses not adding to my blog in a long time. Summer ended, Autumn is here (although early morning is decidedly wintry) and never have my days been busier.
It's ironic that when you start a new project, after the months and months of endless planning and suddenly you're really in business, your days become so busy that you wished you had had this volume of work a year ago. Apart from still working on several large copywriting projects, I am also back teaching English one day each week (just because I love it) but by far the best news is that our new travel agency is off the ground. AOB Travel AB has hit the ground running, and even before the website is finished the phones are ringing and myself and my 3 other business partners are working ridiculous hours but getting by on sheer adrenelin alone.

Check out aobtravel.se to see what we have been up to. Our new travel bureau is an internet travel agency (but of course we'll answer the phone too), and we've taken our time to get the best terms from all the major airlines and hotel chains around the world. Our overheads are low, and therefore all these savings are passed onto our customers. Yes, we know the industry is highly competitive, but firmly believe there is room for one more out there, and the bookings and enquiries we are getting confirm our gut instincts were right.
See you online! aobtravel.se And be patient - the website is a work in progress and is being added to each day - the booking engine is working beautifully though so search around for the best deals - it's all in Swedish, but hey, you'll manage.

Summer in England and Sweden, and dodging the raindrops

2007-08-10T08:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday it reached 27 degrees and at 6p.m it's still to hot to sit in the conservatory at our home. The mosquitoes are ferocious and I have to refuse my son's offer to jump on the trampoline with him - he seems immune to their bites but I certainly am not.

It feels like we are still recovering from a jam-packed holiday in England, the first visit in nearly 3 years. Rain greeted up, of course, although the second week was better in Cornwall, but no wet weather was allowed to put a damper on what turned out to be a fantastic holiday.

Not only did I get to meet up with my family - the children made firm friends with their American cousins and have since been keeping in touch by phone for the first time ever (t's fun to listen to what 7-year-olds have to talk about for nearly an hour) - we celebrated my father's 75th birthday in style at a beautiful place in the New Forest, we also spent a week in Cornwall, staying in Padstow and touring around. A place close to my heart and somewhere I had been longing to show my husband and children. It didn't disappoint.

Padstow was the summers of my childhood. This was the first visit back for over 25 years and I loved it. It was exactly as it should be. Beautifully restored fisherman's cottages, bright coloured houses, narrow cobbled roads and an array of shops, boutiques and restaurants that create a wonderful atmosphere. Some shops still existed from my childhood. On our first evening of the holiday, the children asked for a stick of Padstow Rock to eat. Having listened to tales of my summer vacations, of "99" ice creams, sticks of rock and crab fishing, they were eager to try everything. Rock was bought daily, and when it tasted as I remembered it - sweet and sticky but perhaps not quite as good as I remembered it as a child, all those years ago. As for my youngest, he wants to know "Mamma, why are there so many yummy goody delicious shops in Padstow?"

More on our vacation in the next article....

A Cornish Vacation

2007-05-21T20:29:00.000+01:00

As many of you who follow my blog will know, even though I left England a long time ago, I still love the southwest corner of England - Cornwall - and the place of my childhood summers. This year, I'll be taking my Swedish children to relive some of my favourite childhood memories in Cornwall - places such as Padstow, Tintagel, Penzance and Land's End. They are looking forward to the promised fishing nets, as we explore the rockpools of Constantine and Porth beaches.

I discovered that Cornwall was an unfamiliar name to many Scandinavians. They prehaps had vaguely heard about this corner of Britain, but still if they were coming to the U.K then London, Scotland or Dublin were placed higher on their list of destinations to visit. And yet it's easy to travel to Cornwall from either Malmö airport in southern Sweden or Copenhagen in Denmark. You just connect through from Gatwick to Newquay Airport. So I set about creating a new website all about Cornwall - with both English and Swedish text. A site packed full of not only descriptions of this great place, but practical advise on how to get there, where to stay and what to do. To me, a family vacation on Cornwall's wild atlantic coastline and stunning array of sandy beaches, beats your average week in southern Spain or Majorca, hands down.

To this end, my new website is ready for you to check out at www.cornwall.se or click on the link "Welcome to Cornwall!" in the right-hand column on this blog. This will take you straight to the English text.

If you go directly to the start page of Cornwall.se, you need to click on the Union Jack flag at the top of the page to get the English text.

The site is packed full of information about the best places to stay in Cornwall. So feel free to browse. Thanks to all of you who have mailed me telling me what you think about the site. Keep those comments (and links!) coming!

English Copywriting and Translation

2007-04-25T10:42:00.000+01:00

It's now full steam ahead with my freelance copywriting business. I've been working from home for a couple of years now, interrupted by some Swedish courses at school and some English language teaching jobs along the way. But now I can finally offer translation services as well as copywriting and proof reading. Yes, my Swedish really is that good!

The copywriting side of my business has a new name - QuickStepMedia, and you can find out more about the services I offer on my website by visiting quickstepmedia.com or clicking on the link on the right-hand column of this blog called "English copywriting and translation".

The alien in Sweden

2007-04-10T11:35:00.000+01:00

Of course I'm British, born and bred, although I fled shortly after starting my career to a warmer spot on our globe. Australia was followed with years in California and Florida. So you will excuse me if I miss more about the States than I do of Britain. I just felt so at home with the lifestyle there. And I still miss those little things now I'm living in Sweden, that makes daily life, well, easier. Here are a few of my favourites quirks:

I miss turning right on red. I did it a few times when I first moved to Sweden, forgetting that it's just not done within the confines of Swedish law.

I miss my garbage disposal unit in my sink. These things don't come standard in Sweden, especially when buying an older house. Shortly after we moved in my husband caught me pushing old food bits and leftovers down the sink. "What on earth are you doing?!" - just trying to find the switch to get rid on this garbage... - I spent the next half hour picking out everything and trying to unblock the sink.

I miss having my groceries bagged for me at the supermarket, and someone wheeling the cart out to the parking lot and loading up the trunk of my car, and not even accepting a tip! Such service is unknown in Swedish supermarkets. As I quickly discovered after standing waiting for bag service in the market as the next customer's food purchases squeezed against mine - I suddenly realised that, in Sweden, everyone was their own bagger of groceries. At least their plastic bags are better quality than your average Publix bag...

I miss opening hours. Why can't I get a coffee-to-go at 7.00am here?

And I just won't get into the food stuffs you can't buy here. Although we have welcomed Betty Crocker, Maltesers, Ben & Jerry's, Maple Syrup and Marshmallow Fluff to our shelves .... I'm just waiting for BLUEBERRY Hagen Daz, ready-to-roll Halloween Cookies, Cadbury Flake Bars..... Everything terribly bad for you, but oh-so-good.

Conversions: weight,height,dress size and shoe sizes - it all depends where you live.

2007-03-28T10:20:00.000+01:00

I think I was born with size 7 feet. As far back as I can remember of my very British childhood, I wore a size 7. I actually wasn't particularly conscious of the size of my feet until the mother of a friend of mine exclaimed "Goodness, what size do you wear!?" - enough to make an awkward 13 year old feel even more out of place. "Well, you'll never blow over in the wind!" my dad would kindly tease (although I do vividly remember a wave knocking me off my feet in the ocean and going under for too long - how does that happen with size 7 feet?). As an adult, I actually like my feet. Of course I wish I wore a size smaller, but hey, 7 isn't that big, is it? Even if I do have to creep into buying a 7.5 sometimes. The point is, I just don't think about the size of my feet any more. They are what they are. And I'm quite certain there is no safe cosmetic procedure that can chop a bit off without losing some toes.

When you move around you have to get used to conversions, of the measuring kind. Everyone measures everything differently. And when you first start shopping in a new country, it's rather hit and miss. In Britain I was foot size 7, dress size 8, weighed 9 stones and was 5 feet 8 inches tall; groceries were bought in pounds and ounces, water and beer alike was measured in pints.

When I cooked, everything was measured in ounces: at school we were taught 25 grams is equal to 1 ounce, but still everything was measured in ounces. I have long since discovered that actually, 1 ounce is equal to 28.35 grams. Now, it's common knowledge that to bake a cake successfully, you need to be exact with your measurements. I long ago decided it was poor quality kitchen scales that resulted in many of my own baking disasters. Using cups in the States saved me - it was cleaner, quicker and easier. But, having been taught at school that 1 ounce is 25 grams, it really is no wonder that one baking disaster followed another. The fault wasn't in kitchen equipment, or even me, it was indeed, in the teaching. Hurrah! someone to blame at last. Thanks Mrs McDuff. Or Mrs Rough-Puff-McDuff as she was known.

In Australia, if I remember correctly (I wasn't an avid shopper back then, I think I almost lived on the beach in shorts and T-shirts save for the few work skirts and tops I would occassionally buy), I was a foot size 8, dress size 10, I weighed 126 pounds, and measured 173cm tall. And just for the record, my coffee each morning was a "flat white" (white, no sugar, no froth).

And now the good - no great - news! When I moved to the U.S., whooosh! my dress size dropped to a skinny size 6, and even (thanks Kenneth Cole!)a tiny 4. Although the feet, disappointingly shot up to a size 9.5. If felt very strange to ask for such large size shoes. My weight was still 126 pounds, recipes were in cups (fabulous), and 32 degrees outside was freezing thanks to fahrenheit (although California and Florida, of course, never saw these temperatures).

A move several years later over to continental Europe, and things suddenly felt "normal". I dressed in a size 36, I wear size 41 shoe, measure 173cm tall. My weight, instead of stones or pounds which no one has a clue about here, is a standardised 57 kilos. I ask for meat in kilos at the deli, read recipes in kilograms and decilitres, and we stick to celcius outside. Phew! If all this is confusing to you too, then check out UDDQ.se, a great site for figuring out those conversions!

Still, just to be on the safe side, I hang a conversion chart up in my kitchen, so I can correctly reel off figures over the phone when talking to friends in the U.K., the U.S., or Australia, and I stick to packet cake mixes from now on.

And my feet are still the same size.

"Äntligen är det Vår!" An end to the Swedish winter

2007-03-13T10:01:00.000+01:00

"Äntligen är det Vår!" (translation:-) "At last, it's Spring", shouted my son yesterday as he raced around the garden barefoot, brandishing a half-filled watering can, spilling it's contents onto his t-shirt. Yes, as predicted our short Swedish winter ended abruptly this week as the temperature steadily rose to reach around 13.5 degrees celsius at lunchtime today, and the stone tiles on our sunroom floor were comfortably warm underfoot once again. Such a contrast to just two weeks ago, when snow still covered the lawns and threatened to topple over the smaller evergreen bushes.

A few minutes away from our house, walking along our golden beach on Sunday morning with the sun shining, a slight early morning chill, and the ocean showing no signs of even a ripple, it's easy is believe that Spring really is the best time of the year.

My first Spring seeds were sown in small containters today, placed upon shelves in the sunroom and covered with plastic. Determined to nurture my own plants this year, I have spent hours in the garden centre choosing packets of seeds, some varieties I recognise and others are rather a shot in the dark, along with the children who wish to grow their tallest sunflowers ever this year. Inspired by my success last year with Asters - I had hundreds of beautiful flowers crammed into just a few flowerbeds that lasted into early Autumn - this year I envisage flowers of every variety decorating my garden and plant pots. You can be sure that if successful, I will be back here boasting and proudly posting photos for proof. Right now, I am just waiting for the seeds to actually show signs of life...

A Summer Break in England

2007-03-06T10:33:00.000+01:00

Just as the last snows of Skåne seem to be disappearing, and the children start yelling 'Spring is here' as I finally stop nagging them to wear a hat to school each morning, it's time to start planning how to spend those first two weeks of summer break when school's out and everyone needs a vacation.

As usual, when March finally arrives, it comes with a mixure of relief for me that winter is over, and disappointment that it still really isn't that warm outside. It's my birthday month, so while I'm stamping the ground outside trying to decide if I can start Spring planting in the garden, the children are happy to argue over what flavour filling they want to put in my birthday cake this year. I actually love Betty Crocker, her packet mixes far out weigh any success I could possibly hope for in the cake baking department. But hey, the kids love to bake, and if I'm not involved in the clean-up afterwards then who am I to tell them that Betty Crocker is my favourite cake flavour?

OK, back to the weather. It's not that I don't enjoy our winter here in Southern Sweden. Contrary to popular belief amongst those of you who are less umm...well-informed, we actually don't sit in the dark everyday during the winter months. Sure, snow is almost guaranteed, but with it comes blue skies, sunshine, a chilly stillness and yet no rain or wind. Beautiful. At least, most of the time. But, though born and bred in England, after years in Australia, California and Florida, I'm a warm-weather kind of gal at heart. Hey, I will happily embrace the Swedish winter outdoor lifestyle without complaint, but only for 4 months of the year. Tops.

As in previous years, I expect Spring will be cut short and summer will arrive quickly, hot on it's heels. As soon as school finishes, we will just be able to squeeze in my favourite Swedish celebration, Midsummer, before heading off for a break to one of my favourite places in the world, Cornwall, in the south-west of Britain. I've been to many places over our globe, but there's just something about the rugged wild west of England that leaving me longing to return. And since my last visit was over 20 years ago, I've decided to introduce my family to the summertime haven of my childhood adventures. We've rented a great cottage in a fishing village and are heading there for a Cornish adventure holiday. I am recounting tales of the legend of King Arthur to my children, of brave knights of Camelot, historic shipwrecks and secrets of the Cornish smugglers to get them excited about visiting this fabulous coastline.

It is quite possible that we will be the only Scandinavian family in Cornwall of course. For amongst the 5 million visitors that this gorgeous region of England welcomes each year, Cornwall is almost unheard of here. Mention existance of the Scilly Isles and people actually think you're joking. And even suggest Cornwall gets an almost subtropical climate then Swedes think I'm crazy. But it's all true of course. And to try and persuade the Scandinavians otherwise, I am in the process of creating a website all about travel and vacations in Cornwall, written in Swedish. My aim is to persuade them that the beaches and coastlines of Cornwall are more beautiful, and more exciting than any other beach in Northern Europe. I know, it's a tough fight. But right now there is virtually no information about Cornwall for the Swedish market. So, watch this space (don't worry, I'll publish it in English too).

Finally, party land has arrived!

2007-03-05T11:21:00.001+01:00

At last! after a long absence, I am returning to my blog. Strange how the enthusiasm wears off after a while and more exciting projects come along. Well, something tells me it's time to get back into the swing of blogging once more.

Let's start with some party news. Now, having spent many years in the States, I was spoilt for choice when it same to shopping of course. Anything, anywhere, 24 hours a day. Some of my favourite stores where those that catered to throwing parties. The atmosphere was always fun, shoppers were always in a great mood and very friendly. Of course, why wouldn't we be? We were all there for one reason - there was a party to host and we wanted the best paraphernalia to ensure our own party was talked about long after the event.

The party stores in the U.S. are at big as supermarkets. You could find every decoration you could imagine, in every colour, for every theme. From tombola drums to pinatas, goody bags, stickers, masks, helium balloons to the crowning glory, the cake itself.

Now, something amazing has happened here in southern Sweden. An all-american style Partyland has hit the high street in Malmö. The shop I had missed, the items I had searched for in vain since moving here, have finally arrived on my doorstep. OK, so here's what an American kids party is all about. Choose your theme and lets go shopping. And for goodness sake order your kid a CAKE! Let's banish pancakes and even ice cream if it helps. But a kids party isn't a kids party without the 3-storey high cake in all colours of the rainbow with your child's favourite movie character or story book hero perched on top.

And let's talk about those (horrid) candy bags we give out here. Let's me honest, most children throw away most of the candy that is in them. Especially that disgusting scummy stuff. Instead we put together party favours for the children to take home (all following the party theme, naturally) and offer game prizes. Much more fun and much healthier!

Guess who be throwing the best kids' party in town this year?

Remember the Semla

2007-03-05T11:19:00.000+01:00

Fastlagssöndagen. The translation is literally Shrove Sunday. Or Quinquagesima, which means the beginning of Lent. This year in Sweden, fastlagssöndagen is 26th February. Since the Reformation, this time of year is more about festivities than privation. Whilst still marked on our calendar, for most of us this is a meaningless day as we don't change our eating habits at all.

Apart from one thing. Almost irresistable here in Sweden are Semla. These Lenten buns are a traditional dessert at this time. Years ago, the sweet buns were served in a bowl of hot creamed milk sprinkled with cinnamon. Today we're more practical - after all some of us like to eat them out of a paper bag while sitting in our office working. So now, you buy the soft, sweet buns (without the milk), that have been scooped out and filled with almond paste and topped with lots of fresh, whipped cream. They don't sound particularly special, but trust me, they are quite delicious and you will want more than one.

So delicious in fact, that they changed the course of history here in Sweden. In 1771, King Adolf Fredrik gorged himself to death, partly on these Lenten buns and partly on too much champagne.

So there, you are warned.

I'd like a Haga zipcode

2006-06-15T10:31:00.000+01:00

I'd like a Haga zipcode. Why? It could be that early one morning when I found myself in this district of Gothenburg, I also found the unique Café Husaren (Haga Nygata 26), where they sell cinnamon and cardamom buns. I was hungry and they were very good. No - they were delicious.

But more likely it's because Haga retains a stunning charm and peacefulness, despite being part of the beautiful, bustling city of Gothenburg. The old buildings, cobbled streets, small farmer's markets stalls and the smell of the ocean close by give a heady mixture of the calm and tranquil, the lively and the elegant. And on a sunny Sunday morning, there was no other place I'd rather be.

The area has been refurbished but retains it's old-world charm, the wonderful Governor's buildings are still a landmark of the area. It's a district you must stroll through, rather than rush through just to get from A to B. The shops - from the trendy to the quaint - sell remarkable one-of-a-kind objects and antiques.

In the mid 1600's, Haga was mainly a worker's suburb of Gothenburg, being close to the harbour and rivers. And by the 1800's the area had grown so quickly that 3-storey apartment blocks and expensive stone houses were being built. During future years, churches and schools appeared and today Haga has progressed from being a worker's area to a trendy bohemian atmosphere packed with cafes, shops and restaurants. Don't leave Gothenburg without spending time in Haga. The public transport system of old-fashioned trams is great and frequently run to this stylish suburb of the city.

Slottsskogen in Gothenburg

2006-06-05T11:27:00.000+01:00

Slottsskogen - '"The Castle Forest" is a great place to relax in the heart of the city of Gothenburg. It's right next to Haga, one of the trendiest cafe areas in Gothenburg. The seal pond and excellent playground mean you take take your children here for the afternoon and still manage to relax.

There are some walking trails and lots of picnic areas, crazy golf and usually some form of musical entertainment going on. There is an animal park, an open-air theatre and a bird house to check out. A perfect to place for us to visit after an afternoon of shopping in the city.

Gothenburg - a gastronomic journey

2006-06-05T11:10:00.000+01:00

Of course you have to eat fish in Gothenburg. The Swedes are fish lovers and consume vast quantities of fresh seafood either at home or when eating out. And Gothenburg's location on the west coast means that the fish markets are some of the best in the world.

Gothenburg has four restaurants that have Michelin Stars, and 7 out of the 10 finalists in Sweden's Chef of the Year award come from Gothenburg. From the local hot-dog stand to your top class restaurant, the food won't come fresher, or with such variety.

If this is a first visit to Sweden, then you should probably try their berries. Sounds strange, but wild berries from the north of Sweden are delectable. Especially lingon berries and cloud berries. They appear on most Swedish menus either in the main dish or definitely as a desert. But simply serves with creamed milk and sugar, that is how they should be eaten for a first-timer.

Then of course there is sill. Swedish herrings, marinated in many different ways. My absolute favourite is Inlagd Sill. Marinated in aromatic oils, red onions and spices. I wasn't a herring lover when I first arrived here, but it's a tradition hard to avoid and now I'm converted into loving this dish.

Gothenburg's universeum

2006-06-05T10:52:00.000+01:00

Day two of our trip was spent at Gothenburg's universeum. We travelled by tram through the city to get there for around 10am when it opened.

Universeum is Gothenburg's fantastic science museum. There is so much to see and do you can easily spend around 5 hours here with your children without them getting bored. The facitilites are excellent, with gift shops, restaurants and cafes and plenty of areas to sit and take a break.

We purchased a family ticket for SEK 550 for the entrance fee. Lunch was extra. Great value for money we thought. Your journey through universum starts with a walk through Sweden's waterways. The children get to see salmon, pike, snakes, lizards, toads and beavers to name just a few creatures. There is lots of information to read, but if your Swedish is non-existant then you'll have to ask one of the many museum guides to translate into English for you, which they happily do.

After the waterways comes the Ocean Zone. This was my chilren's favourite, As you walk through the dark tunnels, the glass tanks surround you and you come face to face with the sea creatures including sharks. The rays are very friendly and let the kids dangle their hands in the water tanks to feel them. Throughout each part of the tour they are numerous interactive experiments for the children to try and learn from.

The next area is called the Deadly Beauties, where the most venomous snakes from all over the world live. From here it's a walk through the rainforest. Expertly done, the Universeum have recreated a rainforest environment with anacondas, piranha fish, parrots, caymans, turtles, electric eels, butterflies, and tropical plants of all descriptions. My thought when I first walked in? it was south Florida all over again and almost made me homesick!

The Kalaido Zone should be your last stop on your journey through the museum. The children will love the interactive games and experiments they can try here. From the human body to outer space, there is all kinds of things try that will wear you out.

Time for a break, I think.

Liseberg - a top ten amusement park in Gothenburg

2006-06-01T12:32:00.000+01:00

According to Forbes Magazine, Liseberg is amongst the top ten amusement parks throughout the world. And certainly a must when visiting Gothenberg with children.

We paid 60 kronor entrance fee, (free for children under 7 years old), and then purchased a family ticket for 580 kronor, which gave us 18 tickets to be used on the rides of our choice. Before going in the gates, it's worth checking out the attractions board to see exactly which rides your child is going to be able to go on, based on either their age or their height. Our kids of 6 and 4 years old could do almost half of all the rides, and as it took us all day to get around the park, 18 tickets was just about right.

Of course, there are lots of options for tickets, for example and you can buy an all-day pass for SEK 270 per person and all rides are included in this price.

There are a number of open-air stages at Liseberg, so music and entertainment can carry on well into the evening: stora scenen is host to many of Sweden's top artists, and lilla scenen treats children to songs, dancing and entertainment by Liseberg's mascot, the Rabbit.

The biggest rides are the famous Balder, the world's best wooden roller coaster, and the Canon, that shoots you out of the starting position at 75km/hr in less than 2 seconds. Quite a thrill and strictly for adults only. But don't worry, there's something for everyone and a great selection of rides for children of all ages.

One of the best times to visit Liseberg (I have heard), is at Christmas. So if you can stand a Swedish winter, then the lights of Liseberg and Scandinavia's biggest Christmas market will give you that warm and cosy feeling. You can't help get into the spirit of the season with this dazzling display of lights and music. Christmas at Liseberg is something of a tradition in Sweden and one I plan on experiencing this year.

Check out Liseberg's homepage here..

Fantastic Four Days in Gothenburg

2006-06-01T09:26:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday, on June 25th, was Kristi Himmel Day (the ascension of Christ into heaven), and a Swedish national holiday. So we decided to take a 4-day break to Gothenburg, taking Friday off from work too. This was my first ever visit to Gothenburg - Swedish form 'Göteborg' - Sweden's second largest city. And I want to go back again. Soon.

Since the middle ages, Gothenburg has been an important trading port to the West. It's located on the west coast of Sweden, in the province Västergötland. The city is cut into rough rocks and cliff faces, with the North Sea as a back-drop. It has a mild climate, although can be quite rainy. Our trip however, was blessed with sunshine from start to finish.

From Malmö, we travelled north on the E6, an easy 2.5 hours in the car. Gothenburg has come a long way in the last thirty years. Whilst trade once relied heavily on imports, exports and the shipping business (Gothenburg has Scandinavia's biggest harbour), today the city has become more sophisticated with hi-tech companies and lavish living in period apartment buildings. Gothenburg also is the largest university city in Scandinavia.

This month, on June 17th, the Gothenburg Tunnel (Götatunneln), will open for the first time, 6 years after the project was first intitialised. The city tunnel will run east-west underground, through the city centre, making the traffic flow underground and making the city centre an even better walking experience! The city feels good, and looks amazing - big, beautiful and clean.

More on what we did there soon.

Denmark, a land worth visiting

2006-05-10T11:46:00.000+01:00

It may seem strange to be writing so much about time spent in Denmark, but you have to remember, that living in the south of Sweden, Denmark is quicker to get to than many other parts of our own country, and therefore worth exploring. Although so close to Sweden, it's a different language, another currency, and a similar but not the same culture. And of course a different landscape.

I daresay that I wouldn't have bothered travelling in Denmark if I hadn't lived so close by. After, being northern Europe the weather is always unpredictable. And most of us still want to head off to a place where sunshine is more likely for our treasured vacation times. And it's hard to pinpoint exactly what stands out about Denmark - we're not talking the Côte d'Azur in southern France, the fabulous architecture of Barcelona or the Italian riviera here; but, in all fairness, Denmark has always shown me a great time, with weather to match.

Denmark's peninsula Jutland (Jylland)is a wide open space of forests and white sanddunes along the coastline. The air is noticeably the freshest you will find - the smell of woodlands and pine, and salt air all at once. Jutland is historical, with small villages and towns and fantastic fresh cuisine. And then it's all about the nature and the wilderness, and tucked out of sight here and there are magnificent castles. Of course you get the big cosmopolitan cities here, but you really shouldn't visit Denmark if you don't like nature and the elements. And if you have children, this place is made for them and you will enjoy it all the more.

Legoland - From extreme sports to cowboys and indians

2006-05-03T09:57:00.000+01:00

Adventure Land at Legoland Park in Billund, Denmark, is a family affair. Everyone seemed to find their favourites here, mom and dad included.

X-treme Racers provides provides what is probably the best action rides in the park. It's really fast roller coaster ride, very wild and very x-treme. Even if the children were unsure (you reach heights unimaginable for a young child that made them refuse to climb aboard), Dad at least had a blast. Your children must be taller than 120 cm for this one and have a head for heights.

Less scary but still great fun are the Jungle Racers that the children queued twice for. The racing boats themselves are fantastic lifesize versions of the lego racer boats. You have to make it across the water avoiding the surprise jets of water blasting up around you. Back on dry land, a jungle maze close by will keep your children busy for ages while you recover your senses from your x-treme experience.

Without a doubt my favourite part of Legoland was Legorado Town. I could have quite happily stayed here the best part of the day. There were good places to eat and nice shopping. There is always something so charming about an oldy-worldy styled town. Ideal if you want to play Cowboys and Indians for the day.

For a start, your children can dig for gold. Yep, they can been shown how to mine for gold and when they have collected some it will be melted down into a gold danish coin for them - you pay 20 dk kronor and it makes a great souvenir.

There are three rides in Legorado Town, all great and a hit with even the youngest child. The Mine Train takes you deep into gold mines (it's dark a lot of the way) and past famous landscapes created entirely of tiny lego blocks. The Timber Ride is a wet and wild ride sitting in timber logs through the landscapes of the Great Buffalo Hunt. We loved this one, but it's bumpy! Or the Lego Canoe takes you through a wild river, the last part of the ride is a steep waterfall that plunges you homewards with a splash. Wear a plastic waterproof mac (available from the Legorado shop)for this one and cover your body and legs during this ride or you'll be soaked.

Still, a sit around the Indian camp fire will soon dry you all off.

Legoland - what not to miss

2006-05-03T09:14:00.000+01:00

Your kids will go crazy in Legoland with so much fun stuff at every turn. But there is a way to keep tabs on them - hire the electronic tracking system from the Information Centre when you go into the park. It means you can easily find them if the worst happens and you lose sight of them in the crowds.

So what does the park have to offer? Probably the most impressive sights are the life-size figures and the entire cities created of millions of tiny lego blocks. The attention to detail is spectacular. You walk around the cities or take a slow boat ride to see some of the world's most famous landmarks created in lego.

Duplo-land is especially built for younger children, they have their own play zones, lego houses, and express train to ride on and lego airplanes to fly on. Giant lego creations just like the minature versions they have in their bedrooms. This is intense fun for the lego-loving toddler.

Miniland offers children the chance to take a lego safari. Each animal is built in details to a life-size version completely of lego blocks. Children can also navigate a lego city driving in their lego cart, stopping at traffic lights and filling up their gas tanks. If they enjoy rides off the ground then lego helicoptor launches will send them skywards for a bird's eye view of the park.

Pirateland was one of my favourite places. The whole family takes a lego boat ride into Captain Roger's secret caves to visit the lego pirates and their treasure stash. The lighting, music and robotic lego figures, not to mention lego crocodile in the water surrounding the boat, make this a great attraction. Stop off at the pancake house here for delicious eats. For children over 90 cm tall, they should try The Lighthouse. Securely strapped into hanging chairs, you pull yourself up to the top of the lighthouse using a rope, and then come back down to earth in a free fall.

As you walk around the park, huge maps direct you to the various attractions, to ensure you don't miss a thing.

Knight's Kingdom was a highly anticipated attraction for us, our boy's having been fans of this series of lego figures for a couple of years. The castle was magnificent and a wonderful backdrop to the entire Legoland Park. Past the lego dragons guarding the entrance, you could explore the castle. Just be aware that if you're afraid of the dark, your children may be hesitant to enter. There's a photo opportunity with the dragons and a castle shop to tempt you to open your wallets. Stop here if you are hungry for a big lunch at the Knight's Barbeque in a medieval setting, but not before you ride the medieval Dragon coaster, a wild twisting ride through the castle landscape. Adults need to accompany younger children on this ride, and it's great fun.

Located at the far end of the park, don't forget to include Lego City in your tour. This has the Falck Fire Brigade ride which is fantastic fun, we queued twice for this one as it's a family effort and a chance to compete against other park families. Also here is the chance to ride a robotic arm at Power Builder Robots, (for children over 120cm tall), not recommended if you have just eaten and remind your children to remove their shoes or they will definitely come off during the ride. You program the ride as you want to, and they buckle in tightly. It's a wild and crazy ride of being turned upside down and shot inside out all over the place. Your kids will love it.

The birth of Legoland at Billund in Denmark - every kid's fantasy

2006-05-03T09:02:00.000+01:00

Billund in Denmark is the birthplace of Lego, probably the greatest children's toy ever invented.

Created by Godtfred Christiansen in 1968 who was born in Billund, what once started out as a single model village created in plastic lego bricks, has today become one of the most famous fantasy theme parks in the world - Legoland. It was Ole Christiansen, Godtfred's father, who was the inspiration behind the creation of lego. As a young carpenter, he started building wooden toys that fit together into countless different combinations. The name he gave to these early toys was "Lego". This word comes from the Danish words for "play well" - "leg" and "godt" together.

One million of us visit Legoland in Denmark every year, and through a child's eyes, the parkland is a fantasy of all their dreams come true.

Legoland Village - good basic accommodation at a price to match

2006-05-03T08:28:00.000+01:00

We wanted to wake up on the morning of our second day in Legoland and be able to walk to the park in under 10 minutes. We needed a place to stay that was clean and comfortable, and fun for two small children. And we found this in Legoland Village, a modern and comfortable hotel centre.

Actually only 500 metres from the entrance to Legoland, our room in the Village looked like a giant lego cube. We were color coded red and a huge red pieces of lego marked the walk way to our room. It was basic, but plenty for a night's stay. A separate play area inside the room filled with lego kept the children happy while we struggled to wake following the dawn start the day before and 6 hours of walking in the park. We had coffee and tea making facitilies and a good sized bathroom. The children's bed folded down from the walls, that were happily painted with their favourite lego characters. 30 minutes later we walked to the main hotel for breakfast - lego style.

The Cafe and Bistro in Legoland Village served good food. A great selection of Danish breads and cheeses along with the usual breakfast foods of cereal, juice etc. all buffet style. There are Lego playareas everywhere. Your children will love it and this hotel will not break the bank at 895 dk kronor per night per room, including breakfast. Purchase your tickets to the park in the hotel reception. The Legoland Park opens at 10am, so don't do what we did and rush breakfast the first morning, turning up at the park gates at 9am - you'll be taking a leisurely stroll for an hour with the kids. Actually, we used this time to drive into the nearby town to pick up some wine and beer for our forthcoming summer parties. Only a short distance separates Sweden and Denmark, yet Denmark's prices on alcohol are frustratingly much, much cheaper.

During July, Legoland park in open until 9pm at night, otherwise it closes at 6pm. For us, the two days in the park and one night accommodation was actually plenty. We saw and did most things in the park in this time. Even the children were happy to come home at the end of the second day. After all, when you add up the hours on your feet, everyone is pretty exhausted. Next time I would even consider a one day trip only, starting early and driving home late in the evening.

Out of peak season (April and Sep/Oct), Legoland Village offers special package prices for a hotel stay, breakfast, dinner and entrance tickets to the Legoland Park. All for a bargain price and definitely worth enquiring about. Check out Legoland Village.

Fighting the Fire at Legoland - it's a family thing

2006-05-02T11:54:00.000+01:00

One of the best attractions at Legoland in Denmark, is the new Falck Fire Brigade game. The whole family works as a team to drive their own scaled-down version of a fire engine, from the fire station to the burning house. It's takes two to pump the handle to force the fire engine to drive forward, and this is best left to mom and dad.

While one of your children drive, the other gets ready to hop off the other end and start pumping the water spray. Someone has to aim the hose and it's the first family to successfully put out the 'flames' through the windows of your house, then drive their fire engine back to the station, who wins.

It's an action-packed 7 or 8 minutes and you will be exhausted by the end of it. But believe me, the kids will have you queueing again for a second turn. Especially if the neighbours beat you.

From Hans Christian Andersen to Legoland in a day

2006-05-02T11:32:00.000+01:00

It's well worth stopping in Odense on the journey across Denmark. Especially if your children are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen's stories (which they should be). The author's childhood home is now a museum, and many of his belongings and literature works are here.

Home to around 190,00 people and Denmark's third largest city, Odense is a good stop-off for morning coffee. But be sure to hit the road again soon as possible though as Legoland beckons and after all, this is the purpose of this particular trip.

Legoland is everything you'd expect from a theme park. Accommodation and parking is close by and easy. You queue for a ticket (unless you purchase it in your hotel reception), but not for too long. And from the moment you step inside you can pretty much be sure of spending the next 8 hours on your feet.

There are cool rollercoasters, interactive games, rides though the jungle, the desert and a safari, and miniature lego cities from around the world. There are plastic macs for sale if it rains, plenty of toilet facilities, and fast food places to keep you dry, at least for a while. We can recommend the Knights Barbeque - sat inside a rustic tavern straight out of the middle ages, your own young knights will love this eatery.

Of course there are the shops to tempt you. No child will go home empty handed when you have finished checking out the lego store here. Simply grab a basket, and you can pick up your own lego pieces from mix and match buckets. Find all those pieces you've been missing from your lego sets at home! And come home with with a big bag of goodies for a bargain price. We also found the bionicle card games much cheaper here than anywhere else.

Malmö to Legoland - an early morning treat

2006-05-02T11:10:00.000+01:00

What better way to surprise our young children than to wake them up very, very early one sunny spring weekend, pile them into the car half asleep, blankets and pillows and all, and head off to Denmark and their favourite theme park - Legoland.

That's what we did, and thanks to good weather, a little pre-planning (picnic breakfasts for the road, playing cards and game-boys), and fantastic motorways between southern Sweden and Billund in Denmark, the trip to birthplace of Lego, in Billund Denmark, was a success. And one worth repeating.

We travelled from Malmö over the Oresundsbron (the Baltic Ocean bridge, opened July 2000), to Copenhagen. This journey over the bridge only takes 20 minutes by car at the most. Once we reached Copenhagen, we skirt around the city to start our trip through Denmark's island landscape and over two sprawling bridges. Even on the motorway, the scenery is pretty nice, and the views of the stunning bridges laid out ahead of you is quite breathtaking.

The entire journey to Legoland takes just under three hours, and we covered around 190 miles. We stayed on the motorway heading west, following the E45. After crossing the second bridge, we headed toward the famous city of Odense.

The birthplace, in 1805, of Hans Christian Andersen. Probably the greatest children's storyteller in the world.

Malmö- a shopper's world

2006-04-25T11:44:00.000+01:00

Start at Malmö's train station. It's only a few minutes, across the road and over the canal, into the main square, called Stortorget. You'll know you're there by the huge statue of King Karl X Gustav mounted on his horse. He's the chap who liberated Skåne from Denmark in 1658. Stortorget in a natural meeting place during the city's festivals and outdoor theatres. You can read the about the historical sites of the square in a separte blog later on.

Walk straight through stortorget for now, and head up the main pedestrianized area, on Södergatan. Past the bronzed statues of a marching brass band, and into your first shopping zone.

Punctuated by small cafes, larger restaurants, and pastry shops, the clothing boutiques along here are relatively main-stream, the chain stores that you see in every major city. But look out for the smaller boutiques crammed in between these large shop fronts, you'll be surprised at the diversity on offer. Some of these stores sell one-of-a-kind pieces that you won't find anywhere else.

Soon you need to swing right into Skomakaregatan, and head towards the old timber houses that date back to the 16th century. Here you land in Lilletorg, probably the most popular outdoor gathering place in the city. Stop at the cheese shop on your left just before entering the square, it's a heavenly paradise for cheese lovers. In the summer, you can get a plate of various cheeses made up, with some Swedish crackers. A few doors along is a systembolaget where you can purchase a good bottle of wine. The city park is just a short walk away and you have an impromptu picnic.

Lillatorg is filled with restaurants and cafe's. In the far corner of the square is an indoor market with a great selection of food to eat in or take out. The sushi trays are delicious here, as is the ice cream counter just inside the front door.

Malmö - what this city is all about

2006-04-25T08:50:00.000+01:00

It may not be as pretty as Stockholm, or as exciting as Amsterdam, but it will be .... one day soon. Malmö is growing and undergoing massive change. From an industrial city to a city of fast-paced commerce and rising house prices. It has all the important ingredients to make it a city Sweden is proud of - easily accessible, (we have great rail links, a harbour, an international airport and an excellent motorway system where driving is easy), wonderful shopping, green parklands, an abundance of restaurants, nightlife and cultural attractions.

The opening of the Øresund Bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen has had a huge impact of the growth of commerce and the transportation routes in and out of Sweden.

All positive. If city living is for you, then Malmö has many international hotels. Otherwise the attractive surrounding smaller towns and countryside along the coastlines of the Baltic Sea make summer in the south of Sweden idylic.

A stone's throw from the attractive older city, there is one particular area in Malmö that has undergone a drastic transformation. Västra Hamnen, or the western harbour, was once an old shipyard. Now it's known as the City of Tomorrow. The character of the area has changed with the building of new university buildings,
commercial offices and fantastic residential apartments with views over the Baltic ocean.

Architect Santiago Calatrava's created a spectacular apartment building in the area. It reaches 190 metres high, and is called the Turning Torso. It is the tallest building in Sweden. The Turning Torso consists of nine cubes, making up 54 floors. It has a 90° twist from the bottom to the top. Viewed at a distance, the entire building looks as if it's rotating.

Malmö is currently constructing an underground tunnel system for the railway. This will make moving around the city even easier, and lessen the traffic levels in the centre of the city.

Without doubt, the best way to see Malmö is to walk it. Plus hop on a bus for a few of the sights outside of the city. But first of all, I'm going to walk you through the best shopping in town.

It's the witch and not the rabbit that comes knocking

2006-04-12T09:59:00.000+01:00

Easter. A time when we look forward to 4 days off in a row. A time to tend the garden, mow the lawn and clear away the refuse; paint the boat, wash the windows, or play street hockey with the kids.

That is, of course, for those who aren't interested in the Church and it's message.

For the Swedish folk in the north of the country, Easter is a time for the last of the winter sports. Many squeeze in a week of skiing in the Swedish mountains.

For the rest of us in this beautiful but chilly land, we are stamping the ground to be sure Spring has finally arrived. When it comes, it comes quickly with summer hot on it's heels.

The traditions of easter in Sweden include little girls dressing up as Easter witches. They go from door to door begging for candy or other treats. This habit is based on the tradition that Easter was the time when witches flew to the devil. You can also hear fireworks being set off on Easter night and see huge great bonfires being lit - again a relic of witchcraft whereby fires were believed to keep the witches away.

No one single Swedish child has ever heard of the sweet, cuddly Easter bunny, who leaves Easter eggs hidden in the garden on Easter sunday morning. More's the pity.

It's the tradition I grew up with, and not one I'm willing to give up so easily for the sake of a witch in my adopted country. After all, stories of easter bunnies are far more cute and kiddy-like than those of a witch - even though this witch is apparently quite nice and not at all wicked.

The custom of eating huge amounts of eggs dates back to the time when Lent prohibited us from eating eggs for 6 weeks. Come Easter time, eggs were in abundance and so an obvious menu choice. The dying of eggs is still widespread, traditionally done with onion peel, corn and birch leaves that are tied to the eggs before they are boiled. This way of decorating - charming though it may be - has been nearly completely replaced by the ready-to-go shop-bought variety of dyes and transfers that my kids and I love - the results are instant and colorful.

The food consumed at Easter has a religious connection in other ways too. Fish is consumed on Good Friday, as even long after the Reformation, Swedes still kept Good Friday as a fasting - that is, meatless - day.

And Easter Sunday wouldn't be complete without the traditional lamb. Connected of course to the Bible story of the first Passover celebrated by the Irsraelites in Egypt. Although lambing time traditionally came at New Year, we in modern times make sure that good old refridgeration makes possible fresh lamb for dinner a few months later too. And honestly, this is about the only time of year I bother to cook lamb. It always tastes fantastic and I love mint sauce, which leads me to wonder why I don't eat it more often. (Could it be I need a crash course on how to cook the perfect leg of lamb?) I don't see it on menus much in Sweden, and I rarely am served lamb when dining at friends, so I guess it's far less popular than in the States or particlarly in Britain, where I'm sure that a good old lamb roast graces the Sunday table of many families.

Now, back to that elusive Easter bunny...

Getting to Malmö

2006-04-03T09:26:00.000+01:00

Getting to Malmö is easy, and my family and friends all have their preferred routes.

Driving from England means that you have your own car with you all the time, which can be a blessing if you are taking a family vacation. You can take you car on the ferry from Harwich and sail overnight to Esbjerg in western Jutland, Denmark. From here, it's about a 4 hour drive across Denmark, over the Copenhagen-Malmö bridge, and into Malmö, Sweden. It's an easy route on major highways, and quite picturesque. Of course, you should stop off at one of many cafe's for breakfast and try the Danish cheeses. And if you want to do some Danish exploring before heading to Sweden, Hans Christian Andersen's hometown of Odense one of the popular attractions along your route.

You can fly directly into Malmö (Sturup) Airport, which is located about 30 kilometres drive east of Malmö city centre. Taxicabs are in abundance, and the taxi drivers have an pre-agreed set price for journeys into Malmö and Lund (25 km) and it's currently around 400 kr. Or it's easy to pick up a hire car (from companies such as Hertz and Avis) at the car rental desks inside the airport. An even cheaper option is to take the airport bus. Flygbussarna travel to malmö city regularly from the airport and a one way journey costs around SEK 90 and takes 40 minutes. The route to the city of Malmö is on an easy, conjestion-free highway along the E65.

Another easy option if your chosen airline doesn't fly into Malmö, is to aim for Copenhagen, Denmark's capital. Copenhagen airport is small and easy to navigate. The train terminal is underneath the arrivals lounge. You don't need to leave the airport. If you walk straight ahead to the end of the arrivals hall, the ticket and information booth is ahead of you. A train ticket to Malmö costs around SEK 90. You can pay in Swedish or Danish kronor, in Euro, or by credit card.

Purchase your train tickets at the information desk before getting on the elevator or escalator that will take you down to the platform. Check the monitors at the top of the elevator for your number platform you need to Malmö. The journey is about 20 minutes into the city, over and under the Baltic Sea (Öresund).

When you arrive at Malmö train station, you are almost in the heart of the city. There is a transport information booth at the train station called Skånetrafiken, they are great at helping you plan your journey - and obviously buses are much cheaper than taxis, which are, of course, waiting outside should you need one. If you plan on using the buses a lot (the service is very good), purchase a bus-card in advance to save you needing small change all the time.

Just climb aboard, it's time to navigate the city.

Visiting Malmö, an introduction

2006-03-13T17:25:00.000+01:00

I liked the city of Malmö, (Sweden's third largest), the very first time I visited. That is, I liked the city centre. The outskirts of the city, like many others, are decidely unattractive. Miles of ring roads, bleak high-rise apartments, and rather ugly facades of out-of-town shopping malls. There are certain parts of Malmö that pertain to the concrete jungles of the 1960's. Buildings of a non-distinct shape and form. And grey, masses of grey everywhere.

But, there is hope.

As you enter the inner city, streets lined with modern shops of every distinction run parallel to vast parklands and lakes. The busiest high street twists and turns sideways down into smaller roads that lead into timber houses from the 16th century. The city has many squares, each with a charm of it's on, and each one a natural gathering place of people. The main streets cut through a maze of canals, that are flanked by designer boutiques and restaurants. In August the streets are bursting with festival life as we celebrate Sweden's biggest event of all, the crayfish festival. At first glance, I sorely missed a Macy's, a Bloomingdale's, The Honey Baked Ham Company, Smoothie Bars and Marks and Spencers. On closer inspection, I found everything I'd been looking for, and much more.

Welcome to Malmö, the best is yet to come.

Learning to love my adopted homeland of Sweden

2006-02-06T10:16:00.000+01:00

My first ever visit to Sweden was in the winter of 1996. I spent 6 weeks living in Stockholm. And despite the cold and snow that enveloped the city, brought traffic to a standstill, and made getting from A to B difficult to say the least, it is most definitely, one of my favourite cities in Europe. What a glittering place Sweden's capital truely is.

At this time, I was in transit. On my way leaving one country behind me, bound for the States to start a new career. Sweden was a stop-over. During these 6 weeks, I tucked my language book and swedish/english dictionary under my arm and started exploring. I also bought a winter coat - not something I needed in the Australian summer I had left behind me.

At that time, I never dreamt I would eventually live in Sweden. But here I am many years later, this time living on a beautiful peninsular, on the southwest tip of the country, surrounded by the Baltic Sea. In a land that I once knew so little about, and that my friends the world over have little clue about either, I believe it's time to share a few facts of this nordic place. Most important of all, there are a few people who need to know that it may be Scandinavia, but actually we don't live in total darkness in wintertime......

I live in the fourth largest country in Europe. Sweden is around 500 kilometres wide and nearly 1,600 kilometres from north to south - that's 450,000 square kilometres of land, and that makes it big. And yet the population is under 10 million people. When people talk about buying a place in the country, in say, England, then you imagine the high demand and even higher prices for houses. Here in Sweden, a place in the country is a fraction of the cost, due to the sheer fact that there is so much land to spare.

I don't live out in the country. I tend to have breathing difficulties when taken too far away from citylife. My first question when my Swedish husband and I drove extensively for the first time throughout the southern half of Sweden, was "Where are all the people?".

Even so, it's a fact that most of Sweden's population live in the southern part of the country, and there are areas in the far north that are completely unpopulated. Because of it's size, the climate changes dramatically from north to south. Way down here in the south, I love our hot summers, and the winters are extremely cold and always snowy. We don't seem to get a great deal of rain, not the sort of relentless rain that can go on for days. But the price we pay here in the flatlands of Skåne, is that the fields are not as green when the Spring arrives.

Our vast forestlands and many waterways are dotted with over 100,000 lakes throughout the country. And Stockholm is the largest city, Gothenburg on the west coast is next, followed by Malmö in the south, which is my nearest city, just 20 minutes from home and an easy half-hour train trip from the Danish capital Cophenhagen.

Let's talk about the people here. The Sami, or Laps, are a minority people who live in northern Sweden. They share their own culture and language. We have close friends whose grandparents herd reindeer in the north for a living. In the very northern territories of Sweden, many Finns live, close to their homeland border.

Swedish cultural mix is changing. Due to the great number of immigrants coming into Sweden, about one in every five people here now have a foreign background. I have many friends from Denmark (perhaps to escape the high Danish taxes!), know other moms who have moved here from The Netherlands, and also Germany, a country from which Sweden has derived many of it's traditions. It makes our children's school lives interesting, when they can have a playdate with a group of friends whose common language is of course Swedish, but between them all they speak five different languages. And that, I think, is pretty cool.

The eel parties of Skåne

2006-02-05T14:05:00.000+01:00

One of my swedish friends asked why I hadn't yet written about the famous eel feasts - "ålagille" - of southern Sweden. Good question. Actually I have yet to attend my first eel party, and therefore haven't been able to write about this eagerly awaited experience. But as eel parties are pretty "exclusive", I have decided that they deserve a mention.

As "Surströmming" is to the people of the north, so are eels blessed to the southerners of Sweden. Their time comes in the autumn, when the evening light of summer diminishes into shorter days. It's in this darkness - known as "eel darkness" (ålamörkret)- that these creatures are unable to see the fisherman's nets and so trapped in large quantities during their struggle to migrate towards the Sargasso Sea. And thus the season of eel parties begins.

Right now, demand for eel meat is high throughout the world, and as it is feared that the number of eels are declining, these tasty creatures have become somewhat of a delicacy.

At a typical eel party, you will be offered grand selection of different types of eel, all prepared in various ways. Smoked, grilled or stuffed, I'm told they are hard to resist. Whether or not your stomach is prepared is another matter. I have heard that if there are a large quantity of eels on offer, then there must be an even larger quantity of schnapps available to wash them all down.

And I daresay that in true Scandinavian style, the Swedes probably have a special song about this custom that must be sung aloud prior to the downing of a glass of schnapps.

Traditionally, to finish off the evening, there must be one person who is proclaimed the "Eel King". That's right, a golden crown will adorn the head of the one who is able to lift the most live eels at one time from a barrel.

And the Swedes think this is fun?

Well, you'll have to excuse me if I don't rush to the front of the queue to try this party game when I'm hopefully, invited to my first eel party this coming Fall.

Plundering the Tree

2006-01-24T12:51:00.000+01:00

Our first snow of the season arrived on December 26th, missing a white Christmas by just a few hours. We had two weeks of fantastic fun, as the holidays seemed longer than ever - days blending together as, at every opportunity, we made the most of the white hills and the frozen sea for sledging and skating.

Then, all of sudden, it's gone. Melted away with the last day of vacation before school starts once more and children are thrown back into their routines again.

With the end of the snow, the Christmas decorations and holiday memories are packed away for another year. The tree is stripped bare, of all but the candies and chocolates left to dangle off the branches in their shiny wrappers. And then the 13th night of January arrives. A time in Sweden when we celebrate with a last seasonal feast.

In other countries, Christmas is well and truely over by the Twelfth Night (the Feast of Epiphany). But for the Swedes and the Finns, they prefer to stretch their Christmas by an extra week, thinking it's a shame to do away with the Christmas lights while the winter is still so bleak outside. So we give outselves another week until January 13th. This, in Sweden, has the name's day of Knut, and so is our popular expression this day "tjugondedag Knut" ("twentieth day Knut"). The family gathers, eats, toasts, and sings. At the end of the evening, when the children have waited impatiently with their eyes fixes firmly on those bright candies, it's time to throw out the tree.

Yes, here in Skåne, the Christmas tree is bid farewell in true style. Placed in the centre of the room, each family member must join hands and surround the tree. Traditional songs are sung, and I still marvel and just how well my bilingual children remember each and every word so well. A whole year has gone by since we sung these songs, how can they possibly know these tunes? Meanwhile, mom still struggles with the melody. Not that it really matters, my voice can't be heard amongst the numerous family members present, belting out the songs and swinging the children high in the air at the same time. How they love it.

Finally, out of breath and out of tunes, the children reach up for the candy bags that have been tantalizing them for the last few hours.

Then the chanting starts. Followed by clapping and stamping of the feet, we take the tree and literally throw it out the door. That's it. Christmas over. The 13th of January is undeniably the octave of Epiphany.

Great, we can at last sweep away the pine needles and pack away the nativity scene that this year, faired quite well. We only broke one peice and that was one of the angel's wings. Glued together you can hardly notice - just as the tail of the Donkey was fixed on so carefully last year. A few days later, when there really is no sign of Christmas left in the house, my mind turns to Spring.

Hold on. It's starting to feel rather chilly out... Oh no!! minus 5 degress centigrade and here comes the snow - again. Thicker and deeper than before. And overnight our streets and gardens are transformed once again. "It's looks like Narnia!" says my little son, excitedly. Comparing the white of the forests with a trailor he had seen of the new movie out this month at the theatres. Oh, more snow, I thought rather deflated.

For a while I was rather depressed. I'm a hot-weather person at heart and was longing for the first sign of Spring.

However, the weekend started and it was so very, very cold. But true to Swedish style, we took the right clothing and headed out. Two hours later, under the blue skies and bright sunshine, none of us were cold. Just sledging, and sliding, and trekking, and the building of a magnificent igloo. And trying to capture as much as we could on camera. Our best fun ever in the snow, as it turns out.

So I guess I should rest my complaint and enjoy the season. After all, we did choose to live here. And that Scandinavian lifestyle kind of grows on you...

Why Lutfisk will never reach my Christmas table.

2006-01-12T12:21:00.000+01:00

Lutfisk. Another one of those Swedish traditions that demands a place on the Christmas table just because. It's rather like our Christmas plum pudding, in the sense that you are not entirely sure you like it, rather you eat it because it's tradition and you've grown up used to the taste of it.

Two years ago, when when we hosted a family Christmas here in Sweden, I served a traditional, flaming Christmas pudding for desert (brought over to Sweden from England curtesy of my mother).

Not one person, apart from myself, ate it. Not even the brandy butter. Just plain horrible, they thought.

Now, I truely do love Christmas pudding. You can imagine my delight when, unwrapping a small gift I spotted under the tree this year, I found my very own, single-portion size of Walker's Christmas Pudding. Tired of hearing me moan that I couldn't find a Christmas pudding anywhere throughout the entire nation of Sweden, my husband had scoured the shops in the city until he found me one - tucked away in a tiny speciality shop in the old part of town. I had to eat it immediately of course, so missed out on brandy butter. But the fresh cream worked fine and this time I didn't both offering anyone a taste.

Back to Lutfisk. What is this odd-textured fish all about? For the first time ever, I was invited to try some from a traditional Christmas table.

Lutfisk is air-dried white fish (such as cod, haddock or whiting). First of all, the fish is soaked in cold water for about a week, then in a solution of cold water and lye (yes, this is caustic soda). This process reduces the protein content of the fish and give it it's famous jelly-like consistency. Of course, the fish is now poisonous, so needs another week of soaking in fresh water before cooking. Traditionally, the lutfisk, when not on the Christmas table, is served with green peas, white potatoes and bacon.

Sounds revolting? Yep. If someone had actually told me before hand, about the process of making lutfisk, then I probably would have politely refused to try some. However, in my ignorance and curiosity, I did. The jelly consistancy and odd taste were nothing compared to the terrible texture of the fish. Unable to swallow the mouthful I had taken, I had to quickly spit it back onto the plate.

I don't think anyone was looking.

I have to commend my husband for actually swallowing his, although I did notice he pushed the remainder of his helping to the side on his plate. Later on, he commented to me that it was probably his worse eating experience ever.

So, to all you Scandinavians of Nordic countries, I have just one question about your tradition of eating Lutfisk at Christmastime - or indeed at any other time - why, why, oh why?

Christmas Days in Sweden

2006-01-12T11:27:00.000+01:00

True to Swedish tradition, Santa did come knocking at the door bearing gifts on the 24th December. He slowly entered the room and looked around .... my children's eyes wide with expectation. "Are there any good girls and boys here?" he boomed with a chuckle.

Now, it must be told that my children had already met the "real" Santa, the previous weekend. Shortly before Christmas we took them into the city. We had planned a Christmas shopping spree and a tour of the city to see the giant Christmas trees, Santa's cottage, a ride on the vintage carousel in the main square...you get the picture. As we started weaving our way through the hundreds of other Christmas shoppers, it quickly became clear that this had to be an excursion for fun only, and forget the Christmas shopping. Children are far too excited and impatient to stand at a checkout queue this time of year.

We greeted many Santas, but the one that really won our hearts was sat up high, perched on a glittering silver and purple throne, next to a mesmerizing 10 meter high Christmas tree, in the foyer of the most lavish department store in the city. "This is the real Santa mom!" whispered the children as they ran to greet him. In a steady hand Santa wrote down the boys' names in his enormous gold book, somehow already knew their age, and wrote down their requested gift. "Playstation please" said my oldest, boldly. "Is that Playstation 1, or 2?" asked Santa. Hey!, this guy really did know his toys! This big beautiful Santa had just made my children's Christmas. He offered them pepperkaka (gingerbread cookies) from his secret stash as a parting gift. "Be good!" Santa whispered as he turned to wink at me as we left.

So who was this other chap sitting in the living room of my sister-in-law's house this Christmas Eve? After 5 minutes, it didn't really matter who it was, because the gifts were distributed and children hurried to hug Santa and wave him goodbye as quickly as possible. For they had been instructed to wait until Santa was gone to tear off the wrapping.

And suddenly, there was the Playstation, just as Santa had promised.

On the 25th, it's my turn to celebrate in my true British style (with a few American dishes thrown in for good measure). Having eaten a Swedish feast the evening before, somehow I still had room for a full-blown traditional Christmas dinner with my family and the in-laws. The cranberry sauce was my best ever and the stuffing I made from a new recipe, vanished so quickly that the plan of having cold-stuffing-turkey sandwiches on Boxing Day was soon out the window. The day continued to get busier and busier as family members came and went. Not least, they were also here to celebrate my husband's birthday this day. So the gift-unwrapping continue well into the evening. The log fire kept ablazing, the chocolates melted, and the whisky, wine and champagne disappeared.

The only thing missing was crackers. I didn't forget to buy them, I just couldn't find them here. Only one party shop in the city stocked them and unfortunately they were rather small and pathetic and were really not fit for the Christmas table. What I was after was the true luxury Marks and Sparks variety.

Next Christmas I'll have them flown over to Sweden in good time.

On a high note, I did discover an American and British food shop in the city. Coleman's horseradish sauce, Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly, Branston pickle and lemon jelly cubes are now stacked in the refridgerator. Unfortunately, the Christmas crackers were sold out.... hey! the Swedes aren't stealing our tradition of pulling crackers and wearing silly hats are they?

Upon spotting Betty Crocker cake mixes, I breathed a sign of relief. I need never attempt to bake my own cake again. God bless Betty, for at last she has reached Swedish turf.

There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather

2005-12-09T11:15:00.000+01:00

....Just bad clothing. That's what the Swedes say. And of course they have to. Scandanavia is chilly this time of year, there is no doubt about that. Do you think I chose to live as far south as I could possibly get in Sweden by accident? It's an enormous land mass remember, that stretches up into Lapland where July is still host to snow on the ground. So, as a person who has also lived in some real hotspots, I celebrated my move to Sweden by purchasing a warm and cosy winter coat. My first in many years.

On the plus side, I have to admit that I don't need to use an umbrella much. You see, we get far less rain than, say, in England - but the downside to this is that the fields are not as green in the springtime. And during the winter months it's more common to see people out walking with ski sticks than needing to use umbrellas that invariably turn inside out at the first gust of wind.

If the snow doesn't reach us before Christmas, then we can usually guarantee it's arrival by mid January. And the Scandinavian snow is quite special.

Couples with blue sunny skies and a crystal stillness, the landscape becomes breathtakingly beautiful. And in the words of the song, the snow is truely "deep and crisp and even". The ocean freezes over to a few metres out from the shoreline and winter skaters make the most of this window of opportunity, when one can actually ice skate on the sea.

Every child wears a snowsuit, without exception, for the whole season. It means that they can slip and slide without a care in the world. And stay warm and dry for many hours. The outdoor life of the typical Swede remains just that throughout the entire year, due to their good wardrobe sense.

Now, in addition to the mandatory snowsuit, each child must own a pulka - a small sledge. Here in Skåne, we have rather a hard job of finding hilly landscapes to make the most of sledging downhill, so the hills that you can find that actually give the best acceleration, are always rather packed. Even so, the children are so determined to use their sledges that it's up to the adults to pull them along the snow-covered pavements instead. There is no "opt-out" option here.

So pull we do. The pulka are simply lined with sheepskins and become the ultimate method of transportation for a youngster, replacing strollers, bicycles or scooters utterly and completely during the winter months. The children love this mode of transportation and, well, at least it's one way for the moms and dads to keep warm - we just head for the nearest glögg stop in the village.

An early Lucia celebration

2005-12-07T12:28:00.000+01:00

My earlier article "Who is Lucia?" already describes the celebration of "Lucia" in Sweden. Traditionally held annually on December 13th, Lucia came early for us this year.

Yesterday evening my son's class combined a Lucia parade with a Christmas party - a double celebration and definitely double the fun. To say the children were excited is a gross understatement.

As we entered the doors to the school foyer, miniature Lucia's, gingerbread men and the odd Santa raced at full speed around in circles waiting for the clock to strike six. And amidst all the noise, squeals and laughter, there was just one Star Boy - "stjärngosse" - in amongst the crowd. This year my son got to be the only Star Boy, assistant to Lucia. And rather than wanting to follow the crowd of the usual gingerbread men or Santas that he enjoyed last year, he reveled in his unique roll. A reminder once again to us how quickly he's growing up.

Dressed in a white smock and bearing a golden star, my young son kept a careful poise so the star-studded, tall pointed hat he wore sat carefully on his head. He boldly walked into the line up of 20 children to join in with the complete redition of Lucia songs.

Joyful, is a word that comes to mind.

With great concentration, these children performed a medley of songs of tunes that stay with a swedish child for the rest of their lives. The familiar songs are second nature as "Away in a manger" or "Jingle bells" are to a child whose mother-tongue is English.

After an encore to much applause, I am quite certain most mothers would admit to the odd tear of pride. Finally the children could let off some steam after the build up of weeks of practise, by indulging in Lussekatts (saffron baked buns) and Julmust (a sort of Christmas spiced cola) and candy by the bagful.

Believe me, they deserved it.

The stjärngosse outfit is carefully packed away for my next child, who perhaps also wants to feel as special and as unique as his sibling did this night.

The First Advent - why and how we celebrate

2005-11-28T11:01:00.000+01:00

Throughout my childhood I don't remember celebrating the first advent, or paying much attention to it at all. It's certainly wasn't a memorable day in anyway, and neither at home nor in our community do I remember it being a big deal. And I'm not quite sure why this day slipped me by each year. Was it that we weren't a church-going family?

But I also don't remember noticing the shops celebrating First Advent with prominent candle displays, pre-Christmas sales, or street fairs taking place; and in our modern world it's usually commercializm that reminds us first that a special date is coming up.

As a wife and mother now living in Sweden, the first Advent is an important date in the family calendar. Celebrated by attending church, visiting the local village fairs and the lighting of the first advent candle at home. It's a tradition I've grown to appreciate and it's a time to enjoy the first hint of excitement in the children now they understand that Christmas is just around the corner. The true spirit of Advent is celebrated with expectation, anticipation, and preparation of the weeks ahead leading up to Christmas.

The word "Advent" means coming or arrival. The first advent celebrates the anticipation of the arrival of Jesus Christ. It is also the busiest time of year for the church. And the services are beautiful and memorable. I've come to discover that you should never be afraid of taking the children to church at such a young age for fear of them not sitting still for an hour. We do not attend regularly, but when we do the children are completely mesmerized by the stories, the colors, the choir and the music. We always come away wondering why we don't take them more often.

The first advent is celebrated on the Sunday nearest to November 30th. Each Sunday leading up to Christmas, families light an advent candle in their home. The children usually bring home their advent candles they have made and decorated at school for this event. It's seems to be a slightly solemn occassion, but it's also a time to gather friends and family and enjoy some good food and good company and plan the Christmas season.

This year we celebrated with children. My son's birthday was very recently, so we invited his friends for games, competitions, chocolate pancakes and birthday cake . The noise and excitement of 15 children in our house made our First Advent of the season as much fun as we could have possibly hoped for.

It's also the weekend when the children beg me to open up the Christmas box. All the Christmas decorations are taken out, dusted down, played with, and admired. Then we head off into the shops to buy a few new ones as we do each year. So roll on Second Advent, it's time to trim the tree....

Who is Lucia?

2005-11-22T12:55:00.000+01:00

Lucia: dispeller of darkness, bringer of hope, giver of light.

One of the prettiest festivals celebrated in Sweden takes place every year on December 13th - "Lucia" brings light to the winter darkness (connected with the latin word lux, meaning light).

A girl - dressed in white, with a red sash around her waist and lingonberry sprigs in her hair supporting candles (the battery-powered kind are used today) - represents the Christ child. She and her followers, including star boys, sing carols and Christmas songs to gathered audiences.

Everywhere you go on December 13th throughout Sweden, from the village to the big city, the melodic notes of the beautiful Sanka Lucia verses will greet you. Along with the smell of the freshly baked lussekatt, the traditional scroll shaped, saffron-flavored bread served on this day.

The best thing about this day for me, is heading up to my children's school when it's dark outside, and watching my boys walk and sing the Lucia parade. At this young age, they choose to be either star boys, or just for fun a gingerbread man ("pepparkakagubbe"). The oldest girl in the class usually is Lucia and leads the candlelight procession outside. It's beautiful and moving to hear the children sing the Lucia songs, knowing that they are practised relentlessly for the past couple of weeks with their classmates to get the words and the tune perfect. And they sound great. Hot chocolate (or glogg for the adults) and gingerbread await us afterwards, to keep us warm in the chilly outdoors.

The origins of this festival, which is stunning when performed in the night darkness, dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries from a German tradition. The representation of the Christ child started to make an appearance in German circles in Sweden. But not wanting it to become part of their Christmas celebrations, the Swedes reserved a special day on December 13th, traditionally the first day of the Christmas fast. The Christ child then assumed it's present-day saint's name of Lucia. Stockholm held it's first official Lucia Day in 1927.

Skåne's Geese

2005-10-03T20:20:00.000+01:00

I live on a peninsula on Sweden's southwest tip, the tiny stretch of land jutting out into the Baltic. Here in the southern most province of Skåne, we like our geese. In fact they are the symbol of our county, and more geese can be found on Skåne's grazing land than in any other place in Sweden.

Each evening, just before the sun disappears and while the sky is still dimly lit with a strange golden-blue light, you see the geese flying in perfect formation across the sky. But not before you hear them - their loud, barking voices will most certainly wake the children if your windows are not shut tight.

And on the 10th November we will present ourselves with a gastronomic goose feast celebrating the eve of Saint Martin's Day. At this point I must point out, that as with most festivals, the Swedes have a habit of celebrating on the eve of a special day, rather than the day itself. Don't ask me why, they simply believe it's the right thing to do and cannot offer me a satisfactory explanation. It's the same with Christmas.

Christmas celebrations and the Christmas feast itself all take place on the 24th December in the evening. By the time the children are tucked up in bed, Santa has already knocked at our front door and presented the gifts of the day to be opened.
It remains to be seen how many years my children will buy into the idea that, in our household, bedtime on the 24th is our "Night Before Christmas" and Santa pays us yet another visit - this time down the chimney while we are sleeping. We must be the only Swedish family opening our stockings the next morning and throwing out the reindeer's leftovers. But it's my tradition and one I will not give up so easily for my adopted country and this nonsense about celebrating on the "eve" of everything.

Back to St. Martin. The celebration originates in France, the patron saint's burial place. November is always a good time for sampling the new vintage, and so a celebratory feast was always provided to honour Saint Martin at this time. The custom found it's way into Germany, and then dug in it's heels in Sweden with the German immigrants. The Swedish custom of eating goose at this time of year was originally, of course, based on economics.

Geese are pretty fat and tasty in November.

So we in Skåne, being Skånce, celebrate the life of Saint Martin with a bumper goose on the table. And it's magnificent. It's roasted to perfection and served with local seasonable produce. You should, strictly speaking, enjoy a first course of black soup. But we all tend to give this a miss, knowing that the blood of the goose is the reason this odd-tasting soup has a rather off-putting color.

For desert, bring on the fabulous cake called a spettkaka. This is famous in Skåne and can be baked up to 1 meter high. Made with a mixture of egg yolks and sugar, baked on a skewer over an open fire, this cake looks like an intricate pattern of lacework. Unfortunately, the taste sensation is always rather a disappintment for me. It's rather too hard, too sweet and actually doesn't taste of much at all.

Well, what the heck. It makes a stunning center piece for that prize goose.

Thanks, thank you, tack

2005-09-18T21:36:00.000+01:00

They are a very polite bunch, the Swedes. Not to mention grateful. Within the framework of a social life in Sweden, we must always remember to tender our thanks, and not just the once.

For example, let's take the dinner party at home. A casual dinner party can be a relaxed affair, but for the formal kind where a particular event is being celebrated, there are copious amounts of thank you's.

Starting with a chosen male guest who is assigned the honorary seat on the left of the hostess, he is expected to make the first speech of thanks. He must choose his time carefully, before the meal comes to a complete end, but not to disturb the flow of conversation. But before the guests completely empty their glasses of wine. His thanks tend to be along the lines of praising the hostess for her invitation, her menu, her table setting. He than usually toasts the hosts.

This, for the most part, is considered a mandatory speech if there are more than 8 people sat around the table. It doesn't have to be as pompous as it sounds. Most are jovial, good natured but sincere.

Afterwards, when guests are leaving the table, they usually find the host and thank them individually for the meal. Within one week of the party, guests really should write a note of thanks to the hosts, or at least call with a thank you.

And last but by no means least, next time you see or bump into the hosts while out and about, you must be sure to thank them one last time for the latest dinner party. "Tack for senast": thanks for the last time.

This is the one I'm still practising, and usually forget. And the one thing that will make me stand apart from the crowd in Sweden.

Why you should be aware of Surströmming

2005-09-18T21:34:00.000+01:00

Why? It smells. From the minute you crack open the tin, there is no mistaking the potent odour of Surströmming. If you're a first timer, then quite likely have you never smelled anything so foul in your entire life. And to think you eat this.

Surströmming is fermented Baltic herring. The custom of eating this culinary feast occurs in August in the very northern parts of Sweden. It dates back to the time centuries ago, when only a little salt was used to preserve the herring, as salt was expensive back then. This starts the process of fermenting the fish.

The fermenting continues inside tins today, and the result is such that one year on, the smell of the fermented herring is unbelievably pungent. And not in a nice way either. If you can eventually bring yourself to taste such a foul smelling food, then it actually doesn't taste that bad.

Surströmming is produced on various islands in the Gulf of Bothnic to this day. Once a food of the poor used for survivial throughout harsh winter months, now considered a delicacy. Such are our times.

So if your new Swedish best friend challanges you to try some Surströmming, you may want to think twice. Or at the very least start with pegging your nose. Thankfully the addition of yellow potates and thin, unleavened barley bread, known as tunnbröd, helps wash everything down. That and the schnapps of course.

Crayfish in August - a Swedish Ritual

2005-09-18T21:32:00.000+01:00

Nowhere else in the world is the crayfish so fervently worshipped than in Sweden.

In each of Sweden's three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, you will find the biggest crayfish parties in the world taking place in August.

The custom, that is only about 100 years old, is born from the celebration of the returning crayfish to the Swedish table. The catching of crayfish was once prohibited during about 10 months of the year.

At one time the lakes in central Sweden were crammed full of crayfish. But over-fished as a result of high demand for this delicacy from restaurants in Paris, London and Berlin, the abundance of crayfish was suddenly threatened. To make matters was, at the beginning of the 1900's a parasite wiped out many rare species of crayfish.

Today not only local crayfish are on the menu, but Sweden is now the world's biggest importer of crayfish from Turkey, Spain and the USA.

And rightfully so.

The Swedes are not only skilled at handling the crayfish itself to ensure the best meat is totally consumed, their consumption level is impressively enormous.

The crayfish party itself is a true delight. Forced to eat using your fingers, the result is a casual, relaxed outdoor party, with plenty of fat and juicy crayfish (the stars of the show), music, singing and snapps. The latest party I attended was a real treat. The hosts divided us into teams, and each team wrote and performed a short song to a popular "schnapps" tune. Each team member wrote a line of the song, but as we weren't allowed to read what the other had written, the whole performance became comical. Coupled with the fact each of us in team represented a different country, and we wrote our own line in our native language, the song was hilariously absurd. However, it was mandatory, the schnapps was delicious, and we weren't that far off key, so who's complaining?

The shops offer just about every piece of table and party wear you can imagine for this special event - everything decorated with images of the crayfish. From napkins and plates, to crayfish knives, glasses and decanters. And last but by no means least, a full moon paper lantern is hung above the party table - in the absense of an authentic full moon, that is.

Yes, let the party last...

Sweden's National Day - 6th June

2005-05-05T10:16:00.000+01:00

For a country with such a long and colorful history, we were pretty late into the playing field when it came to claiming our own national day.

It wasn't until 1983 that Sweden officially declared 6th June as it's national day. Even now, we don't celebrate with the blaze of glory that, say, the USA do on 4th July. (I wonder if we can introduce the concept of tailgate parties and a Swedish tune equivalent to the popularity of "Yankee Doodle" to the reserved Swedes?) Up until now, June 6th in Sweden has always been a working day. Most of the ceremonies, parades and royal flag presentations took place in the evening because of this.

June 6th a is significant day in history for the Swedes as this was the day that Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden in 1523. He's the chap who liberated Sweden from it's union with Denmark. To this day, the present King of Sweden presents flags to various organizations and people in a lavish ceremony to mark the day.

It must be noted, that never before have I been to a country where the flying of the national flag is done with such enthusiasm in one's own private back yard. Flag poles are a standard feature in any garden and the hoisting of the blue and yellow flag the minute Spring arrives is as normal as taking the dog for a walk. House after house displaying the colors of Sweden is quite a site to be seen on any residential street.

So good for you Sweden, you have finally rolled over and given us the day off on our national day. All-be-it at the expense of our annual "Annandags Pingst" holiday. So let's celebrate national day in style like the country deserves - without, for the first time ever, having to get up early for the morning rush.

Walpurgis Night in Sweden

2005-05-04T10:33:00.000+01:00

I just celebrated my 3rd annual Walpurgis Night in Sweden.

By this time you'd have thought I would have known all the words to all the traditional tunes, but still I was struggling. Rescue came when someone thrust a song sheet into my hand, but even with the words in front of my eyes, by that time I was struggling with the melody. Well, there's always next year.

Choral singing really let's rip on this night throughout Sweden. It's actually Walbura's Eve (Valborgsmässoafton) when we celebrate, the night of the 30th April. The feast of St Walburga comes on 1st May.

We are marking the end of winter and beginning of Spring. Another good excuse for a party. Spring has been with us a while by this time, at least in the south of Sweden, but some parts in the north are only just bidding farewell to the frosts.

On the evening before May Day it's traditional that we gather around a huge bonfire. Rarely in one's own backyard, this celebration is a well-organized social event for the whole community. Hundreds or thousands of people will attend, depending on where you live.

The Swedish custom originates from the Walpurgis fires of north Germany.Walpurgis - the driving away the witches. Years ago, most german immigrants usually came into the Stockholm area, so the custom grew from there to the rest of the country.

Some say we celebrate with fire to commemorate past times when we would drive the witches away who used to gather to worship the devil. Others say the fires simply scared off predators before the cattle and sheep were put out to pasture for the season.

Either way, legend has it that if the fire flames in a northerly direction, we're in for a cold spring. A southerly direction means we're guaranteed a warm spring. And we sure need it after a long scandinavian winter.

The music is live and happy, and brass bands are always included. Everyone seems to know all the songs and melodies (except yours truely)and heartily joins in. The choral effect is tremendous, and done by firelight the whole affect is pretty dazzling.

It's the witch and not the rabbit who comes knocking

2005-04-21T13:19:00.000+01:00

Easter. A time when we look forward to 4 days off in a row. A time to tend the garden, mow the lawn and clear away the refuse; paint the boat, wash the windows, or play street hockey with the kids.

That is, of course, for those who aren't interested in the Church and it's message.

For the Swedish folk in the north of the country, Easter is a time for the last of the winter sports. Many squeeze in a week of skiing in the Swedish mountains.

For the rest of us in this beautiful but chilly land, we are stamping the ground to be sure Spring has finally arrived. When it comes, it comes quickly with summer hot on it's heels.

The traditions of easter in Sweden include little girls dressing up as Easter witches. They go from door to door begging for candy or other treats. This habit is based on the tradition that Easter was the time when witches flew to the devil. You can also hear fireworks being set off on Easter night and see huge great bonfires being lit - again a relic of witchcraft whereby fires were believed to keep the witches away.

No one single Swedish child has ever heard of the sweet, cuddly Easter bunny, who leaves Easter eggs hidden in the garden on Easter sunday morning. More's the pity.

It's the tradition I grew up with, and not one I'm willing to give up so easily for the sake of a witch in my adopted country. After all, stories of easter bunnies are far more cute and kiddy-like than those of a witch - even though this witch is apparently quite nice and not at all wicked.

The custom of eating huge amounts of eggs dates back to the time when Lent prohibited us from eating eggs for 6 weeks. Come Easter time, eggs were in abundance and so an obvious menu choice. The dying of eggs is still widespread, traditionally done with onion peel, corn and birch leaves that are tied to the eggs before they are boiled. This way of decorating - charming though it may be - has been nearly completely replaced by the ready-to-go shop-bought variety of dyes and transfers that my kids and I love - the results are instant and colorful.

The food consumed at Easter has a religious connection in other ways too. Fish is consumed on Good Friday, as even long after the Reformation, Swedes still kept Good Friday as a fasting - that is, meatless - day.

And Easter Sunday wouldn't be complete without the traditional lamb. Connected of course to the Bible story of the first Passover celebrated by the Irsraelites in Egypt. Although lambing time traditionally came at New Year, we in modern times make sure that good old refridgeration makes possible fresh lamb for dinner a few months later too. And honestly, this is about the only time of year I bother to cook lamb. It always tastes fantastic and I love mint sauce, which leads me to wonder why I don't eat it more often. (Could it be I need a crash course on how to cook the perfect leg of lamb?) I don't see it on menus much in Sweden, and I rarely am served lamb when dining at friends, so I guess it's far less popular than in the States or particlarly in Britain, where I'm sure that a good old lamb roast graces the Sunday table of many families.

Now, back to that elusive Easter bunny...

Midsummer: celebrating the season of the midnight sun

2005-04-05T09:38:00.000+01:00

It's a scandinavian tradition we all should adopt. A summer solstice festival , an old-style celebration of dancing, singing, and enjoying the company of closest friends. It's one of the happiest parties you will ever experience, and certainly the most colorful.

The roots of midsummer day, 24th June, can be traced back to other May Day celebrations in ancient Rome, and medieval France and Germany. The centerpiece of the festival is the midsummer pole. Decorated with leaves, flowers and ribbons, the midsummer pole is seen in centers of villages, town and in the countryside. Smaller versions adorn the front gardens of many houses.

Midsummer is celebrated the nearest weekend to the actual midsummer day. A few days before roads are packed with people leaving for the weekend to get to their summer houses, or gather at friends. On midsummer eve, the traditional menu includes new potoates boiled in dill and served with matjes herring or various other marinated herrings. Soured cream with chives is among one of the many accompaniments. Most tables invariably include schnapps to drink, and strawberries and cream deserts.

Music is traditional, songs are traditional and for many, and the dancing continues well into the night. In the very northern parts of Sweden of course, this is the season of the midnight sun, and so provides a rare sight that never dims to more than twilight throughout the night.

At one time, unmarried girls would make up bunches of wild flowers and put them under their pillow on midsummer night, to wish their ideal future husband into their dreams - if only life were so simple still...