Lost in Stockholm » culture

Norway vs Sweden – The Differences {Venn Diagram}

Sapphire — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:01:02 +0000

Found this great venn diagram from diesel sweeties:

It also made me think of the differences between the two countries…

Norway
They always sound happy when they speak
Lax
Super athletic
NATO
Two languages: Nynorsk & Bokmål (why oh why…)
North Pole

Sweden
Land of the semlor, kanelbulle
The Swedish Bikini Team
Station wagon baby-mobiles
Fil
Stinky fish
Should have never given Norway independence

Maybe we need to make a new one??

Swedish Culture Win – Shoes Off Please

Sapphire — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:06:16 +0000

There’s this ongoing battle in many countries. The dispute can destroy dinner parties and make friendships awkward. Some people compare this battle to the War of the Roses, eternal until death do us part.

It is called – The Battle of Wearing Shoes Indoors!

I for one, do not allow shoes in the house. I never have. I never will.

Here’s why:

I am Indian, and like all other Asians, our home is our sanctuary. To not takes shoes off is a sign of disrespect to the owners of the house.
I am a Hindi and a Jain, and as such, our home is also a place of worship. God doesn’t like people schleeping in with shoes and shit on them.
I live in Sweden and not wearing shoes indoors is the biggest Swedish cultural win ever. Most of the year it rains or snows in Sweden. Why on earth would you drag stone, snow, mud filled shoes into a home? And Swedes pride themselves on keeping fastidiously clean homes (Americans, for all your cleaning supplies, the Swedes are better at keeping a home tidy). Plus, Swedes find it rude to walk around in a home with shoes you wear for the outside world.
Shoes indoors are gross. No matter how many times I hear the, “ohhh, but it can make people uncomfortable to take their shoes off. What if they have smelly feet or bunions or holey socks?” Seriously? If someone gives me that dumbass rhetorical question, my answer is “maybe you should see a doctor and buy a pair of socks without holes.”
I am lazy and do not want to wipe scuff marks or water marks from your shoes in my home.
Your home is your home. You have the right to ask, request, and in standoffs, demand people to remove their shoes. Just as a guest does not have the right to eat food not served to them or throw their coats on the floor or eat before the host (in a formal dinner), a guest can certainly take their shoes off.
Wearing shoes all the time is stifling for my feet. Who wants their feet to be smushed all day long in a pair of sneakers or heels?

When I grew up, half the homes I would visit would take their shoes off and half would not. Even when I lived in New York and the temperature was -30C and blizzard conditions, I saw some friends keep their shoes on.

At my birthday parties, which occurred in December, my mom would always run around and ensure kids took those shoes off. I’m glad she did; no wants to clean up snow blizzard crap on the carpet. Plus, it was a to teach the kids, and adults, that we do ask for respect when you come into our home.

There were always some kids who would cry when they had to take their shoes off. They probably turned into the same adults who “can never take their shoes off because I’ve been doing it for 15 years.” Gross, don’t you want your feet to get some air? No wonder athlete’s foot is a huge problem in the United States.

But after doing some reading, the shoes on indoors turns out to be Anglo-Saxon tradition. Britain, northern Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, and some South American countries.

The Daily Mail had a hilarious article about wearing shoes indoors.

“Is asking guests to remove their shoes before they cross your threshold good housekeeping or horribly naff? After all, the suggestion is that your friends’ shoes are so grubby that they are bound to be treading something unspeakable over your carpets.”

Insinuating that your friends shoes are “so grubby” is misleading; shoes ARE dirty. What “unspeakables” would someone tread? Dirt, leaves, mud, water, snow, stones, dog shit, cigarette butts, snus, gum. No unspeakables here, shoes tread dirt.

“One poster wondered whether it was OK to ask guests to remove their footwear at the housewarming party she was hosting. ‘No,’ was the overwhelming response.
‘I’m picturing a Barratt home, twigs in a vase covered in fairylights and that Ikea picture of pebbles,’ sniped one woman on the forum.”

Remind me to never invite the nay-sayers into my home.

“Podiatrist Kate Millns says: ‘Asking people to remove their shoes is giving your guests unnecessary stress, as most people like to keep their feet hidden. It’s more hygienic to make them keep their shoes on, especially if they are not wearing socks or tights.”

By far the most bizarre of all, how does keeping one shoes on be more hygienic than taking them off? Honestly, if your feet smell a lot, you should be seeing a doctor, and possibly not wearing shoes every second of every day.

What to do in a Nordic household:

Please do take your shoes off being being asked to do-so. The whole “Opps, I’m American, I didn’t realize it” is a lame and disrespectful excuse to a homeowner.
If you are attending a dinner party and do want to wear a pair of heels, ask the host if it is okay to bring the heels in a bag. Clean the soles with soap and water and wrap them up in a nice bag to take to the party.
I sometimes take a pair of my flat jutas to a party. I have cold feet and these shoes are meant for indoors only. They’re also very cute and stylish.
Some hosts will have a strict no shoes policy. That is especially true with people who have soft wooden floors. My friend had an inflytningsfest (housewarming party) and made the mistake of allowing people to wear clean heels in the house. Only two of the thirty or so guests did. And one of them left divits across a brand new floor. We tracked her “footprints” from the living room to the entrance to the bathroom and around. The cost to steam and fix the imprints will be 3000-6000SEK.
When in Sweden, embrace some new traditions. This is an instance of a great tradition.
Buy a shoe rack and a chair to help make it easier for guests to arrange their shoes and sit comfortably when taking them off.
Last, think about how much money you can save when not needing to buy shoes in Sweden for every new outfit! I call that winning!

From the forum, Imamother.com:
“Yes its YOUR home but wouldnt you want people to be comfortable in your home? Lets say they put on their worst pair of socks with holes in the front, not knowing that you had such a “policy”. Would you like to take the risk of embarrasing the visitor by them having to wear “holey socks” or putting them in the position of not wanting to take them off?”

If my friends had a pair of holey socks, it is not my problem. It’s also NOT for me to make fun of them and make it an issue.

One of these days, I will stitch a sign to say “Inga Skor.” And if someone questions me, I will say “we’re Swedes, take off your damn shoes!”

UPDATE: Temporary Stockholmer found a doormat sold at Home Sweet Home.

Random Swedish Things I Cannot Live Without

Sapphire — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:53:58 +0000

Sometimes I’m amazed at how Swedish I have become. I love the wintertime and snowfall and the darkness doesn’t bother me that much. Laundry bookings prevent a run on the washing machines Saturday morning, and the despicable Systembolaget is clean and full of helpful information when buying wine.

There are some Swedish things I cannot live without. Perhaps I have truly lost my mind.

Kalle Anka önskar God Jul

Finally, a country that loves Donald Duck more than Mickey Mouse. Plus, you have to be drinking glögg and eating pepparkakor.

Inga Skor
No shoes in the house. Seriously, why would you wear shoes in the house? After steeping on concrete, rain, asphalt, shit, used papers, grass, stones, Americans will go home happily and put those nasty shoes on the couch. And you look at Europeans for double-dipping the salsa with disgust.

Fika
A special time, and it doesn’t matter what time, for coffee and sweets.

Allemansrätten
Known as “everyman’s right,” allemansrätten provides Swedes the ability to experience nature and the outdoors without restrictions. The main covenant of allemansrätten is “do not disturb, do not destroy.”

This allows you to camp on public and private lands (not restricted lands) for up to two nights without permission. When you leave, there should be no evidence that you stayed.

You also have the right to pick berries, mushrooms (not black truffles, they grow underground), and flowers for yourself.

It’s a wonderful right that promotes being neighborly, respecting the outdoors, and learning about nature.

Semlor
A soft bread bun filled with soft almond paste and delicious whipped cream. Who wouldn’t like it?

Matches

Gustaf Erik Pasch used a non-toxic red phosphorus in 1844 compared to the existing yellow phosphorus used to light the match. No idea why Solsticken’s baby logo looks just like the Water Babies’ sunblock baby.

No wonder Swedes love candles!

25 Days of Vacation
As a full time employee, 25 days is the minimum under Swedish law. Swedish law also states you have the right to take 4 weeks off in July. I never have, but I split 2-3 vacations throughout the year.

This makes me want to be a more productive employee – relaxed, refreshed, and happy to not fight for vacation days.

Systembolaget
I hate you, but I still need you.

Osthyvel

The most amazing thing since sliced bread, sliceable cheese!

photo by Rauenstein, Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved.

Skatteverket DIY Taxes
Doing taxes has never been easier and in a way, more fun! Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Authority, sends you a massive yellow colored, 4-paged glued tax document with your earnings and taxes and then tells you if you need to pay or if you get taxes.

If you have deductibles, they’re so easy to fill out, you’ll beg the IRS to do the same.

Oh, and you can snail max, text message, phone call, or online submit your taxes. Winning!

Wafflar, Kanelbullar, Lussekatter
Basically all sweets are delicious in Sweden. Even those super marzipan, sugary tartlets. The exception to the rule is licorice ice cream and salty licorice. But then again, there are days I have licorice ice cream.

I am sure I will come up with more…

Christmas Traditions in Iceland

Sapphire — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:01:42 +0000

I asked one of my girlfriends, Tinna, to share her Icelandic Christmas traditions. She’s amazing and has written up about all the major dishes and treats as well as traditions on days before and after Christmas.

Tinna hails from Isafjördur in the West Fjörds of Iceland but is a true globetrotteur. Please check out Tinna’s blog (in Icelandic) and post a comment if you a question or experience to share!

Jólahlaðborð – Julbord – is something that co-workers and groups of friends do in the advent, usually at restaurants and hotels. There they’ll find most of the food that will then be eaten at Christmas. This is usually not a family thing, and more of a drunken ordeal with over-eating and dancing through the night.

Laufabrauð – Leaf bread – is traditionally from the northern parts of Iceland, but in the last 50 years or so the custom has spread and it is common for families to meet up in the weeks before Christmas to cut beautiful patterns in the leaf thin bread that is then deep fried. I’ll send pictures this week!

Kjötsúpa – Meat soup - is really not eaten at Christmas anymore, although I know that some people in their 50s and older have grown up eating meat soup for Christmas. It is actually really interesting to see how the traditions have changed in the last 50 years. Turkey of course is the newest addition to our Christmas tables, and I think more and more people eat it every year, but then perhaps on the 25th or New Year’s Eve.

Today, ptarmigan and glazed ham (hamborgarhryggur) are the most common dinners on the 24th, hangikjöt with white sauce (kind of bechamel) and potatoes on the 25th.

The leg of lamb is something my father grew up eating at Christmas. He grew up on a farm, and the Christmas luxury in the 60′s involved eating fresh meat, not smoked or salted, on the 24th. Often the meat was stuffed with dried apricots, prunes and dried apples (this is actually insanely good, but not really done anymore).

Brúnaðar kartöflur – Caramel potatoes - is a side dish that I think it is safe to say that is on every family’s dinner table sometime over the holidays. It is sooo sweet but is surprisingly good with the savoury meat. Basically you boil a bunch of potatoes, remove the skin and let them cool for a while. Meanwhile you slowly heat 50 g of sugar in a big pan until it starts to melt, then add the butter and stir until combined. My grandmother also adds a splash of cream, which is delicious. The cream can not be to cold though, then the caramel will get angry. Also be careful that the potatoes are completely dry before you add them to the pan. Cook until potatoes are warm and be careful not to get burned by the piping hot caramel.

Jólagrautur – Rice pudding - is traditionally just risgrynsgröt, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. This is a dish now eaten year round, but some families still eat it at Christmas as well. Many have turned to the sweeter Ris à l´amande, served with cherry-sauce (as in Denmark) or with warm sauces made from blueberries or crowberries. It is perfect as a dessert and in some families (mine for example) an almond is hidden in one of the bowls of Ris à l´amande. The person who gets the almond is supposed to keep it hidden for as long as possible and then gets a small present for winning the almond.

Christmas dessert varies a lot though, so many have home made ice cream or just some delicious and super advanced things that they finally have time to make as they are on holiday.

Rjúpa used to be eaten all winter long by families living in areas where they were common and easy to get. I think it is just in the last 40-50 years that they have become Christmas food. 10 years ago or so, the ptarmigans were getting dangerously few, so ptarmigan hunting has been severely limited since then.

We bake a lot of cookies (smákökur) in December, not only piparkökur. The different sorts are too many to count, but the remarkable thing is that cookies are basically only baked before Christmas. People in Scandinavia would recognize most of the cookies, as they are a version of Danish/Swedish/Norwegian småkakor, but I’m not sure if they are common in the US for example.

Kleinur and skyr are not really Christmas food, although they are certainly also eaten at Christmas. There is not really a tradition of glögg here in Iceland, it is at least clearly Scandinavian to us. We do drink a lot of hot chocolate though.

On the 23rd of December we celbrate Þorláksmessa, which is the mass of the only saint Iceland got before we stopped being catholic and became protestants back in the 1500s.

The tradition of eating fermented skate on the 23rd apparently has it’s origins in the West Fjords, and has just spread to other parts of the country in the last 30-40 years. Not everyone eats the skate
(understandably) and the smell gets stuck in your clothes and irritates the hell out of people living in apartment buildings for example. It is served with potatoes and hamsatólg (melted lamb’s fat (I KNOW!! YUK!)). I prefer having a few slices of rúgbrauð (rye bread) and a lot of butter with my skate.

Festivities

Thirteen nights before Christmas the Yuletide Lads (Jólasveinarnir) come to cause mischief in the home. The parents of these lads, Grýla and Leppalúði, are trolls that were angry and wanted to scare children. Over the years, they have taken on a more benevolent role.

Today, you put shoe on the windowsill for the thirteen nights before Christmas. If you were well behaved the Yule Lads will treat you with something in the shoe, if not, you get a potato. It’s a lot of fun

The festivities start on the 23rd, with the eating of skate. This is also the day when most families decorate their Christmas tree. On the 24th, aðfangadagur, Christmas arrives at 18:00. Before that people are busy taking their Christmas bath, finishing the food for the evening and wrapping the last of the presents.

Then at 18:00 the holy hours begin, lasting through Christmas day.

Christmas mass is usually at 18:00 and then sometimes there is a “midnight” mass at around 21:00. Many families sit down to eat their dinner at 18 sharp, but some wait until normal dinner time at 19h or 20h. Most families that don’t go to church on the 24th will still listen to the Christmas mass on the radio at 18:00.

After dinner and cleaning up, we gather around the Christmas tree and open up our presents. This can take a long time, as everyone is supposed to look at and admire each others new things. Afterwards it is common to open the Christmas cards (I open mine when they arrive though) and read them over a cup of coffee, some chocolate or smákökur.

This is the holiest of nights, the 24th, so no playing cards or board games. Though during pre-Christianization, there was a lot of drinking, merriment, and playing cards during this time of the year.

On the 25th, jóladagur, many go to church again (it’s still very holy). The 25th and 26th, annar í jólum (the second day of Christmas) are very common for family gatherings and the eating certainly continues. The family gatherings often continue in the week between Christmas and New Years, so Christmas feels really long.

There is absolutely no Boxing Day or mellandagsrea in Iceland. We take our Christmas seriously and spend it with family, not running around in shops. Oh, and there is no getting drunk and partying, not until the 26th at first.

In my family we have a big tradition of playing board games in the days between Christmas and New Year. Friends and family come over and eat mandariner and smákökur over games of Trivial pursuit, Risk, Sequence etc. This is pretty common across families.

New Years is also spent at home with the family. It is not until after midnight people would go out to meet friends and go dancing.

Christmastime is incredible dark and long for us in Iceland so we take the holidays seriously. It is a time to splurge on fresh meats and sweets, since these were/is luxury items and reflect upon the year with families.

Q&A on American and Swedish Christmas Traditions

Sapphire — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:33:00 +0000

I’ve been thinking about what makes Swedish Christmas different from American Christmas. After emailing with a friend back home in America, I realized there’s so many Swedish traditions not found in America and vice versa.

I put together a list of questions and answers on how Christmas is celebrated in each of the countries. This is thanks to my friend EC who bombarded me with similar ones by email and chat.

When is Christmas celebrated?
United States – 25th – Christmas Day. In the morning families enjoy sticky/cinnamon buns for breakfast. After breakfast they open presents, starting with the stocking. Stockings are the large “socks” hung over a fireplace. They have small goodies, especially candies and favorite snack in there.

Christmas dinner is similar to the Thanksgiving dinner. There is mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread, pies, cookies, but instead of turkey most families have a honey baked ham.
Sweden – 24th – Christmas Eve. Families start the festivities by watching Kalle Anka Önskar God Jul, a Disney collection of songs from the last sixty years. During the show, they eat pepparkakor and drink glögg (Swedish mulled wine). Then for dinner, Swedes partake in the famous Christmas smörgåsbord called Julbord; which is a collection of different foods.

On Christmas Day Swedes rest and enjoy a smaller meal.

Do you go caroling?
United States – Yes, it is common in neighborhoods with children that kids and parents go door to door singing Christmas songs. At the end of the evening, the group gathers at a home for hot chocolate and cookies.

Sweden – It’s very uncommon. But, in church, families gather to sing songs.

When do you put up the Christmas tree?
United States – The weekend after Thanksgiving which falls on the first Advent.

Sweden – On the third Advent or after. It is not uncommon to put up the tree just a few days before Christmas Eve.

What are the most popular decorations?
United States – Wreaths, Christmas lights, and stockings. And when it snows, there’s always Mr. Snowman.

Sweden – Christmas stars to represent the town of Bethlehem and candle lights. Both are displayed in the windows.

What kinds of sweets do you eat?
United States – Cookies are most popular during the holidays. Everything from traditional chocolate chip to peppermint bark to decorated sugar cookies. Candy canes are well known to hang on the tree and of course eat.
Sweden - Swedes are not big on cookies but they enjoy other treats. The only cookie exception is gingerbread cookies called pepparkakor. The Swedish version are thin and crispy and more spicy and flavorful than the American counterparts, which are chewy-soft and sweeter.

Saffron buns, or lussebullar, are soft rolls made with saffron, kesella (quark), and touch of sugar. Swedes also enjoy a hard candy called knäck, literally meaning crack. It is hard toffee candy and can be flavored with almonds or exotic spices.

What kind of drinks do you have?
United States – Eggnog is a classic love-hate Christmas drink. Made with eggs and cream and flavored with anything from rum to cinnamon, eggnog is one of those drinks you imagine Auntie Georgia getting smashed on.

Similar to Swedish glögg, there is mulled wine and mulled cider. They are flavored with the traditional Christmas spices: cinnamon, clove, cardamon, star anise. For children there is hot chocolate with whipped cream and/or marshmallows. I’m a total kid; I love a dollop of whipped cream with dark hot chocolate.

Sweden – Glögg is the ubiquitous choice of drink to have on any cold afternoon or evening. Drop a few raisins and blanched almonds and you have the perfect strong drink to survive the Swedish winter. For toasting and Christmas dinners, there is aquavit or snaps. Children and non-drinkers can enjoy julmust, a Christmas cola soda, or a non alcoholic version of glögg.

What food do you leave out for Santa (Jultomten)?
United States – Cookies and milk. Any sort of cookie will do but most popular are sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and gingerbread cookies.
Sweden – Risgynsgröt. It is a rice pudding with cinnamon and brown sugar. Some tales call for a pat of butter on top of the pudding to ensure Jultomte does not break out in a rage.

What does Santa (Jultomten) look like?
United States – The American version of Santa can be credited to the Dutch’s Sinterklaas, cartoonist Thomas Nast, and folklore from other countries.

The modern version of Santa we know today is based on Coke-Cola’s creation by Haddon Sundblom in 1931. He based the modern day St. Nick on Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly called “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) and Nast’s work from 1862.

Santa Claus is seen as jolly, fat, well tempered and with a large white beard and red outfit.

Sweden – Santa is known as Jultomten in Sweden and julnisse in Norway. Jultomten derives his name from tomte, a small man living in a farm who worked using magic. The tomte could be very kind and bestow gifts but also very moody and sometimes borderline sociopath. In folktales he’s known to kill a cow out of anger for not receiving his pat of butter on risgrysgröt and beating those who do not keep the house/farm well.

Jultomten however has a better temperament than the tomte. The name Jultomten came into use somewhere around the 1500-1600s. He rides on a giant goat, like Thor, and hands out presents.

Today’s Jultomten are similar to the American Santa Claus who is a fat, jovial, old man riding a sleigh. But you can still find the traditional jultomtar statues in the store; big hat, lots of hair, little nose, and faceless.

Note: Anyone who has more knowledge about how Jultomte derived his name from tomte and what he looked like in Sweden let me know. It’s tricky finding good information about jultomte in Sweden.

You can guess that our home is an amalgamation of both cultures with a dash of Indian (lots of color!) and Jewish (rugelachs, latkes and when younger, dreidels).

More reading on Christmas

http://gd.se/extra/nuardetjuligen/1.241333-sa-kom-jultomten-till-sverige

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jultomte

A Photo Guide to a Swedish Christmas

Sapphire — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:03:33 +0000

If this is your first Christmas in Sweden or your quest to learn about Christmas around the world, you’ve come to the right spot.

I put together a comprehensive guide to having a Christmas in Sweden and abroad. Even if you don’t have access to thousands of tomtar, you can still incorporate Swedish traditions into your own traditions.

There’s so much food and decor to enjoy during the holidays, but it is all about family and giving back to the community.

Swedish Christmas Decorations

If you are in Stockholm, then I highly suggest shopping at Stockholms Stadsmission to get secondhand Christmas ornaments. You can see from the photo there is plenty of pretty decorations at a good cost, and doing the Earth a favor by recycling.

Julstjärnor – Christmas Stars

The stars represent the town of Bethlehem.

Julbocke – Christmas goat

The Christmas goat is said to check on families that Christmas decorations were done properly. Some folklore tales say the Yule Goat scared the children and demanded gifts.

In Nordic mythology, Thor rode on his chariot with two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. In the Prose Edda, he kills the goats and provides his guests and the gods food. With his hammer, Mjölnir, he resurrects the goats the next day; creating a cycle of sustenance and nourishment.

Lights

Ornaments

Of course you need ornaments for your tree!

Candles

From Design House Stockholm and you can buy them in the US. It’s dark, it’s dark, it’s dark, candles are a must; any size, any style.

Julgran – Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is put up on the third Advent and stays up until Knutsdag (twentieth day yule) on January 13th.

Kalendarljus – Calendar candle

Jultomte – Santa Claus

Julgris – Christmas pig

Reindeer

Who doesn’t love reindeer?!

Swedish Food

Julskinka

A recipe from ICA.

Julsenap

Lussebullar

Yummy saffron buns! Recipe to come soon!

Glögg

You can buy several different flavor from Systembolaget or make your own using wine, vodka or rum.

Pepparkakor

I’ll be posting a recipe quite soon!

Aquavit – Snaps

Julmust

Swedish Christmas Holidays

Christmas Calendar

Advent Candles
One candle is lit each Sunday before Christmas.

Christmas Eve
Kalle Anka (Donald Duck & Disney)

The Disney special has been on for more than 30 years. It’s the same every year but it is truly a bizarre and fun Swedish Christmas obsession.

Christmas Dinner

The Swedish Christmas dinner is served on Christmas eve after watching Kalle Anka and before opening Christmas presents. The smörgåsboard is several courses, starting with cold meats and fishes, hot food, cheeses, and dessert. And nothing would be complete without toasting with snaps.

Plockgodis – Loose Bin Swedish Candies {Part II}

Sapphire — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:49:32 +0000

This is part two in the Swedish candy series. Hope you read the introduction!

Plockgodis are also known as lösviktsgodis, or loose candies. These are the famous candies you see in the bins at the store.

And there’s something for everyone. Every type of flavor or hardness or sweetness or even saltiness is available in the bins.

If you buy candy at the bins, there are a few rules:
Freshness – Go to a store that has a constant turnover. The longer the candies are out, the drier and harder they become.

Saturdays – Don’t buy candy Saturday morning or afternoon; that’s when all the kids are out screaming their heads off. Best to not buy candy on a Saturday at all.

Spoons – Use the spoon to fill your bag with candy, not your hand. That’s gross.

Sampling – We know in the US you can get away with a bite of candy after you fill your bag up, but don’t do it in Sweden. It may get you dirty looks or admonishment from a store clerk.

Separation – I keep the lakrits candies separate from all the other candies as they tend to ‘leak’ themselves onto the other candies. Nothing tastes worse than chocolate marshmallow gummi infused with licorice.

Here’s my something-for-everyone breakdown of the different candies you can find in the bins.

Licorice – Lakrits
I spoke to Ingrids Candy Shop and they told me the most popular flavor is licorice. From the Swedish candy survey given out a few weeks ago, lakrits invoked true love or true hate by the surveyors. {You can still take the quiz here if you haven’t already done so}

Swedish licorice can be spicy, salty, sweet, or strong. The licorice obsession extents from candies to ice creams to even a shop dedicated to it!

The most popular licorice loose candy type is Turkisk Peber (though available in bags at the store). It is a hard candy with a powdery explosive center. I was skeptical and a bit scared of Turkisk Peber but after tasting it, it’s just like licorice Jelly Belly but as a hard candy. And I love Jelly Belly licorice!

Other popular licorice candies are pulverfylld padda (a salty toad that has powder in the center), salt sill (Swedish fish’s black bro), and saltskallar (sour, chewy skulls).

a dedicated lakrits store on sveavägaen

Salty wine gummies
Most salty Swedish candies come in the form of licorice. See above.

Sweet wine gummies
They are not sweet as they are in America sweet but these candies pack a more fruity punch.

The color to flavor translations is as follows:
Red – Raspberry though sometimes strawberry.
Orange – Orange.
Yellow – lemon.
Green – Pear. Yes, Swedes love pears. Look at the ice cream Piggelin.
Black – Licorice

Most popular are gele hallon (raspberry gummies with sugar on the top – very popular near Valentine’s Day), and persikor gele (peach gele). Personally, the hallon gele ones are the most lame but also the sweetest so they would appeal to the real sweet tooth lovers.

Sour wine gummies
These are my personal favorites. They are sour because of the sour sugar coating on the outside but still fruity and not too sweet.

The strongest ones are the surskallar (skull sours), sura colanappar (sour cola), sura bläckfiskar (sour squid) and sura soda pops. Oh yea, I’m gonna eat me some sour squids!

Marshmallow – Skum
The marshmallow gummies are usually a mix of half marshmallow and half wine gummy. The most popular are sweethearts, sommarbär (summer berries), and stekta ägg (a sunny side up looking egg).

It’s like eating stale Peeps from Easter.

Chocolates
Chocolates are of course everyone’s favorite but Sweden does pull the weird chocolate choices. Would you like to try some chocolate covered skum or punschpraliner (punch cream covered with sprinkles) or chocolate lakrits?

For those of us less adventurous, there is always the classics like Bounty, Geisha, Daim, and Snickers.

No matter what, you should find a favorite candy in those bins at the supermarket!

51 Reasons to Hate Stockholm

Sapphire — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:31:31 +0000

For once, it wasn’t me. Cue the song. I didn’t have anything to do with the Dagens Nyheter article called ’51 skäl att hata Stockholm’ – 51 things to hate Stockholm.

Now I know I have written about what I hate about Sweden, more things to hate about Sweden, what I love/hate about Stockholm and on one happy occasion, why I love Sweden. The reasons listed in the article were from people mainly outside the city and their perception of the capital.

And they were funny! Don’t get scared if you’re moving to Sweden, hating on Stockholm is a god-given right just like it is for hating New Yorkers if you live in New England, and hating Paris if you live anywhere in Europe.

I tried to pick the reasons that were not only the funniest, but most likely written by Swedes.

#01 “Stockholm smells of piss and moldy cheese that has been left out for 10 years on the kitchen table.”
True on Friday or Saturday night on the bar streets! But otherwise, I think the city smells quite okay.

#06 “They think they are better than everyone else because they live in the same city as the king.”

#08 “Stockholm is so painfully self-conscious, cold, lousy and disgusting. I hate that I grew up here and that I became like them.”

#15 “Stockholm can name their town in the same breath as New York, Tokyo and Paris, which makes them appear to be entirely true of turn because the truth is closer to Budapest, Minsk, or Vienna.”
I think Stockholm suffers from the little capital disorder. It’s one of the word’s smallest capitals so no one else in the world gives a hoot about the city. But in the Nordic region, Stockholm is the largest city, therefore it is awesome. QED.

#19 “When the zero-eights visit the north, they think they know how to do it, really, they can not drive when just a little snow falls.”

#31 “Stockholmers behave like Americans, everything outside their own city / state is unimportant, all that is needed here. They often feel ignorant, stupid, much like a typical blond girl. ”

#35 “Stockholm is like seagulls. They are only screaming and shitting!”

#43 “Stockholmers always comments/mimics/laugh at other’s dialect.”

#48 “We work in offices and we are the most highly educated population in Sweden.”

The sources ranged from Facebook to the infamous flashblack and even familjeliv.

Okay, non-Stockholmers reading this blog, what is it that drives you crazy about the Capital of Scandinavia?

29 Tips Before Moving to Stockholm

Sapphire — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:46:04 +0000

You moved to Stockholm, Sweden, the most populated city at the highest lattitude in the world.

You unpacked the two tiny bags the airlines allow for you to carry and now sitting in a tiny apartment wondering will happen next.

There were a lot of things I wish I knew about Sweden before coming here. Just to make life a little easier in understanding day to day adventures. Take this with a pinch of salt, or a bucket, if I am caustic. I’ve been around too many years already.

Beer is to Swedes as … - It’s quantity over quality.

Systembolaget is the bane of your existence – Come to terms with being stripped the rights to buy alcohol at any time for a reasonable price. If you do not, you just may go insane.

“$10 for a piss beer, why yes please” – Swedish beer is disgusting, it is also expensive. Want the good beer, pony up even more kronor. The secret to not going broke on two beers? Pre-party at home with friends.

Laundry dates – The laundry room has a sign up board or even a complicated electronic system to choose a date and time to wash the undies. The benefit is that you no longer need a roll of quarters or wait for the annoying neighbor to finish laundry before you snipe it.

The inside of windows need washing – Because Sweden is smart and understands cold winters, the windows are double, triple, or quadruple pane. In certain styles, the windows separates into each pane. This ends up gathering a lot of dust and crap so be sure to do a spring and fall cleaning.

Queue up – Grab your ticket and wait till you are called. At the doctor. At the alcohol monopoly. At the hospital. At the bakery. At the charcuterie. Except the grocery stores, you line up in the lanes. If there is no queuing, there is a high chance for total chaos.

Help is offered only if asked – Duh, just ask. Don’t ask and no one will help.

Don’t hold doors opens, no one cares – Perhaps this is a jaded biased statement, but holding doors open for someone is great because it’s the one time you will hear “tack” but no one will hold for you. Just ask my husband, he occasionally allows a 75kg door to slam into my face.

Door open outward – I still do not understand why.

Escalators maybe up-down in the British style – Not all stations but some. Because SL (tunnelbana – metro) wants to confuse you.

Holidays exist solely for sweet treats – When life is in the Arctic, create days for yummy goodies. Waffles, semlor, and cinnamon buns all their own worshiped day. And you thought the Pasta religion was weird.

Fires at Easter is meant to scare the witches – The witches had a meeting at Blåkulla and now they are flying home. Lighting a fire will scare them off and keep them from playing tricks on you. No Easter bunnies or Peeps either.

Fires at Valborg is meant to scare more witches – Now that it is springtime, the witches may cause mischief and prevent spring from blossoming.

Don’t talk to strangers – Remember what your parents told you as a child? Don’t talk to strangers and don’t eat candy, unless it is Saturday.

Candy is to be consumed on Saturdays – Yes, lördagsgodis is for Saturdays and Saturdays only.

Christmas is celebrated on December 24th – All holidays in Sweden are celebrated on the eves. That includes Christmas.

Everyone watches Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) and Disney excerpts at 15hr on December 24th – A tradition for thirty years, the Disney special appears on Christmas Eve just as the sun sets and families gather to drink glögg (mulled wine) and enjoy some pre-dinner snacks. Every year is essentially the same show but it is the security blanket of the dark winter nights.

Learning Swedish at SFI maybe a waste of your time – If you have to take a Swedish class at SFI, try to pass out to the highest level that you can. If not, supplement your time with Swedish language resources such as reading the papers online, watching the subtitles on American tv shows, and buying a couple good language books.

Everything is built for giants – Okay not everything, but I’ve learned that shelving, coat hooks, and buttons can up far up if you’re a lowly 155cm or less in height.

Compliments are for crazy people – Girls, the days when men give you compliments for your pretty hair or eyes is over. Other girls giving you compliments on your shirt or dress or hairstyle is also over. A few may do it because they are crazy, but by and large, Swedes are uncomfortable with compliments. Do not attempt to give one, it may up with a terrorized Swede.

Swedish girls are not all blond or beautiful – They can in fact, come in ugly, brunette, and flat chested varietals. Complimenting the entire population of females in Sweden as beautiful, blond, busty is surefire way to get disenfranchised by the feminists. As mentioned before, Swedes do not take compliments well, this is one of those times. Perhaps, calling Swedish women “average and dull” is more suitable?

Traffic lights and road signs are for sissies – Drivers of Stockholm have yet to understand the fine art of driving a vehicle in a city without disobeying all sense of logic. You know when you’re in trouble when the Vägverket (DMV equivalent) has commercials to teach drivers to “think about pedestrians.” They’re people too you know!

ID cards at found at Skatteverket – And at Skatteverket only now. Fill the paperwork, drag a Swede (or hopefully, not, and just wait a few extra weeks), pay the dues and get a lovely card that proves you exist in Sweden.

Passports may not be legal ID – Some post offices are so anal that unless you have a Swedish ID card (or EU), you cannot pick up a package. That’s the moment to go into bitch mode.

Service and Swedes are an oxymoron – Stockholm is a rude city. It is unlike New York City in that unless you pay absolute top dollar you will have zero service. In Stockholm, it is perfectly acceptable to pay $30 for a drink and be treated like shit and served in a plastic cup.

Fika is a daily ritual of drinking coffee with friends – You can call it the water cooler break, the coffee date, or black death, but coffee and Swedes are married with alcohol playing a sneaky mistress. Fika occurs around 10am and 3pm at the office and anytime in the afternoon at home or with friends.

Pies in Sweden are delicious – Take advantage of summer pies like raspberry, strawberry, and rhubard. They are must haves for a fika.

Apartments are an endangered species – Finding a first-hand contract sucks. Finding a second-hand contract sucks. Buying an apartment is a proctology exam. Have a shot of Svedka.

Stockholm and Sweden are a love-hate relationship – You can feel that way, it’s okay. If people judge you on your worst days, they are not your friends anyway.

If you have more, “I wish I knew about Stockholm…” post in the comments. I’ll incorporate them.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer

Sapphire — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:08:45 +0000

Yep, it’s out!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes out in December. Mr. Hottie Daniel Craig plays the messed up journalist Mikael Blomkvist. I’m interested to see how a bunch of Americans will play Swedish characters with Swedish names.