Fika! Have a break!

Fika may sound like some odd sexual endeavour or a swear word of sorts but in actual fact it is a coffee break. I cannot believe that I have dedicated an entry to this before. Oh the horror! How could I leave telling you about such a quintessential part of Swedish life till so late in the game.

There is more to a Fika than just a coffee break. Or is there? (Dom dom dom). Fika, as far as my understanding of it goes, is when you take a break from whatever it is your are doing and top up your caffeine tank and have a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Believe it or not I didn't drink coffee before I came to Sweden. Well, not good coffee anyway. I used to think that instant coffee with milk and sugar was the way it was done and found that filter coffee made me feel ill. However, after only a few weeks in Sweden I was a convert in every sense of the word. I now drink coffee black and strong!

Anyway - enough about me and back to Fika!

Pea soup and pancakes

Did you know that it is tradition to have pea soup and pancakes on Thursdays in Sweden and Finland? Neither did I!

To be honest I am not a fan of peas. Actually that would be an understatement. I hate peas. I haven't eaten a pea since I was five or six and can barely remember what they taste like but I know I hate them and I have hated them for so long that I am too stubborn to try again. They are green and pop in your mouth. Gross! I love pretty much all foods but peas so you can imagine that I was less than excited when I found our about this Thursday tradition.

Pancakes peaked my interest. Mmmmmm. What's not to love about pancakes and in Sweden they are served with cream and Lingonberry jam. Yum!

So torn....pancakes and peas! Who does that!

Anyways, I soon found out that the pea soup wasn't those dreadful little green bastards but is actually a yellow pea soup sometimes served with bits of pork and with a dash of mustard on the side. I've never had yellow peas before and thought I should try this new un-ventured veggie territory

And it was delicious!!! YUM!

Turns out not only is it delicious but it also has a history. Eating pea soup and pancakes on Thursdays dates back roughly 500 years when Sweden was home to Catholics who fasted on Fridays and needed a big fatty and whole-hearty meal to last them till Saturday!

Good choice!

My boyfriend the genius!

There are some perks to dating a photographer one of which is that you are guaranteed to have some pretty sweet pics when you go away on trips together. This isn't always pleasant as I often stand tapping my foot waiting for Oliver to finish is image making awesomeness but then, when I see images like the one's below I realise that such wonderful pictures require time.

As you might remember Oli and I did a road trip of Sweden in the Summer. He had tons of raw images but my computer had just crashed so I had nowhere to put them. When I saw him in December he brought some of them along for me to see. As far as I know he hasn't yet had time to photoshop them. I just wanted to share Oliver's pics with you (if you want to see more of his stuff check out his Facebook page) as well as the the beauty of Sweden! It really is just incredible! The forests, the coffee, the cities, and landscapes - what a place. Below are some of the random shots he took: