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!

Foteviken Viking Reserve

After spending a lovely morning strolling through Hjärup and Lund, Oliver and I decided to take a trip to the famous Foteviken Viking Reserve.

14 Random facts about Sweden

1. Sweden has a population of roughly 9.4 million people
2. Pippi Longstocking is Swedish
3. Swedes are known for their Innovations. Swedish Inventions include: the zipper , marine propeller, the refrigerator, the computer mouse, the pace-maker
4. The Nobel Prize Ceremonies are held in Sweden and Norway every year on December 10th. The Nobel Prizes were founded by the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite in 1866.
5. The favorite food in Sweden is usually meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce. (a berry type jam). Swedish pancakes are also a favorite.
6. IKEA and H&M are both Swedish brands
7. Sweden is full of music! Sweden has produced many famous musicians and musical groups over the years such as: ABBA, The Hives, Millencollin, The Cardigans.
8. Sweden is the land of the Midnight Sun! Every year, Swedes celebrate Midsummer (Midsommar) on the twenty-third of June. On this longest day, in many parts of Sweden the sun never sets.
9. All the Tsars of Russia including the last one, Nicholas II, were Swedish. This is because in the 9th and 10th centuries Swedish Vikings invaded Eastern Europe and founded the first Kingdom of Russia (might explain why they both value good Vodka)
10. Per capita Sweden has the most number of McDonald's chains in Europe
11. Sweden was neautral in both World Wars
12. The sun rises at 3:30 in summer and sets at 15:30 in winter
13. The first ice-hotel in the world was built in Sweden
14. On Christmas Eve every year at 15:00 most Swedes settle in to watch Donald Duck

Psalmer från köket (Kitchen Stories)

Did you know that you can hire DVD's from Stadsbibliotek for free? Yip! For free....they have a range of Swedish movies, international films, and documentaries.  If I am not mistaken you can take up to 5 DVDs a week which is a pretty sweet deal. So in my pursuit to learn more Swedish I have started watching more Swedish movies and it just so turns out I had to watch one for a course I am doing on ethnothgraphy. I think I am going to start doing some short Swedish movie reviews for this blog! Enjoy!

The film is primarily set in the kitchen of Isak, a cantankerous old man who lives alone and unwittingly agreed to take part in an ethnographic study on single men’s habits in the kitchen. Folke Nillson, the researcher assigned to observe Isak, encounters numerous problems in his endeavours to understand the habits of single men in the kitchen. The absurdity and simultaneous reality of the film makes it humorous and moving.

However, as the research continues the observer becomes the observed and soon enough the two men find themselves becoming friends, despite being warned not to do so. Sheding light on issues related to ethnography the film has some alarmingly funny and bizarre scenes!

Just for laughs

Today a friend posted a comedy clip from RAW on Facebook. I had never heard of RAW before but it turns out they are a Comedy Club inb Stockholm.... They have had tons of international guests. So if you are looking for a spot to watch some comedy this might be a good stop.


This is the video that was put on Facebook and if you know even just a little Swedish you will find this funny (fastfoward past the intro interview to get to the good stuff!)



Here is another one, it has nothing to do with Sweden but I find this guy funny!



For more funniness check out their website!

IKEA %$#@ Yeah!

I believe it!

I did it! I finally did it! I went to IKEA.....

In the words of my friend Anne I am no longer an IKEA virgin. I am ashamed that I have lived in Sweden for almost seven months and have only now popped my IKEA cherry.....

Ice Hockey!

We were totally this close!

Last night I got to go to my first ever ice hockey game! and it was a big one! It was a 40 year anniversary game so the stadium was quite full! We went to watch the Malmo Red Hawks on their home turf.

This festive season

For me, back home, this time of year is characterized by hot weather and lazy behaviour (except for the crazy Christmas shopping). It's quite different on this side of the world.

I have been insanely busy with two exams last week as well as an assignment. It's also been rather chilly with us getting our first little bit of snow yesterday. But I must say Lund is rather mild.

Another cool thing is the seasonal merchandise. In SA you can pretty much buy the same things all year round but in Sweden (and I assume much of Europe) there is a lot of seasonal food and products and I think this stands out even more round the festive season.

First up, there is Glogg to keep the winter chill at bay. The there is Christmas (or Jul to use Swedish) merchandise everywhere including Christmas beer, a Christmas soft drink, and Christmas treats. It's quite fun!

Due to my busy schedule I haven't had much of a chance to embrace the Christmas atmosphere. Lund is quite pretty now with streets and trees being decorated with simple lights that add another splash of charm to this already charming town.

On Friday, after exams and assignments were done and dusted I made my way to Tivoli, a super old theme park, in Copenhagen.

Myself and Nina strolled around the pretty gardens and marvelled at some of the tummy churning rides. Tivoli was really special. It was like a little wonderland cornered off inside Copenhagen filled with lights and festivities! It was a cool way to get into the festive spirit and get ready for my Christmas shopping.

It's amazing how buying something small here and something small there for the people you care about adds up.

So now I am in the festive season and ready to do some relaxing! And oddly enough I will be having a scorching hot Christmas this year! haha! Yip, I am flying to Ghana on Wednesday.

Oliver's dad works in Ghana so we are meeting up there to celebrate and relax! I am soooooooo excited! I can't believe we have been apart for four months already!

So on that note I just want to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Trustworthy Swedes

You would think that after living in Korea for a year I wouldn't still be surprised by trustworthiness. But I am! Sweden, like South Korea, has an incredible degree of trust and for someone from SA this comes as a nice change and blows my mind every time I encounter it. Let me give you some examples about what I mean when I say trust.

There is a nice little coffee shop close to the social sciences lecture halls and a lot of students stop off at this coffee shop in-between classes to get their daily dose (more like doses, they are caffine crazy here) of coffee. That's all good and well but how you go about paying for your coffee is what amazes me. Firstly, you stand in a queue and take what you want...you poor your own coffee, take your own piece of cake, apple, sandwich whatever. Then you continue along the counter until you reach the till where most of the time no-one is standing. However, next to the till there is money just lying there. Yip, you heard me, just lying there. You put your money down and take your change and boom your done with coffee and cake in hand! I mean SERIOUSLY!! That is just insane...They have money lying there and every now and then replenish the change. I have no idea how they keep track of their stock or their money and the best oart is that this isn't just a once off place that does this, quite a few small coffee shops take this approach. I am amazed, one that the owners trust their clients that much and two that the clients respect that trust and the thought of theft doesn't even cross their minds.

Another trust experience which blows my mind is how so many stores have their merchandise outside on display...and these displays aren't tied down or on security camera, often they are completely out of view of the shop owner yet the displays happily sit there all day without being disturbed unless someone wants to buy something.

Just the other day, a friend of mine Sara, bought a coffee and wanted to use her card but the teller said that he didn't want to use a card for such a small amount and that she was welcome to bring the money in when she had the chance! I mean what?! Wow! That is some serious trust!!

It appears the only thing that people don't trust leaving unlocked are their bicycles. Bicycles are always locked up. Despite being very ironic, bicycles are the one thing that is commonly stolen, in this otherwise safe and unbelievably trustworthy place.

Drunken Woes....

Taken from http://geoventurer.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/sweden-surprises/

When I found out that I had got a scholarship to go to Sweden several stereotypical images flushed my mind! I thought that I would soon be living among some freakishly tall, beautiful, blonde people who like to drink beer and vodka, go on nature walks, as well as occasionally dress up as Vikings.

Well, sorry to disappoint but there are not as many blondes as you might expect....in fact I would say that there is a good mix of many hair types including pink and orange! There are some people that tower over me (although come to think of it thats not too difficult) but for the most part people only seem marginally taller. And yes, they do sometimes dress up at Vikings and more often than not this is at drunken parties!

And that's what I wanted to talk about...not drunken parties per se but what makes them drunk....yip, I want to talk about the good old booze!

Taken from http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?PostID=4525771

Sweden is famous for Absolute Vodka, which is brännvin (literally "burn-wine"), that is, it is distilled from fermented potatoes or grain. Long ago, people used to make their own brännvin and some still do it today although, from what I hear, it is highly regulated.

Sweden has massive tax on its alcohol (Vodka is 40%) and it is under a government monopoly. That is, only the government is able to sell and distribute alcohol above 3.5 %. This explains why it is so expensive to drink in Sweden.

If you want to get an ordinary draft in a bar you are looking at paying between 50-60SEK (R55-R65) and you could end up paying just as much for a 'special' bottled beer! Crazy right? I mean in South Africa you would pay R20 (25SEK) for a draft and in South Korea you would pay even less, 2000Won (R12, 15SEK). So drinking in Sweden is expensive business and I'm not quite sure how some students manage to go out four times a week and get wasted!

Well, I guess they get smashed because they drink before they pitch up at the party (pre-parties are VERY popular! It's no wonder why). Alcohol in the state owned bottle stores, Systembolaget, are cheaper than restaurants and bars but in comparison to the rest of the world it is still pricey. For a mediocre bottle of wine you are looking at paying about 100SEK (R120).

And it is so unfortunate that it is that expensive because Lund has some awesome little pubs and bars where you could see yourself slowly slipping into a drunken stupor if you didn't have to watch your wallet steadily burn a hole through itself.

Now the beer you buy in bars is generally of a really good quality! I don't know if you can say the same about the beer you buy from convenience stores. Convenience stores are allowed to sell drinks that have a volume of under 3.5% and once I bought Eko-Beer from my local grocery store! It was horrible! Bleh! One the first sip, your like, Mmmmm, that's not too bad, but, by the time you get halfway through the can you feel your throat closing up and refusing to have anymore! Anyway! Don't drink Eko-Beer!!

Ok, so now I have been blabbing for a while...but now you know a little bit more about the drinking situation here in Sweden. So have some sympathy! When you are out tonight, raise your glass and have a drink for me and maybe through some bizarre form of osmosis I too will get drunk!!!!

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Avl%C3%B6ningsafton_-_R%C3%B6sta_ja!_1922.jpg

Bicycle, Bicycle, BICYCLE

"Why won't you let me ride my Bicycle, Bicycle BICYCLE", a famous lyrics from a song by Queen pops into my mind regularly while I am in Sweden. Not only because it is a ear worm and when I hear it on my PC it is invariably glued to my brain for the next couple of days but also because there are so many of these two-wheeled inventions darting and cruising around Lund.

Sure, its' not the bicycle mayhem of Amsterdam or Copenhagen but I have never lived in a place before where a bicycle is actually the main mode of transport. I see men in suits on their way to work, and women dressed to the nines with high heels and all happily glide along without messing up their perfectly done up hair.

Another way that you know that they are serious about bicycles here is the range of bicycle attachments and contraptions you see. There are the three wheeled covered bicycles for when it's raining, bicycles with baby seats, bicycles with baby carriages so that your kid doesn't get wet when it decides to rain (which is apparently a lot).

Taken off the website babyology

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Beyond the contraptions it's the skills you witness. I can barely keep my handlebars straight most of time (which is evident when you consider that I had a mild crash the other day when a kid and I connected and I was left with several bruises). But, people here have some mad skills. They are off their seats before the bike stops seemingly standing next to it while they guide it into a parking spot, they smoke, sms, and even hold umbrellas all while going a lot faster on their bikes than I could even hope to be on a bright, sunny day with no wind and both hands on the handlebars.


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Now I don't have any photos to prove these things to you because I feel like a bit if a turd whipping out my camera at every little thing that makes me go ooooh and aaaah but I promise you it's true and pervasive and I hope that before I leave Sweden I would have mastered the ability to park by bicycle in a fashion that is a little more elegant than my current heavy handed manoeuvring that makes me look like a bull in a china-shop.