A lovely place to have a Swedish fika or lunch in Den Haag – from bullar to Janssonsfrestelse
On my quest to find somewhere to buy a Lussekatt (Swedish Christmas time saffron bun) in the Netherlands, I found a lovely place in Den Haag: Norvolk. A Swedish / Scandinavian-inspired lunchroom and bakery, or Brödstuga, serving their freshly baked breadstuff, various cookies and cakes, and many open-face sandwiches.
Norvolk is located in a pretty building right on the harbour of Scheveningen. You recognize it quite easily for the Nordic flags flying!
NL – Op mijn zoektocht naar een plek om een Zweedse saffraanbroodje in Nederland heb ik Norvolk gevonden, een Zweeds/Scandinavisch geïnspireerde lunchroom en bakkerij. Hier kun je vinden: kaneel- en kardemombollen; Zweedse cakjes als prinsessårta en Budapest rol; koekjes voor met de koffie vinden (hallongrottor, kokosbollar); Lunch opties als de Zweedse klassiek Janssonsfrestelse ‘Janssons verleiding’ – potato quiche with ansjovis of brood met Zweedse gehktballen, vis en meer. Zie alles onderaan!
Once entered, you see some buns and cakes. Standard at Norvolk are of course cinnamon and cardamom buns – kanelbullar & kardemummabullar; lingontosca (Lingonberry jam cake topped with almonds), lemondcurd shortbread are also always there. On the corner are fika cookies: hallongrottor cookies (butter cookies with jam), kokosbollar (chocolate-coconut balls) and ginger cookies among others.
On the inside, a detail I loved was the words in Nordic languages on the wooden beams:
Noitið daginn (Icelandic) – enjoy the day
Ei pidä ennä merta edemmäs kalaan (Finnish) – “it does not pay off to go further than the sea to fish” – do not get ahead of yourself when doing something
Smi mens jernet er varmt (Norwegian/Danish) – ‘forge while the iron is hot’ -seize the day. In Danish it is (man skal) smedemens jernet er varmt
Elsker samvær mad – either Danish or Norwegian, but I cannot find this saying online..
A bit further you have the cakes and sweet or savory breadstuff: croissant, typical Danish almond pasted filled T-birkes with poppy seeds on top, egg-filled Danishes.. Among the cakes the Swedish classics Budapest rollcake and Princess cake – with green marzipan in the classic version – at Norvolk varies its look depending on the season!
On the menu there were a few Scandinavian-inspired Lunch options as:
Swedish classic Janssonsfrestelse‘Janssons temptation’ – potato quiche with anchovy
Sill o Dill – herring on rye bread with egg and pickled red onion.
Bullen – Meatballs with beetroot salad, red cabbage, fried onions
Värmland – smoked salmon on rye bread with piccalilli sauce
Skagen – shrimp salad and eggs
Laxråg – salmon and remoulade sauce and dill
I ordered Janssonsfrestelse for lunch Swedish-style, and since I was already full I saved the Lussekatt for later.
At Norvolk you can also find others products for sale, as cookies and spreads: Among these the 7 sorter (there is a Swedish/Norwegian tradition to bake 7 kinds of biscuits), fruit bread and homemade lemoncurd, Picalilly sauce, kimchi.
The owner Carla Visch made her own Swedish traditions birthday calendar, a really cute idea I would actually love to copy…
Below is the summary of Norvolk in a journal spread:
Afterwards I went to the centre, and in the library – which has a good Nordic language books collection – I stumbled upon Nordic countries-themed books, and I found a Kalevala (Finnish epic poem) in the language section…!! I hope to be back when I will have more time.
When I arrived home, I had the Lussekatt with tea in my Dala mug and a pepparkaka on my Moomin tray. Could that be more Swedish?
I definitely have reasons to go back to Norvolk someday, so expect an update and subscribe to my blog!
Norwegian, Danish, Finnish and Swedish Christmas markets in Rotterdam. Christmas decorations, imported typical Nordic products for sale, a cafe with lunch and cakes in each of them!
Lucia brings light in the darkest night of the year and is a mix of pagan and christian traditions. It is celebrated in Scandinavia with processions, saffron buns and church concerts.
Travelled to Sweden during Semlor season, deep winter, arriving by train and flixbus from the Netherlands.
Going to Sweden in the middle of winter, January-February, is usually not the preferred period, it is cold and dark, not during the festive period either. The only plus point is that it is Semla season, which was my main motivation to go there around my birthday (February 6th).
Back in November i had purchased a 10-day Interrail ticket i used during Christmas holidays, and since it was valid for 2 months after activation, i decided to give myself a birthday present and visit friends in Lund. And That would be my first time in Sweden, after Denmark and Norway!
Sweden at last!
I was supposed to arrive to Lund by train, but In Hamburg all trains to Denmark from Hamburg got cancelled due to some kind of technical problem, possibly ruining my trip. I then thankfully found a flixbus going there. You bet I was the happiest person in the world once I had secured my small holiday. After 6 hours I was in Lund!!! It had snowed a bit that evening and walking to the hostel -luckily at walkable distance from the station as it was past midnight- felt soo magical! I was the only person in town!
I stayed at Winstrup hostel, located right in the centre, a no-staff hostel, which i do recommend if you don’t feel the need for social activities within it! I had a quick meetup with my friend and that was soo cool!!
The following day started by thinking about exploring a supermarket for breakfast. I only ended up getting an egg sandwich, but fika was waiting for me..
After some miscommunication caused by me turning off data and forgetting to turning it back on, I met up with my friends, and we visited Lund’s cathedral and assisted to an explanation of a clock engine thing inside. The priestess doing that was also late. It was not that interesting, I must confess. I am also not very enthusiastic about visiting churches usually.. We could have visited a museum, but had no time really. And my friends kept saying that in winter there was not much to do anyway..
Fika and books
One of the reasons I was excited about visiting Sweden in February was Semlor!! Of course I got one, plus a räkmacka, a shrimp open-face sandwich. So good!! Semlor might not be thaaaat incredible, but it was something I absolutely had to get off my bucket list. I expected it to be harder and that the dough itsself would be almond-based, but it was actually very soft, and the almond thing is like a cream on top of the base of the semla.
Before and after we had been to a statioenery shop (Lexis Papper) and a book shop (Akademibokhandel). As one of my things from ym bucket list for Sweden, I got a journal there. I also got a book about Sami characters, and Pippi postcards! I loved checking out the bookshop..
Falafelrulle and Lördagsgodis
Lös(vikt)godis: bulk candy!
We got to ICA to get Lördagsgodis, the Saturday candy. Swedes are wild for sweets, and you can see that in their supermarkets, with an entire aisle of bulk candy and chocolates… We got them and ate them at the hostel, after having eaten a falafelrulle, 🙂
End of the trip with a Kanelbulle for breakfast
The morning I left, very early, the ICA near the station was luckily already open and I used my last hour in Sweden to get a sacred kanelbulle!! Nothing I cannot eat elsewhere, but had to tell myself I had eaten a Swedish kanelbulle..
Speaking Swedish
I actually apparently got a discount even if I should have been registered because the shop assistant was surprised I spoke Swedish, after I answered that no, I had no personnummer because I had only been in Sweden on day up to that moment in my life, that day..
A cashier at the supermarket was also surprised when I replied in Swedish after she realized I was not a local from my trouble dealing with the self-service cassa..
I did go to Sweden in summer after this trips, so check out my other posts to see the bright side of the Nordics as well!
my trips to Nordic Christmas markets at the Finnish seamen house in Rotterdam and a Swedish Christmas market in Groningen
I had been looking for a place selling Lussekatter (Lucia post) but ended up finding about Nordic Christmas markets in the Netherlands where I live! The blog post will be in Dutch – English Below
Alle Skandinavische zeemanskerken in Rotterdam organiseren Kerstmarkten in november, en ik ontdekte ze net op tijd om alleen naar de Finse Kerstmarkt te gaan. Een week later ging ik ook naar de ‘Zweedse’ kerstmarkt in Groningen. Twee heel verschillende evenementen! Spoiler- ik vond de gezellige, authentieke Finse markt veel leuker.
Finnish Christmas Market – Finse Kerstmarkt bij de Suomen Merimieskirkko in Rotterdam
De Finse kerstmarkt werd direct georganiseerd door de Finse zeemanskerk, Suomen Merimieskirkko, twee weekenden in november, en het was gratis toegankelijk. De meeste mensen hadden wel een band met Finland en het was er niet te druk, op zondag tenminste. Ik werd ook een paar keer in het Fins aangesproken en een paar mensen waren benieuwd over waarom ik daar was. Het was dus zeker perfect om wat contact met Finland en het Finse taal te hebben! Ik heb namelijk heel erg zin gekregen om Fins weer te gaan leren.
De locatie was het Finse Huis, binnen was er een soort Finse minimarkt, met ook wat andere typisch Finse spullen zoals Marimekko en Moomin merch. Daarnaast was er een café waar je van een authentieke Finse maaltijd en gebak kon genieten. Buiten was een kraam voor gegrilde worst en zelfs een Finse sauna waar je gebruik van kon maken tegen betaling!
Ik heb gekocht Fins rond gedroogd roggebrood, kaas, Fazer chocolade met salmiakki (drop). Ik was heel onzeker over kruipbraam jam (lakka is de naam van de oranje beer in het Fins – hjortron in het Zweeds, cloudberry in het Engels). Dit alles was vrij prijzig, van € 4 voor de chocoladereep tot € 13 die de jam zou hebben gekost!!! Maar goedkoper dan reizen naar Finland…
Ik heb van alles geprobeerd in het café, waaronder Joulutorttu (typisch Fins kerstgebak), Karjalanpiirakka (pasteitje met rijst vulling, waar je een ei-botermengsel op smeert), en een cake met kruipbraam jam. écht Noords en iets zuur). Daarna een Karjalan paisti, Karelische stoofvlees met aardappelpuree en augurken, € 15 met koffie erbij. Omdat ze al het overgebleven eten voor de halve prijs weggaven, kreeg ik aan het eind ook nog een broodje kardemom…
The Finnish Christmas market at the Finnish seamen Church there was a sort of Finnish minimarket, including some typical Finnish stuff as Marimekko houseware and Moomin mugs. Next to it you could have an authentic Finnish meal and cakes at the café, and sausages at a kiosk. It was also possible to try the Finnish sauna outside!|•
I bought Finnish round dried rye bread, cheese, Fazer chocolate with salmiakki, liquoricem and almost got also cloudberry jam. All these were quite pricy, from € 4 for the chocolate bar to € 13 which the jam would have costed!! But cheaper than travelling to Finland..
I tried a bit of anything at the café, and that included Joulutorttu, Karjalanpiirakka, a cloudberry jam cake. Then a Karelian stew, Karjalan paistu, with coffee included. There was a egg and butter mix to be added to the Karelian pie, but found it out late, so guess what…I ate it twice. As they were Giving away all food left for half price, i also got a cardemom bun at the end..
Swedish Christmas market – Zweedse Kerstmarkt in Groningen, Suikerfabriek
De ‘Zweedse’ markt in Groningen was in de Suikerfabriek, een voormalige suikerfabriek, dus een vrij grote plek, en er was een kaartje voor € 8-9, dat de ochtend van het evenement op zaterdag al was uitverkocht. Het was een typische kerstmarkt waar van alles werd verkocht, ook spullen, van oorbellen tot houten dingen tot handschoenen.
Er waren niet heel veel stands die Scandinavische spullen verkochten, en eigenlijk meer souvenirs in die gevallen, met een heleboel Dala-paardjes. Prenten van Scandinavische steden waren ook bij een paar te koop.
Pas Eén kraam verkocht Moomin-spullen (je zou meer verwachten als je ziet hoe vaak Moomin spullen zijn te vinde in Zweden), en een paar hadden sokken met Zweedse motieven, ook hier te koop bij Svensk Husman, en andere Pepparkakor, snoep en Julmust flessen (specerij-cola). Het eten was een beetje teleurstellend: Kanelbullar (kaneelbroodjes), een kraampje van Noorse zalm, en ‘Zweedse’ gehaktballen met standaard sauzen voor Nederland en niets meer…
De Skandinavische Vereniging en Informatie bureau in Nederland – SVIN – en culturele associatie van vertalers voor Scandinavische talen en culturen, was erbij. Ik las hardop iets voor mijn vriend daar en kreeg complimentjes voor mijn Deense uitspraak!!!
Conclusie:om Skandinavische/Zweedse (kerst) spullen en eten te vinden kon je beter naar IKEA gaan, en zonder € 8 kaartje.
Ik heb ondanks dat wel iets gekocht: een mooie Dalahäst kop en sokken, een Moomin dienblad (ik had eigenlijk een dienblad erg nodig).
Maar ben blij dat ik daar ben geweest om een vriend en Groningen te zien.
The ‘Swedish’ market in Groningen was located at an old factory now serving as a fair location, entry with a € 8-9 ticket. It was for a great part a general Christmas Market with stands selling from earrings to wooden things to gloves.
There were only a which sold legit Nordic stuff, which was actually souvenirs and a lot of Dala horse objects. another couple prints depicting Nordic cities. One was selling Moomin stuff and a couple socks with Swedish things as motifs. The food part was kind of delusional, the only Scandinavian thing to be found was Kanelbullar, and a stand selling Norwegian salmon. And ‘Swedish’ meatballs, without typical Swedish sides as lingonsylt though. The Dutch association of translators from Nordic languages also had a stand, selling some books and verb paradigm round cheat-cheets. I read out loud for my friend something and got praised for my Danish!!
I got Dala horse stuff although there was barely anything else worth being bought (thankfully for my wallet lately): A mug and socks! I already needed a tray and happened to find a Moomin one, so I went for it..
Scandinavian Christmas findings in chain shops
Naast IKEA verkopen Tiger en Søstrene Grene, Deense winkelketens, een paar typisch Scandinavische kerst artikelen met betaalbare prijzen: Julehjerter decoraties, Yule-geiten van stro, Pepparkakor/Brunkager koekjes en zakjes met Deense pepernoten.
Other than IKEA, Tiger and Søstrene Grene, as Danish shop chains, also sell some typical Scandinavian Christmas articles at affordable prices.
My summer holiday was travelling to Scandinavia by train with interrail, passing by Copenhagen, Gothenburg, lake Vänern, Aalborg and Aarhus
After having canceled my initial plan one year ago, only passing by Denmark last summer, my plan for 2024 was to go to Sweden, and as I happen to have a penpal who lives on the lake of Vänern, visit her! Once again, by train. Which means stopping by somewhere, so I also spent some time in Denmark again, before and after.
Super Quick stay in Copenhagen
I hoped I’d arrive earlier, but problems with Deutsche Bahn made me arrive a couple hours later to Denmark than what I had hoped for. First thing I got was an ice cream i had noticed last year – a Daim mint cone, I love anything chocomint!!
I booked the night at the Sleep in Heaven hostel in the Nørrebro area, so went on a tour of it after checking in. The park Superkilenlooks cooler in pictures, but that did not surprise me. Then I decided I would walk to the centre and I got a Matilde strawberry milkshake, which as probably all stawberry milkshakes tasted like medicine.
I started walking towards Nyhavn but I figured I’d better reduce the damage (it was already past 11pm) and go to sleep asap to wake up earlier and see the centre before my train to Sweden… Could have slept more but no regrets at least…At some point a studenterkørsel bus drove by, playing ‘Elskovspony’, one of my favourite Danish songs, hehe…
I woke up rather early to see Copenhagen, and walked to Nyhavn, saw Rosenborg from the gate, a super cute souvenir shop and pastel buildings. I wanted to see the Little Mermaid – Den Lille Havfrue– Copenhagen’s icon, but didn’t want to miss my train and turned back (again).
Then at the 7/11 mini Wienerbrød: “minimums” – small versions, which is great for people like me who like to taste everything possibly without overeating… I got a Spandauer and a Tebirkes!
From the Øresund to the Öresund
The Öresund train from Copenhagen (where it leaves as Øresund) was headed all the way to Gothenburg, quite packed, but I managed to get on early and have a spot. It felt great to see Sweden, after having only seen the southernmost chunk last winter (I will post about that too..).
After a few hours I was in Gothenburg, where I’d take the train to Trollhättan. First things first, checking shops at the station. Pressbyrån is everywhere, and has loads of chocolate and candy…. Besides that, you can also get your hot dog there. And of course pastries and sandwiches
I saw a lot more variety in Sweden than Denmark when it came to ice lollies, though both countries have their own classics (in Denmark Københavner stang, Champagne Brus, Kung Fu etc), and a number of common ones like the Daim cones.
Once in Trollhättan I got picked up and we went to the supermarket, which always feels somewhat exciting, haha. Funny to see walls of Potatismos and Lingonsylt being sold in buckets. And this is kräftskivor (crayfish) season, so there was equipment for it in the supermarket..
The start could not be better with Swedish husmanskost: köttbullar potatoes!!
day 1: Chill summer day in a Swedish lake town
Day started with my first Swedish breakfast. bread bread and bread with all possible jams.. And Kalles kaviar!
The first full day we went to town and I was so excited to properly fika! Apparently there’s a standard fika pink triangular pastry called Milano. I will look up why it is called like that.
Afterwards, I walked along the lake (Vänern) and in town, it truly felt like I was inside a Pippi Longstocking’s episode, it felt somewhat magical, a truly wonderful Swedish sunny summer day. Actually, there was a shop selling a lot of Pippi stuff in town! And a little Emil too..
Dinner was a ‘Swedish Taco’ as I named it, and then we went to eat icecream! the kiosk at the lake had its own ice lollies, among which an Emil one
day 2: Trip to Gothenburg
As I was reasonably close to Sweden’s second city, I obviously wanted to visit it. When I arrived to Gothenburg I did not quite understand in what direction I was supposed to go to to see the centre. I just walked somewhere, beginning with another ice cream off my list, a lemon cornetto – I also love lemon-flavored things, by the way…
I walked around, ended up to the harbour, then somehow got in the actual city centre, got postcards at a bookshop and I admired bakeries/cafés, posponing a fika break for later…After some time i stumbled upon a small library, which is always cool, but this was a godsend as it had a WiFi connection and sockets under a table to charge my phone…that probably saved my day. While walking I had seen the city’s museum, Göteborgs stadsmuseum, and decided to head back to it after the library.
The TV series Vår tid är nu was filmed there! I watched it on Netflix in 2021! I did not have time to visit the museum, but I followed my friend’s advice and went straight to the museum’s shop, which did have nice stuff indeed. Got myself a flower food box, Chritmas tree flag decoration (!) and Dala horse decoration..
..
My friend also said there was a Moomin shop, which, whether my wallet liked it or not meant I knew where I wanted to go. I got a lamp and a glass, would have got more but almost € 20 for a glass was enough for this time..
I reaaally needed to go to the toilet, and I first went to the Haga city part, did not really find a café that I felt like sitting in and have a fika, so I went all the way back to where I came from and ended up getting the smallest pastry – a Mazarin. I also got to charge my phone there, which saved me again..
To not have regrets, I got a korv at Pressbyrån…and a Liquorice (Lakrits) is king in Sweden, there is liquorice chocolate, liquorice ice cream… And that was the last Ice cream I HAD to try!
Day 3: Antique and second-hand shops
We went to an antique shop nearby, which had actually quite cool stuff, including old postcards! I ended up not getting anything though.. We went to Uddevalla later to see a second hand shop! I did not see anything I wanted to get there, but at the very end I saw a table flag behind the counter, asked if it was for sale, and I got it for free!!
I found among others a wacky mug making fun of Norwegians about using the inside of the mug…
Then it was time for fika again at Kakeria in Kråkestan, and given all the sweet stuff I had been eating, I went for a räkmacka. I do have to say that you can make a macka yourself at home, but pastries and cakes are not quite as easy as placing shrimps and salad on bread…I also happened to go to the toilet in a pizzeria in front of it, which was open but nobody inside. Guess this is possible in the Swedish countryside…
After the fika, we went for a small hike
Then we went to the supermarket, and I got a ‘radioactive’ looking pear Budapest pastry. The classic version was finished, but one of my goals when in Sweden has become to try as much pear-flavored stuff as possible, haha! Another fika classic tried eitherway. The Dinner was korv with potatismos and a billion toppings I added!
Hejdå Pippi country
My time in Sweden had come to an end, and being on time at the station, I checked out souvenir shops..Pippi and Moomin souvenirs are as big as Pear and liquorice flavored food in Sweden.. And now I have my own Lilla Gubbe… and got Pippi’s Krumelurpiller candy.
As the Swedes are obsessed with candy, there was also a candy part in the shop, featuring among others the famous polkagris sticks from Gränna, and apparently a Swedish classic called king of Denmark (Kung av Danmark), haha.
Which, brings me to the next part of my holiday, heading back to Denmark.
Day 5: Arrival and trip to Aalborg
The third and last part of my holiday was 2 full days in Jutland. I took my train in the early afternoon from Gothenburg and got to Aarhus around 22… I already had a trip planned for the following day to Aalborg +meetup with friends in Aarhus.
I had never been to North Jutland, so this time I decided to visit Nordjylland’s main city, Aalborg! Instead of train though, I got there with a bus service as there were works going on on the tracks. I got Raspberry/liquorice candy from DSB!
After having been tremendously blessed with the weather in Sweden, in Aalborg it was grey and rainy, I also got a sommerhorn at the shopping centre Salling, which was with marzipan and orange. (Some classic pastries in Denmark are flødebolle, træstamme, marzipan frogs (?), Napoleonshat, nøddehorn, studenterbrød). We went to the rooftop although it was not the best day to enoy it… We had lunch at Aalborg street food. Not Danish food, although I would enjoy that too.
Then I went back to Aarhus and there the sun was shining! So I sat at the dokk1, one of my favourite places!
After that, I went to the bar my friend works at and The Danish handball team was playing, so I got a Denmark hat there ❤
Day 6: ArOS and shopping
This was the third time in Aarhus, although up until now I’ve barely been there for an entire day, and something I absolutely wanted to visit was the art museum ArOS! Which in other words is the rainbow circle building
The weather was truly perfect, sunny and windy, a blessing
I did not like the modern part that much, but the 1800-ish paintings were the best there, And as follow 2 of my favourites (there were quite a few depicting Italy, but these ones are more relevant to the blog..):
Norway! With tiny women in bunad I spotted. By Gotfred Rump
And here’s a Danish hilly coast and half-timbered house by Vilhelm Kyhn.
Then I walked here and there in the centre, got 2 books continuing my collection of Tænkepauser booklets by Aarhus University Press; after those about Dreams and Europe I got another two, about Language and Nationality! And then a flag at Søstrene Grene. Oh boy do I like flags…
Of course I had on my bucket list getting very Danish grocery stuff: my intention was to just get Karrysild (curry herring) but ended up also buying tomato herring, koldskål and Kammerjunkere, which go together (sour yogurt and cookies?).
I had tried these things in 2021 and despite getting 1L of koldskål one day before taking trains an entire summer day, I had to do this..
After this I had to leave Denmark, and I did not have the best return trip…I also got sick shortly after, probably due to some child I bumped into, but it was fun, I wonder what destination it will be next time!
(Actually, I still have to post about my first time In Sweden last winter, so stay tuned..)!
Last June I’ve been on a very short trip to Kristiansand, my first time visiting Norway! Lasted one day but felt satisfaying to have added one more country to my visited ones..!
The Cruise was offered by Holland-Norway lines, and was first supposed to happen in February – but due to bad weather and various issues it got postponed, ending up in the best season for it!! The ship left from Emden, in Germany’s Ostfriesland region, so we also managed to see a piece of Germany. Pretty funny that I had a (Dutch) Friesland hat!
We then boarded, ate and assisted to a cover band, the ship also had a shop with Nordic chocolate/candy and souvenirs (read further to see what I got).
The following morning we were in Norway, welcomed by lots of rocky islets and perfect weather in the Kristiansand harbour.
Although the area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, Kristiansand was founded by the Dano-Norwegian King King Christian IV in 1641, with -sand referring to the sandy headland.
Quick rundown of everything seen in Kristiansand, and skolekorps flags! Also the Danish restaurant chain Skagen..
We first got to the square with Kristiansand’s cathedral, from 1885 and one of the largest cathedrals in Norway. there were a few people selling thrift stuff.
Then we proceeded turing around town, seeing all the lovely white wooden houses in Posebyen, the old town – the only part of Kristiansand surviving a great fire in 1892
We then crossed the bridge and got to another part of the town. At some point one man cycling by said ‘du mistet papiret!’ (you missed a paper piece). My first Norwegian interaction..
Then we happened to run into a skolekorps event! Kind like marching bands?
On the way, I saw some funny signs:
beware of (hungry) seagulls, bikes LOVE to stay together and just an invite to throw rubbish in the bin written in (I assume) Kristiansand dialect (dæ instead of deg)
We got into various supermarkets: Rema, Kiwi, Xtra.
Norwegian Supermarket, souvenirs and a small hike
Of course, I had a few things to get from Norwegian supermarkets and bring home. Among these were Brunost, the beloved Norwegian brown goat cheese, and the iconic hiking chocolate Kvikk Lunsj, the latter mostly to be able to say I had tried it (Spoiler, it is basically the same as a kitkat with tips for a safe hike, sorry Norwegians).
I had already tried brunost during my Denmark workaway trip, knowing it was delicious, and was looking forward to eating more. I am sweet tooth and got a skolebrød as well.
Typical Nordic bulk candy section at the supermarket, smågodt in Norwegian
Besides supermarkets, I of course did some souvenir shopping: a skiing/moose keychain and a flag, with a long stick, like those people wave in their hands on 17 Mai!
At a bookshop i got a postcard of Sørlandet and an art card depicting women in bunads.
The shop was also selling of characters with bunads of given areas by Garbeez, didn’t get any but the idea is really cute!!
You can read about Norwegian bunads, Norway’s national dresses and how each district in the country has its own costume
Doesn’t really count as souvenir but I had to get a couple of these lovely Moomin cards!
They say ‘have a nice journey’ and ‘I’m rooting for you!’
One thing I’ve been low-key obsessed about is checking out other countries ‘custom’ Mcdonald-s things – in Norway i found the sour apple milkshake, absolutely delicious! Also got sweet potato fries and their apple pie (which is more like a strudel). Nothing very Norwegian but I had not tried them before.
Then walked up finding another cute neighbourhood, from which you could enter the forest.
We took a path in the forest, and found a nice lake with people bathing as well, great place!
I also purchased a few things on the ship on the way back: Finnish chocolate Geisha, Norwegian Sørlands chips, Swedish gifflar (sort of mini cinnamon buns), and moomin candy.
That was all for my first Norwegian adventure, Ha det!
Nordic Christmas, or Yule, means among others flag tree decorations, a pinwheel-shaped pastry, and gnomes.
Nordic countries share quite a lot Christmas customs and symbols, whether it is Christmas tree decorations, gnomes and elves instead of Santa Claus, and of course spiced cookies. Let’s see what a Scandinavian Christmas looks like!
1. Scandinavian Santa Claus: Gnomes and pixies
In Sweden and Norway it is a Santa Claus-like gnome bringing presents: Jultomte in Sweden and Julenisse. According to the tradition it lives in farms and takes care of the household while the family is sleeping, Bringing presents if the family treated him and the farm animals well. InNorway, an adult disguises himself as Julenisse and gives out presents to children, often greeting them by saying Er det noen snille barn her? (“is there any good child here?”).
In Denmark Julemanden (literally Christmas man) arrives on a sleigh with reindeers and has elves as helpers, Julenisser or just Nisser, who are believed to live in barns and attics. Children leave rice pudding for the Nisser, who find it delicious accoring to popular belief. In the Faroe islands it is called Jólamaðurin.
Initially the gift bringer was the Julbocken/Julebukk goat mentioned above, so in Finnish Santa Claus is calledJoulupukki…
2. Christmas Decorations: straw goats, pleated hearts and flags
Yule Goat: A common Christmas symbol and decoration is a straw goat, Julbocken/Julebukk, often put under the Christmas tree. It goes back to the Viking times and it was a household protector, representing Thor’s magical goats, who lead him in the night sky. Bigger versions can be found in town centres – this tradition started in the Swedish town of Gävle in the 60s, and every year this traditions is repeated with a Julbock as tall as around 10 metres.
Things to hang on the tree
Julehjerter are pleated hearts, very common and in Denmark and Norway (Norwegians call them Juletrekurv “Christmas tree baskets”), but also present in other Nordic countries as a typical Christmas symbol. Children make them with their family with paper of different colours, although they are often red and white.
Flag garlands: Decorating Christmas trees with flags originated in Denmark and it can be seen in all Nordic countries, although it was more common in themid-20th Century. A survey showed that one in three Norwegians thinks flag garlands are suitable Christmas tree decorations, while only 3 % and 5 % is of the same opinion in Sweden and Finland. Nonetheless, I bought a Christmas tree flag ornament in Sweden…
3. Christmas treats: spiced cookies to rice porridge
Baking gingerbread cookies is a typical Christmas time family activity: Pepparkakorin Swedish, Pepperkaker in Norwegian and Peberkager in Danish, piparkakut in Finnish.
Hiding an almond in rice porridge with a prize for who finds it is a common things in Nordic countries. in Sweden the rice pudding is called risgrysgröt. In Denmark you have the Risalamande (from French ris à l’amande, just because French sounded fancy), It is served cold with a warm cherry sauce,kirsebærsovs. The lucky person who finds the entire almond in it wins a marzipan pig!
Lussekatter are Swedish saffron pastries, typically eaten for Lucia.
Joulutorttu, a Finnish pastry filled with plum or apple jam.
Æbleskiver are Danish fried snacks, round and often served with jam and powder sugar. The name literally means “apple slices”, although apples are usually not an ingredient!
Kransekake, Norwegian and Danish almond cookie rings, commonly eaten on festive occasions.
Mulled wine, glögg, is a classic, with spices as cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, but you can also drink Chistmas beer! It is darker and spicier than the usual ones.
a Polyglot illustrating Scandinavia 